White burgundy includes a multitude of wines from generic bourgogne blanc to the grandeur of a Bâtard-Montrachet or Corton-Charlemagne. But it’s the affordable wines that I’m focussing on in this post. What type of food do they pair with best? White burgundy - and that includes Chablis - is of course chardonnay but ranges from the lean minerality of Chablis (which I’ve dealt with in a separate post) to the sumptuous richness of a Meursault. The two things that will affect your food pairing is whether the wine is oaked and the age of the wine. Oh, and the price. It’s safe to assume, barring some Chablis, that most of the more expensive wines will have received some oak ageing. Oak-aged wines like Meursault can carry richer sauces or deeply savoury dishes like roast chicken - and even turkey. But to sum it up in one word you're on safe ground with dairy, especially cream and butter. Anything butteryFish cooked in butter (like sole meunière), a buttery roast chicken, buttery sauces like hollandaise or béarnaise, potted shrimps (a British delicacy - small brown shrimps preserved in spiced (generally mace and a touch of cayenne) butter). The richer the dish the fuller-bodied wine it can take.Creamy and even slightly cheesy saucesSo dishes like chicken pot pie, chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce or fish pie - or a cauliflower cheese (see below). Random discovery - bacon with a parsley sauce is magnificent with Meursault! Simply cooked fishMost fish pairs well with white burgundy but salmon - cooked simply rather than, say, given the teriyaki treatment is particularly good. That includes salmon fishcakesWine with salmon: 10 ways to serve salmon and the wines to pair with them Seared scallopsGood - as you can see here - when you have a classy white burgundy such as a Puligny-Montrachet (or cheaper Saint-Aubin) to show off CrabDelicate white crabmeat is lovely with a young unoaked or subtly oaked white burgundy. Brown crabmeat, particularly served baked with cheese is better with a richer or more mature one MushroomsThink button or wild mushrooms such as chanterelles rather than dark, richly flavoured porcini or portobello ones which tend to be better with a red burgundy. White burgundy is great matched with a mushroom risotto (but that’s back to that creamy texture again) or even mushrooms on toast. Cauliflower purée or soupCooked cauliflower with a degree of caramelisation really shows off a good white burgundy. So it’s perfect for a dish that includes cauliflower purée, a cauliflower soup or on-trend cauliflower steaks. Braised fennelThe ideal side to enhance the match with a good piece of fish. Fennel purée does the trick too Chalky cheesesLike Caerphilly and Chaource. White burgundy can be a great pairing with cheese provided it’s not too strong.
