What’s on your menu this Shrove Tuesday? Is it pancakes smothered in chocolate or perhaps something savoury? Once you’ve settled on your style of pancake, the next you need to ask yourself is what wine you will pair it with. The foodies and the wine lovers out there will know that pancakes and wine make a perfect pairing.
With many options to choose from, we’re here to help you find your perfect pancake and wine match.
Classic Lemon and Sugar
This classic pancake flavour balances the sweetness of sugar and the acidity of lemon perfectly so needs a well balanced wine to match.
As a rule dishes that are high in sugar should be matched with a wine that is equally as sweet or sweeter. That’s because sugar in food can mask the fruity characters in dry wines and make them seem unpleasantly acidic.
We love to pair our classic pancakes with a German Riesling. Labelled in terms of their sweetness, you want to be looking for something with Spätlese or Auslese on the bottle! Sweet Agnes would also work as a super sweet style of Riesling.
Mushroom and Spinach
The ultimate savoury pancake filling. Mushrooms and spinach are both rich in umami flavours. This increases the sensations of bitterness and acidity, while decreasing both sweetness and fruitiness.
Umami flavours are notoriously tricky to pair wine with. However, a good rule to follow is to steer clear of wines with high levels of tannin (identified as a drying sensation in the mouth) or oak character.
We’d recommend a Pinot Noir or a Grenache as both are more fruity than they are tannic.
If you prefer a white wine, a Gewürztraminer would also make an excellent match as the slight sweetness will counteract the effects of the umami.
Smothered in Chocolate
Rich, velvety and sweet, these pancaked smothered in chocolate spread are the perfect match for a Ruby Port.
A port deeply coloured and intensely fruity will make the perfect partner to your sticky, chocolatey pancakes.
American Stack
Crispy, salty bacon is a winner in most people’s books, and luckily it’s also a real wine-friendly flavour.
Salt in food helps soften the harder elements in wine, so if you’re often put off by strongly tannic wines try them with salty foods. A big punchy Barolo would be perfect with these pancakes.
Cheese and Ham
Most people find foods that are rich in fat, such as cheese, pair excellently with highly aromatic, acidic wines.
This bright, zesty Pouilly-Fume, Domaine de Bel Air Cuvée des Papillons, with its intense lemony flavours, would be a perfect option, and so would many other Sauvignon Blancs.
So what will the perfect pancake and wine pairing look like for you? Tweet us and let us know or you can tag us in your posts and stories on Instagram.
