The perfect wine pairings for National Drink Wine Day

Do you need an excuse to drink wine? No? Well, we’re going to give you one, or rather four, anyway...

February 18th is National Drink Wine Day, a day that we love to celebrate at Embankment Kitchen with our offering of more than 40 incredible wines from around the world. With Argentinian Malbec, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and Spanish Rioja, each of our wines is carefully selected, so we are sure to have the perfect wine for your occasion.

Not only that, although our wines can be enjoyed on their own, they are also picked to be the perfect pairing with our food. One of the greatest culinary joys is finishing a mouthful of delicious food with a swig of carefully chosen wine with complimentary flavours.

And for National Drink Wine Day on February 18th, we are offering 30% off a bottle of wine at Embankment Kitchen! No reservation necessary.

There is a lot of science behind wine pairing. The basics principles are twofold; either the wine should be a contrasting pairing, where the flavour balance is attained through contrasting flavours, or the pairing should be congruent, where the flavours of the wine and the food amplify each other. To dig further into this, wine pairing science also takes into account acidity, intensity, smell, tannins, alcohol level, sweetness, dryness, bitterness, fattiness, spiciness… the list goes on.

But we’re not here to get weighed down by the principles of wine pairing – we’re here to drink good wine! And eat good food with that wine. We consulted with Jack, our Bar Supervisor, to discover some top tips for pairing wine with classic dishes.

Goats Cheese Wine Pairing

If you’re looking for a wine pairing with Goat’s Cheese, then a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will be your best bet. New Zealand’s Sauvignon white wine tends to have a fruitier taste than their Chilean counterparts, and there is also a crispness to them which will help cut through the goat’s cheese. The main notes are citrus and tropical fruits.

At Embankment Kitchen, we use Yealands single vine New Zealand Sauvignon which has notes of passionfruit and mango to go with our Goats Cheese and Leek Terrine with homemade walnut crackers.

Embankment Kitchen dish: Goats Cheese and Leek Terrine with homemade walnut crackers
Wine pairing: 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, Land Made Yealands (New Zealand)

Wild Boar Wine Pairing

Not something you might regularly cook at home, but at EK, we do a mean Wild Boar Pappardelle. The wild boar is slow cooked for 7 hours then pulled apart to be served on freshly prepared pappardelle. The berry notes of our 2018 Mougeottes compliments the tomato-infused base of this delicious pasta dish and holds strong against the richness of this carefully crafted dish.

The bouquet of black cherries and raspberry in this silky red wine would work well with other rich ragu sauces.

Embankment Kitchen dish: Wild Boar Pappardelle
Wine pairing: 2018 Pinot Noir, Les Mougeottes, IGP Pays d’Oc (France)

Cod Wine Pairing

For a white fish, such as cod, something a little more zingy is required. At Embankment Kitchen, our cod is pan-fried and served with cooked chorizo, a variety of vegetables and finished with smoked almonds. This dish has been paired perfectly with our Chateau Ste Michelle 2017 Riesling which balances this delicate yet smoky flavoured dish very well.

The Riesling adds some much needed sweetness to balance out the mild spiciness of the chorizo, as well as bringing zesty notes which bind perfectly with the succulent pan-fried cod.

Embankment Kitchen dish: Pan-fried cod with chorizo, vegetables and topped with smoked almonds
Wine pairing: 2017 Dry Riesling, Chateau Ste. Michelle (USA)

King Prawn Wine Pairing

Feeling a little fancier? With your King Prawns, and in this scenario a King Prawn Linguini, we recommend a wine pairing of something sparkling, like a brut or champagne, with acidity and boldness. The fizziness cleanses the palate, the citrus acidity cuts through the richness of the tomato, and the bold flavour stops it being lost against the stronger flavours of the chilli.

With our King Prawn Linguini at Embankment Kitchen, we would pair the Baron de Marck Brut, with its buttery and lemon citrus notes it really complements the sauce.

Embankment Kitchen dish: King Prawn Linguini
Wine pairing: NV Brut, Baron De Marck Gobillard (France)

Interested in booking a seat at Embankment Kitchen? Reserve your table now.