Tuscany
4 wine routes
All 4 Tuscany drives
Page 3 of 4
Italian Wine Pairings for British Food, Page 3
Pairings at a Glance
Showing 21–30 of 31 dishes
Scottish Smoked Salmon
Scottish Smoked Salmon is the bench standard of cold-smoked salmon, from Loch Fyne, the Outer Hebrides and the Spey. Served sliced thin with brown bread, capers, dill and lemon. Franciacorta DOCG or a Vermentino di Gallura DOCG handles the oil and salt; a Fiano di Avellino DOCG or Greco di Tufo DOCG scales up for the cured-gravlax variant.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie is minced lamb (cottage pie is beef) braised with onion, carrot and peas under a grilled mashed-potato crust. Scottish and northern English tradition shares the dish. Chianti Classico DOCG handles the lamb mince; Barbera d'Asti DOCG is the quieter weekday choice; Aglianico del Vulture DOC brings the southern-Italian backbone.
Perfect grape varieties
Appellations to explore
BasilicataIGT
ValtenesiDOC
Aglianico del TaburnoDOCG
Aglianico del VultureDOC
Aglianico del Vulture SuperioreDOCG
Steak and Kidney Pie
Steak and Kidney Pie is British pub dining made real: diced beef and kidney slow-stewed in gravy and stout, topped with shortcrust or puff pastry and baked until golden. Birmingham and the Black Country claim the best tradition. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC or a Chianti Classico DOCG carry the kidney's iron and the pastry's butter; Barbera d'Asti DOCG handles the stout-heavy version.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky Toffee Pudding is the British dessert benchmark: date-soaked sponge baked, served with toffee sauce and clotted cream. The Lake District Sharrow Bay Hotel claims the 1960s invention. Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC is the weight-match; Moscato d'Asti DOCG is the lighter option; Passito di Pantelleria DOC for the darker date-heavy versions.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Moscato
Malvasia
Appellations to explore
Stilton
Stilton is the British blue cheese of the Midlands, Protected Designation of Origin, made only in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Served on the cheese board with port traditionally but Italian dessert wines work brilliantly. Passito di Pantelleria DOC, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC or Moscato d'Asti DOCG all handle the intense blue; Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG is the rich sparkling alternative.
Appellations to explore
Sunday Roast Beef
Sunday Roast Beef is the British weekend meal: a rib or sirloin roasted to pink, carved thin, served with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, gravy and horseradish cream. The dish belongs to every region but the best versions come from the Yorkshire and Cotswold beef belt. Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG or a Bolgheri Superiore DOC carry the beef drippings; Barbera d'Asti DOCG handles the rare-done version with mid-weight acidity.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Toad in the Hole
Toad in the Hole is British comfort at its best: pork sausages baked in Yorkshire-pudding batter, served with onion gravy. The dish is Sunday-supper northern English, cheap and filling. Barbera d'Asti DOCG or a Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC handles the sausage fat; Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC suits the onion-gravy-heavy version.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Barbera d'AlbaDOC
Barbera d'AstiDOCG
Barbera del MonferratoDOC
Barbera del Monferrato SuperioreDOCG
BasilicataIGT
Treacle Tart
Treacle Tart is the Victorian British shortcrust tart filled with golden syrup, breadcrumbs and lemon zest. Harry Potter made it globally famous; Queen Elizabeth II had a soft spot for it. Moscato d'Asti DOCG or Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC pair with the sugar-crumb filling; a Passito di Pantelleria DOC handles the darker molasses-heavy renditions.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Trebbiano Toscano
Malvasia
Appellations to explore
Trifle
Trifle is the Victorian British layered dessert: sponge soaked in sherry, custard, jelly, fruit and whipped cream. Every family has its variation; Mrs Beeton standardised the mould. Moscato d'Asti DOCG or a Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG for the jelly-and-sherry lift; Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC for richer trifles with more sponge.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Brachetto
Malvasia
Appellations to explore
AstiDOCG
BivongiDOC
Brachetto d'Acqui/AcquiDOCG
CanelliDOCG
Cannellino di FrascatiDOCG
Venison Stew
Venison Stew is the game-season British braise, red-deer shoulder slow-cooked with stout, juniper, root vegetables and bay. Scottish estates supply most British venison from late August. Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG or a Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG carry the iron-rich meat and the stout reduction; Barbaresco DOCG is the Piedmontese alternative.
Appellations to explore
Aglianico del TaburnoDOCG
Aglianico del VultureDOC
Aglianico del Vulture SuperioreDOCG
Amarone della ValpolicellaDOCG
BarbarescoDOCG
