Spanish wines with food: Five unexpectedly great pairings

Spain has so many much-loved culinary traditions that it can be easy to fall into the trap of pigeonholing Spanish food and wine pairings. But, as they say, one must learn the rules like a lawyer in order to break them like an artist.

Spanish wine and food have traditionally been sentenced to the adage ‘what grows together, goes together’ – think Sherry with sardines, Rioja with pork or Ribera del Duero with lamb.

However, the wines of Spain often get overlooked when pairing with dishes outside the country’s borders. This is a shame, because they can comfortably sit at the table with cuisines from all corners of the planet.

Here, Spanish wine is going to rack up some frequent-flier miles as it goes on a journey to meet new friends and create pairing memories that will make heads turn at the taberna.

Unlikely companions: Five delicious food pairings for Spanish wine

Pairings: Jonathan Eichholz MS | Wine notes and scores: Ines Salpico

Vino de Pasto with burgers

I’ve been enamoured with vino de pasto (unfortified wine from Jerez) since I had my first sip last October. An inspiring and trailblazing group of young winemakers are bringing the spotlight back to Jerez, and its province of Cádiz.

The Palomino variety on its own brings elements of macadamia nuts, dried flat peaches and preserved lemons. These are white wines that are magic with meat. I’m a huge fan of the ‘smashburger’ craze, where burger patties are pressed, or smashed, flat on to a griddle to maximise the flavour-creating Maillard reaction.

The Maillard elements of a crispy seared patty are perfectly matched by Palomino’s nuttiness. The soft sweetness of the bun meets the dried stone fruit and citrus zip of the Andalucían coastline. Next time you’re invited to a cookout, bring a bottle from Bodega de Forlong, Willy Pérez (of Bodegas Luis Pérez) or Meridiano Perdido and watch the crowd go wild.

De la Riva, Vino de Pasto Macharnudo, Jerez, Andalucía 2021 | 96pts

Where to buy: £85 Burnett & Herbert, The Sourcing Table

Saline and vibrant, this unfortified Palomino wine spends 10 months under a layer of flor developing a soft unctuosity that’s balanced by chalky minerality in a beautiful interplay of textures. The tension between glossy ripe orchard fruit and finely etched citrus peel is more vivid on the back-palate, which is a prelude to a long and mouthwatering finish with a juicy tail of lemonade and red apple. Drink 2025-2029. Alcohol 12%.

Albariño with sushi

I am never not drinking Albariño – it’s one of those varieties that always finds its way into my wine fridge. Similarly, one of the things that is always on my dinner table on a busy weekday is a casual tray of sushi.

Here, we take the principle of ‘seaside wine with seaside food’ and dial it up a notch. The beauty is in the texture of the pairings. My go-to sushi is simple nigiri featuring an array of fish. Sushi rice is delicious – its sweetness and tang accentuate the flavours coming from the traditional lees ageing of Albariños from the Rías Baixas DO.

The ‘icing on the cake’ (or sushi) bonus here is the florality of the grape variety, which adds layers of flavour to the salinity of the fish. Lean towards the wines of Do Ferreiro, Nanclares y Prieto and Rodrigo Méndez to take your dinner to the next level.

Nanclares y Prieto, Alberto Nanclares Albariño, Rías Baixas, Galicia 2022 | 94pts

Where to buy: £35-£39 Furanxo, Hedonism, The Sourcing Table

Moreish and nuanced with intense yellow citrus fruits cloaked in linden, dry hay and wild flowers. Top notes of rose petals and jasmine. Elegant unctuosity on the mid-palate with the weight and richness of honeyglazed almonds and cashews filling the mouth. This nutty generosity is offset by an oyster-shell salinity. Drink 2025-2030. Alc 12%.

Rioja rosado with pasta all’amatriciana

As they say, ‘rosé all day’, but to me it’s ‘rosado all year round’, paired with everyday dishes. Pasta brings joy to life, especially when it involves the holy trinity of tomato, guanciale and Pecorino cheese.

