The Do's
-
01
Use sparkling wine for casual flatbread service
Prosecco bubbles cut za'atar oil and melted cheese cleanly. The dish is built for casual service and the wine should match.
Italian Wine Pairings for Lebanese Manakish and Flatbreads
Manakish, lahm bi ajeen and savoury fatayer are the bakery side of Lebanese eating: thin dough, za'atar, cheese, spiced meat or spinach. The pairing job is bright, low-tannin, and built for casual eating.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG and Asolo Prosecco DOCG carry fried-cheese fatayer and za'atar oil cleanly. Read more
Quick Facts
Grape colour mix
50%
red
50%
white
Rules of Engagement
The Do's
-
01
Use sparkling wine for casual flatbread service
Prosecco bubbles cut za'atar oil and melted cheese cleanly. The dish is built for casual service and the wine should match.
The Don'ts
-
01
Don't pair oak-aged red with lahm bi ajeen
The dish wants red-fruit lift, not vanilla and tannin. Stay with Frappato or Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC.
Pairings at a Glance
Showing 1–2 of 2 dishes
Manakish Zaatar
Manakish zaatar is the breakfast bread of Lebanon: thin dough painted with a thyme-sumac-sesame-oregano blend bound in olive oil, baked until the edges crisp. The dish is herb plus oil. Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG carries the za'atar lift cleanly; Falanghina del Sannio DOC works the lunch service when the manakish is folded around labneh and tomato.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Asolo ProseccoDOCG
Conegliano Valdobbiadene ProseccoDOCG
Falanghina del SannioDOC
Falerno del MassicoDOC
ProseccoDOC
Lahm bi Ajeen
Lahm bi ajeen is the Lebanese cousin of Turkish lahmacun: thin dough with a topping of minced lamb, tomato, onion, pine nuts and pomegranate molasses, baked fast and served folded with a squeeze of lemon. The pairing answers thin-dough plus minced lamb plus pomegranate sour. Frappato lifts the pomegranate cleanly; Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC is the casual, sit-down-pizza answer.
Perfect grape varieties
Frappato
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Why These Pairings Work
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG and Asolo Prosecco DOCG carry fried-cheese fatayer and za'atar oil cleanly. For spiced-meat lahm bi ajeen, Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC or a young Frappato works better than any oak-aged red.
Food Pairing Questions
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG carries the za'atar-and-oil register cleanly. Falanghina del Sannio DOC is the call at lunch when the manakish is folded around labneh and tomato.
Frappato lifts the pomegranate-molasses brightness without drying the dish out. Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC is the casual sit-down-pizza answer.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG cuts melted-cheese fat. Pecorino Offida DOC is the more substantial alternative for sit-down service.
