Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks three wines to go with Craig Wilson’s recipes

DOMIANE LES PERRUCHES VOUVRAY, 2014, £8.49 (CO-OPERATIVE)

Smoked fish, such as the haddock in the Cullen skink, can make for a tricky wine pairing, but this Vouvray from the Loire Valley is certainly up to the job. Slightly off-dry wines like this make an excellent match for smoked fish, with the rounded mouthfeel working well with the smokiness. Made from Chenin Blanc grapes, this Vouvray has crisp and refreshing acidity, with flavours of peach and green apple and that familiar steely minerality from the Loire’s whites. A good alternative is a Gewürztraminer.

QUINTA DA FOZ DE TEMILOBOS SINGLE VINEYARD DOURO, 2011, £11.55 (FROMVINEYARDSDIRECT.COM)

Made by David Delaforce Vinhos, one of the best-known families in the port trade, this is the clan’s flagship red wine and it’s easy to see why, with its inky dark colour hinting at the delicious aromas and flavours of brambles and blackcurrants on show. It has complex flavours, with powerful notes of chocolate and coffee, plus more subtle hints of violets and redcurrants. Unlike many cheaper Portuguese reds, the tannins are soft and well-integrated yet the wine is still full-bodied, giving it the substance to work well with red meats such as lamb.

MONT GRAS RESERVA CARMENÈRE, 2014, £8.99 (WAITROSE)

I love matching red wines with chocolate and this Carmenere from Chile has plenty of rich and luscious dark chocolate and coffee flavours to make a tasty pairing with the rich and velvety chocolate marquise.

For a tasting with Kevin Judd from Greywacke in New Zealand and a look at beer and food matching with Aldi and Drygate, check out Peter Ranscombe’s blog, The Grape & The Grain, on the Scottish Field website at www.scottishfield.co.uk/category/grapegrain/