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Guide to Food and Wine Pairing

Thursday 4 August 2016

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Top tips for food and wine pairing this summer from our wine expert Angelika Oparczyk.

It’s easy to feel spoiled, sitting on a bright summer’s day in York & Albany’s English vineyard-style wine terrace, a relaxed alternative to beer gardens in Camden. With its sparkling lanterns, grape vines and trailing roses, even the most ordinary workday takes on a celebratory air.

Indulge in the Spoilt for Summer menu, and you’ll feel even more spoiled, because every order comes with a carafe of sommelier-selected wine chosen to compliment your dishes. But how do the team go about choosing the right wines to have?

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Best wines for summer

Food and wine matching can be tricky with just one dish of contrasting ingredients – bridging two or three courses is even more of a challenge!

But eating from a nicely composed seasonal menu works in your favour, says Gordon Ramsay Restaurants’ wine expert Angelika Oparczyk. And many summer dishes simply beg for crisp whites and rosés.

Take heritage tomatoes with burrata and basil, one of York & Albany’s delicious starters. ‘The juicy sweetness of tomatoes needs a wine with nice acidity to balance well,’ says Angelika, ‘while the creamy cheese can handle something with a bit more body.’

A light citrusy white will be crisp and refreshing; a well-balanced rosé will give a nice fruity finish. As it’s an Italian dish, you could try a Piemontese white, or a rosé from Lombardy.

‘But Provençale rosé always works nicely,’ says Angelika, ‘and would be the best choice if you plan on having the main course of sea bream with courgette, carrot and cucumber spaghetti.’

 

Don’t forget the reds

To match the richness of confit pork belly with peach, savoy and sage, a full-bodied white wine or a light, well-balanced red with strawberry and raspberry flavours is ideal.

‘It’s summer, so you don’t want a red that overwhelms,’ says Angelika.

A light red such as Sangiovese or one of the lesser-known English reds would work with the pork and also with the earthiness of the watercress pesto in York & Albany’s tagliatelle dish.

‘Most English reds are made from pinot noir so have a summery, strawberry style very similar to what Italian reds such as Sangiovese and the lighter-bodied Chiantis offer,’ Angelika explains.

The tagliatelle would taste fabulous with a rounded but minerally white, too – York & Albany’s English wine from Kent certainly fits the bill here; it also pairs nicely with the pea and broad bean soup served with mint yoghurt.  

But, the best match for the soup would be English sparkling wine, says Angelika. ‘It cleans the palate after the soup and goes very well with the mint.’

Now that’s a good excuse to order an aperitif of Blanc des Blancs before choosing a carafe to go with your main course and dessert!

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Alfresco dining in London

We’d love to welcome you to York & Albany’s wine-themed summer courtyard, whether you are keen to try the Spoilt for Summer set menu, or our informal mix of small and large plates to suit all appetites.

If Camden’s not your patch, don’t worry. Until 11 September, ten different Gordon Ramsay restaurants throughout London including Union Street Café, London House and Maze are offering their own Spoilt for Summer set menus complete with complimentary drinks. 

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