Rosés from Spain’s iconic winemaking region lean on the power of Tempranillo and the generosity of Garnacha. While you twirl your spaghetti or put a fork in your rigatoni, the red fruit and green herbs of these varieties accentuate the brightness of tomatoes, while the tension of rosado wines cleanses the palate of the weight of cured meat and cheese.

Beronia, CVNE’s Contino and this Jabalina from Jade Gross are currently in my rosado rotation.

Jade Gross, Jabalina, Rioja 2023 | 92pts

Where to buy: £59.95 AG Wines

Expressive and bright, this shows crunchy red cherry, pomegranate and redcurrant, a twist of pink grapefruit and a herbal touch of aniseed. The playful finish dances between sweetness and sourness with a long tail of rhubarb, gooseberry and wild strawberries. Lively acidity throughout. 100% Tempranillo. Drink 2025-2027. Alc 13%.

Xarelᐧlo with palak paneer

I love it when classic grape varieties are reinterpreted into modern styles. Xarelᐧlo as a single-varietal, still white wine is quite new to Catalonia. As a variety, it beautifully balances fragrant herbs, jasmine tea and tropical fruit. Producers add weight with time on the lees and the use of oak.

Indian food is misunderstood as a wine pairing and Xarelᐧlo is here to fix that. Palak paneer is a heartwarming north Indian dish of spinach, paneer cheese and a symphony of spices. In this pairing, the green edges of Xarelᐧlo hand the microphone to the spinach, fenugreek and turmeric.

Well-made Xarelᐧlo has the weight from its lees and oak to hold its own and complement the flavours of the dish. Next time you order Indian, pop open something from Enric Soler, Cisteller or Parés Baltà.

Cisteller, Xarelᐧlo, Penedès, Catalonia 2023 | 93pts

Where to buy: £32.50 Decántalo†

An unctuous and round Xarelᐧlo, with a generous core of frangipane, cooked quince and apple pie topped with wild fennel, lemon curd and tangerine peel. Fragrant notes of hay, camomile and verbena. Weighty mid-palate, generously filled with loquat and nectarine. Veil of fennel seed and star anise with a thin honey glaze. Organic. Drink 2025-2032. Alc 12%.

Sierra de Gredos Garnacha with char siu pork

Grenache is such a misunderstood variety, most often associated with the Mediterranean sunshine that ripens it into a bombastic red-fruited glass with a kiss of garrigue spice. Spain, however, contains one of the world’s special terroirs for this variety: Sierra de Gredos.

Here, west of Madrid, Garnacha lives at 600m-1,200m elevation on granite mountains, creating a savoury, snappy and floral wine that retains remarkable brightness. One of my favourite dishes to pair here (it’s also a guilty pleasure) is char siu, a Cantonese roast pork delicacy leavened with the aromatics of five spice and laden with the depth of hoisin.

The elevation-driven Garnacha cuts through the fat of the pork but extends the dance of sultry aromatics across the palate. Some of my favourite producers are Jiménez-Landi, Marañones and Daniel Ramos (look out for the Zerberos wines).

Daniel Ramos, Zerberos Los Chorrancos El Tiemblo, Cebreros, Gredos 2019 | 94pts

Where to buy: £38.75 (2016) The Vine Whisperer

Fascinating expression of Garnacha, with chiselled, glossy tannins supporting the ripe cherry, stewed plum and red apple fruit. The alcohol is superbly (dangerously!) integrated and the wine flows seamlessly, carried by an earthy layer of petrichor, dried Parma violets and shitake mushrooms. Fragrant seam of wild oregano, basil and sage. Drink 2025-2028. Alc 15%.

Jonathan Eichholz MS is an awarded sommelier based in New York, where he runs wine education, training and consultancy company First Growth Inc.

†Ex-UK stockist: for UK consumers purchasing from outside the UK, please note that bottle prices shown include stockists’ shipping fees, duty and taxes where known at time of writing. Goods could still be subject to additional charges on delivery or T&Cs – check with the retailer concerned before purchasing.

Related articles

• In pursuit of balance: How wine is redefining tourism in Spain
• No DO – The Spanish wines pushing the boundaries of tradition
• Ribeira Sacra rising: Heroic winemaking in the mountainous heart of Galicia