#8: Wine with Food | 🌕 🟢 🟠 🫧 YELLOW, GREEN, ORANGE... AND THE REST

Orange wine and Vinho Verde are having a bit of a moment, but have you heard of Yellow from Jura? Want to know more about Sherry and Port, those old tickets? Or Piquette?

Hello Again!

Back on track to bring you the last installation slash whistlestop tour of the different wines of the world. It’s hard to make this THE most encompassing wine pairing source just yet, but I will certainly be updating these with more options, palettes and flavours as we go.

The last post on Rosé and Fizz may have seemed a bit chaotic as, well, there is so much to discuss with them. For the outliers that I’ve got here, they’re a little more niche so we’ll whizz through them a bit quicker. So he says a few words into this article.

Without further ado, I bring you:

🟡 YELLOW

While you might think that this might be tongue in cheek with a white grape, there are in fact yellow wines (vins jaunes) that are most notable from the Jura region in France. But they are in fact, a spin-off of a white wine. This is a region that’s known for a craftier crowd in the wine world where they beat to their own drum, as the appellation laws are relatively relaxed here. It’s tricky to tack down one particular style of Jura, but the traditional vin jaune in a little kitsch oil bottle is its trademark.

A little like a sherry (more on that later), a vin jaune will be matured with a film of yeast on the surface to help protect it from oxidation. Not quite as pungent as a sherry, a vin jaune will be nutty and rich at its best, which is an unusual combo to add to a roast chicken or something that’s fairly predictable (but delicious) in flavour. Nigella’s classic Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic comes to mind here as a good pairing.

My pick: Tissot Savagnin, Shrine to the Vine, £50. Vin Jaune doesn’t come cheap, but this single estate pick of Noble Rot is a safe bet in terms of the best quality as it comes. This isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea before you run out to get it, so maybe try and grab a glass at a bougie wine bar or restaurant near you first of all.

GREEN 🟢

Anyone who’s been to Portugal should be familiar with the slightly fizzy, youthful spritz of Vinho Verde that’s having quite a moment. Much like a Beaujolais, Vinho Verde is celebrated at its freshest often within the same year of bottling from its dedicated appelation in North Portugal. This is the perfect sidekick to calamari and garlic aioli, or else a grilled octopus salad (Galician style).

My pick: It has to be Chin Chin, Shop Cuvée, £12. Going from strength to strength since a boom on social media during the pandemic, this is such a fresh, good value and easy going wine to have as an aperitif - or with just about anything. Also very pleasing to the eye.

ORANGE 🟠

Now, here’s something that’s having a moment a little like natural wine. My theory is that as it sounds off the cuff, everyone is happy to say that they love it when they don’t really know if they like it at all.

Orange wines are also known as skin contact wines, where a white wine is made like a red wine. Rather than pressing the grapes and extracting the juice straight away, the grape skins are kept in contact with the juice for a period of time to bring some tannins into the wine. These can be nice, unusual and fruity, other times I have literally found that they taste like piss.

If you want something a little on the lighter side of orange or are just starting to dabble, Italian or Spanish orange wines are generally quite a safe bet. These are a little lighter on skin contact adding an orange hue without it being all too tannic. These go really well with a spicy thai beef red curry or the likes, as it will help cool the spice and the tannins will be able to protect the texture a little bit more from there.

My pick: Judith Beck Weissburgunder, Juiced Wines, £17. I’m a big fan of Austrian wine, and this one won’t disappoint. It’s a Pinot Blanc grape with a slight hint of skin contact, which is generally light and fruity, with a little bit of extra zing with the orange tint to it. A slight spin off the beaten track, but a great gateway in.

Want a full blown orange? Look no further than Georgian orange wine, which is generally quite hay-like in scent with some stone fruit, and a full body. Not to all tastes, it is one of the oldest styles of wine produced in the world within concrete vessels known as Qvari for maturation. This needs quite strong flavours to pair up to the intensity of the wine, so I’m thinking mutton, goat or venison in sichuan spices as a good comparator to this type of flavour.

My pick: Tbilvino 'Qvevris Rkatsitelli', Majestic Wine, £13.99. A good delve into the home country and full depth of an orange wine without breaking the bank. I’d recommend seeing if you like a lighter style of orange wine before jumping into this, as it’s quite intense.

🫧 THE OUTLIERS

There is so much to say here, but I’ll try and be concise.

Fortified

Fortified wines come in different styles, referring to the additional add of an alcohol in the process of production. I’m going to give you my favourite rather go through lots on Sherry and Port as well, it’s something I’m just not that into.

Vermouth is a spirit that is made from a fortified wine along with certain herbs and spices. While it’s a third of a negroni or a substantial mix in a martini, Vermouth is a beauty of a drink served with a wedge of orange on ice as an aperitif. I love it as a pre-drink to a meal with some black truffle crisps or olives that you can get in a pub that’s fancy enough to have it behind the bar.

My pick: House Vermouth, Shop Cuvée, £25. It’s tricky to get a Vermouth that can be drinkable on its own outside the continent, but this one hits the agenda. Warm, herbal and sharp, this one will certainly kick off or wind down an eventful dinner as an amouse bouche or digestif.

Piquette

Piquette is the cute name for a rinsing through of the old grape skins once they’ve been taken out of the wine production, to make a drink much lighter in alcohol (and flavour). Piquette was traditionally the drink of choice for those grape picking on the farms, and has a beeriness to it. A little like Ribena meets a lager I’d describe it as, and quite punchy at 7% abv. It’s a good barbeque drink to have, and lighter than drinking wine by itself if it’s a long day affair you’re going for.

My pick: Monte Rio California Piquette, Juiced Wines, £25.75. Piquette is tricky to get in Europe since its basis is basically illegal by EU laws, so more expensive exports from California and South Africa are starting to dip their way over here. It’s a good offering to give any beer drinkers if they’re on the fence about wines, as it’s got quite a bit of hoppiness to it.

Non Alcoholic

The non alcoholic drinks market has boomed of late, and there have been more entrants to wine in this regard. Generally non-alcoholic wines are made as a normal wine would be, with the alcohol extracted out at a later stage. This generally leaves you with a sweet grape juice without the body or warmth of alcohol, which isn’t really the same as drinking the vino itself.

Aside from Torres Natureo, there are some new brands that are taking on our perception of non alcoholic wines, such as Wednesday’s Domaine which I’ve heard some excellent things about.

Got anything else I need to add to my mammoth collection of wines and foods to pair? Let me know in the comments or replying to this email, and let’s get it added to the list!