Our Favourite Pinot Noir Food Pairings
Here are some of our favourite pairings. What you’ll probably notice right away is just how versatile these lovely wines are.
Snacks
Try wholegrain crackers, salami, or soft goat cheese. Nuts and dried fruit are also great with our Pinot Noir.
Appetizers
Our Pinot Noir pairs particularly well with a wide variety of different charcuterie, including peppery salamis and stinky cheeses. A stand-out food pairing with our wine is stuffed mushrooms which enhances the earthy notes in our wines.
Not trailing far behind is new season asparagus wrapped in bacon (or indeed anything wrapped in bacon), or you could try red pepper hummus and pita, festive cranberry nut goat cheese bites, pasta with Puttanesca sauce, as just a few ideas for inspiration.
Pizza
Pizza pairs marvellously with our Pinot Noir, especially with mushroom, bacon, eggplant and onion toppings.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches constructed around fresh crusty bread and quality goat cheese with lean, tender meats like prosciutto pair well with our Pinot Noir. Portobello mushroom sandwiches are also great. Even a basic grilled chicken sandwich is great with our Pinot Noir.
Chicken and poultry
Chicken and Pinot Noir pair very well, particularly with our Estate range which usually has a lighter more elegant style. Miso chicken with mushrooms, chicken Marsala with a creamy mustard sauce, or even grilled chicken are great poultry dishes to serve with a glass of our Pinot Noir.
Wild Duck and Fancrest Estate Pinot Noir make a classic wine and food pairings. Especially if you highlight the fruity notes of our Pinot Noir in your sauce. See the aroma profiles on the Wines page for ideas. If the duck is farmed it is better to match with one of our Pinot’s from a cooler season to allow the acidity from the wine to balance out the duck fat.
Pinot Noir is also our go-to match with turkey.
Meat Dishes
The earthy flavours and light tannic structure of our Pinot Noir make it an excellent wine to pair with many light meat dishes. Pinot Noir goes especially well with game meats like venison and rabbit. It also pairs with lean cuts meat like Filet Mignon or tender lamb chops.
Pork
Pork and Pinot Noir is a fool-proof combination, especially if you consider their shared characteristics, such as their smoky undertone. As a result, pork tenderloin and any roast pork perfectly match Pinot Noir. We love crispy pork loin with Chinese 5 spice.
Rabbit
Rabbit is another tender meat that, if cooked right, will blend wonderfully with the bright acidity and tannins of Pinot Noir. Our wild rabbits are a little on the tough side so we’ve settled on hare, rabbit and duck rillet as our favourite.
Lamb
Another no-brainer option to serve with Pinot Noir is New Zealand grass fed lamb. Once you taste the combo, you will immediately notice how well the fruity and earthy notes of Pinot Noir cover the gamey flavours of lamb.
Pinot Noir country. My grape. The one varietal that truly enchants me, both stills and steals my heart with its elusive loveliness and false promises of transcendence. I loved her, and I would continue to follow her siren call until my wallet--or liver, whichever came first--gave out.
Removal of stems first means no stem tannin can be extracted. In these cases the grapes pass between two rollers which squeeze the grapes enough to separate the skin and pulp, but not so much as to cause excessive shearing or tearing of the skin tissues. In some cases, notably with “delicate” red varietals such as Pinot noir or Syrah, all or part of the grapes might be left uncrushed (called “whole berry”) to encourage the retention of fruity aromas through partial carbonic maceration.
Vegetarian Dishes
The earthy notes of Pinot Noir mean that the wine thrives when combined with vegetarian dishes. Apart from mushroom, which is the obvious choice, veggie risotto, butternut squash, Kumara, beetroot and Brussels sprouts make excellent pairs with Pinot Noir. Plus, herbs like oregano or vegetables like asparagus are also great alternatives. One thing is sure about vegetarian dishes with Pinot Noir: your options are plenty! And the bonus is that no animal products have been used in the wine making process, so our wine is safe for vegans.
Cheese
Goat cheese is probably the one type of cheese that matches best the flavour of Pinot Noir
Smoked cheeses add a welcoming contrast to the fruity notes of Pinot Noir
Semi-hard cheeses like Cheddar or Gouda pair great with Pinot Noir
Sheep’s milk cheeses make another brilliant option to side with Pinot Noir
Asian Cuisine
Pinot is incredibly versatile with Asian food.
Provided it is served coolish, Pinot Noir is irresistible with mildly spicy Asian dishes like briyani.
Although champagne is probably a better match with delicate Asian dishes like sashimi, cool Pinots are also very convincing with Cantonese dim sum, and even Japanese tempura and sushi.
The pairing possibilities are many and include:
* Biryani – chicken, lamb, seafood or vegetarian
* Cantonese roast goose and roast pork (otherwise known as char-siu) and roast pork belly
* Cantonese dim sum
* Cantonese dried liver and pork sausages and waxed duck
* Japanese Tempura and Teppanyaki
* Korean Beef Bulgogi
* Teochew or Chiuchow braised goose
* Tandoori Chicken and Lamb
* Xinjiang Roast Leg of Lambu
