Remember the great wine tasting I went to in the autumn? Yesterday it was time for another one. Hosted at The Avenue Cookery School, Angie Steele prepared all the amazing food and Andrew Corben-Clarke from The Burgundy Portfolio talked us through the wines, mixing amusing anecdotes with facts.

We started off with a dry (Fino) sherry (Manzanilla “La Gitana”, Bodegas Hidalgo) and a classic bruschetta. I am not really a sherry drinker and although I thought this one was very nice with the bruschetta, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it without any nibbles.

Next up was a wonderful 2010 Rully (David Moret) that was definitely more my thing. And served with fluffy yet crispy salt cod fritters with a saffron aioli, it was a match made in heaven. To me the wine tasted both buttery (yum) and fresh at the same time.

We also tried a rosé, 2011 Beaujolais Rosé Dom. de Sermezy, with harissa marinated chicken scewers with grapefruit segments and a citrus dressing. The wine was a mouthful of summer and the fruitiness complimented the citrus flavours of the dish.

We then moved on to the reds. Firstly, a light 2009 Moulin-à-Vent (Dom. Benoît Trichard) and Thai pork and lemongrass scewers with mango salsa. The scewers were spicy and moorish, and although the wine was light I thought it held up the fiery food well.

The next red was a real heavy-weight in comparison with the first one and bursting of flavour. 2008 “Star Terre”, Syrah, Oroncio worked really well with the puy lentil galettes with cumin and coriander. Andrew told us that it was the earthiness of the lentils (and the cumin) that really worked with this heavier wine, just like it would work with game or mushrooms. 

The tasting finished with something sweet; crunchy biscotti with a chocolate dipping sauce (oh yes!) and a wonderful Sauternes,1999 Ch. Doisy-Vedrines, 2eme Cru Classé. It was golden and utterly delicious and the perfect ending to the evening.

These type of wine tastings, with food, are definitely something I prefer to a stuffy all-wine tasting. Pairing the right food with the right wine is definitely a skill and just adds a whole different dimension to a meal. I already look forward to the next one!