Wines to pour with your starter
Choosing the best wine to go with your starter course will of course depend on what you’re serving. If you’d like to dig deeper into food and wine matching, you can read our Food and Wine Pairing for Beginners blog.
But as a general rule, your starter is likely to be a lighter dish – seafood such as seared scallops or prawn cocktail, bruschetta, or a green salad perhaps. This is a great chance to showcase a crisp and aromatic white wine.
If you want a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, go for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. With its vibrant grassy aromas and juicy tropical fruit, it’s instantly recognisable – and as the UK’s most popular white, is sure to go down a treat.
If you’d like to serve something a little more niche, choose an Albariño – a crisp, delicately aromatic white from Galicia in northern Spain. With its thrilling freshness and saline tang of the sea, it’s perfect with shellfish dishes.
best white wines for the main course
If you’re serving white meat, or fish for the main course at your dinner party you’ll want to serve a white wine alongside it. Once again, the choice will depend on what you’re cooking. But here are a couple of things to consider.
Firstly, as a general rule, you’re going to want to serve a white that’s a little richer and more full flavoured with the main course. Think less aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and more oak-aged Chardonnay. Secondly, just as with the red, pick something that is not too unusual and will suit every palate. Here are a couple of suggestions.
Aussie Chardonnay
These days, Australian Chardonnays are a far cry from the ‘blowsy’ overripe versions of yesteryear. Modern examples – especially from top regions like Margaret River or Adelaide Hills – are intense yet elegant with ripe tropical fruit and gentle (if any) oak. They are perfect with richer fish dishes.
South African Chenin Blanc
An often-overlooked style that goes beautifully with sauced fish or white meat dishes – especially pork. Chenin Blanc comes in many styles but choose a luxurious barrel-fermented Chenin if you really want to impress your guests. It’s honeyed, baked-apple flavours will be the talk of the party.
