Weekend wine with Blake Creedon
Among them, big roasts made with outstanding Irish ingredients, each accompanied by a good wine. Roast beef with a big cabernet and shiraz; lamb with fragrant reds such as pinot noir or tempranillo.
But of course some of our keynote dishes cast pork, bacon and ham in the starring role.
Many of the classics, such as roast pork with roast veg, are pretty accommodating wine-wise.
They’ll do very well accompanied by a middle-weight red such as a Côtes du Rhône or a Valpolicella but, because pork isn’t as weighty as red meat, it doesn’t really require that tannin, so lighter dishes could do just as well with a big white such as an oaked chardonnay.
Some of our classic dishes don’t lend themselves to many popular wine styles — for instance, cabernets and chardonnays can be a bit overpowering alongside old-school boiled bacon and cabbage. The big fruit, high acidity, and aggressive alcohol grab the spotlight and, by comparison, can make the more delicate flavours and relatively low acidity on the plate come across a bit meh.
And there’s another thing: cabbage can produce a woeful metallic clash with red wines — possibly caused by interaction between the iron in crunchy greens and tannin in red wines.
But some of the less frequently-visited wine styles such as light white pinot blanc or riesling can excel with it.
Finally, there is another way to celebrate quality Irish produce this weekend.
Bacon and ham are fantastic with cider, such as those made by Longueville House and Stonewell. Similarly with stews and roasts which can be great with good ale and stout.
Take inspiration from the growing number of restaurants now serving excellent Irish ciders and beers.
There are lots of terrific tempranillo-driven Spanish wines out there, and the weight and fragrance can be perfect with lamb. This one is both widely available and cracking quality, even at its usual price of about €12.
When beef or steak are on the menu I wouldn’t usually reach for the merlot grape which is generally too soft for those big beefy proteins. But the rich flavours and overt tannins in this lovely fragranced wine would be brilliant with the beef. Yes, it’s a startling price, but if you tasted it ‘blind’ I think you’d presume it cost at least a tenner or well into the teens.
Beware overwhelming light pork dishes — a rich white might be the best way to go with that pork steak, or an off-dry aromatic such as gewürztraminer with a spicy stir fry. But if you’re tucking into a big rich roast complete with roast veg, crackling and gravy, a medium-bodied red such as this herbily fragrant grenache syrah blend could be the berries.
A good flavoursome stew (how about sheep meat accompanied by bitter celery, sweet carrots and piquant herbs?) will go beautifully with mid weight Italians such as this translucent beauty which brilliantly sets fresh plums off against mouthwatering spice.
Apart from good Irish cider, aromatic light white wines such as pinot blanc or riesling come into their own with bacon. Alternatively, here’s an Austrian grüner veltliner (from independents including O’Donovans in Cork) that I’d normally associate with seafood, but whose zingy flashes of apple could be perfect with the bagún.
Yes, we should beware generalised wine-matching tips and take our lead from the overall weight of the sauces and accompaniments. But it’s hard to go wrong with roast chicken if you stick to the middle of the road: light reds or rounded creamy whites, in this case an outstanding, underpriced rich Californian blend of sauvignon and sémillon.
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