18 February 2022 / Sue Tolson
Food pairing as a more formal thing, with specific wines matched with specific dishes, is a relatively recent phenomenon and more associated with fine dining and tasting menus. Thus, it’s quite daunting for many people, who may also associate it with snobbery and be overwhelmed by the choice of wines too. However, with a little knowledge and a few guidelines, it’s not as difficult as you think to find the right pair for your food, or indeed the right pair for your wine, if you’re focusing on the wine! And of course, as we no longer eat just local food, let’s consider what kind of international dishes you can pair with Hungarian wines.
First a few basic pairing tips to get you started:
1. Don’t just consider wine colour and flavours, but also the wine’s sweetness, acidity, tannins and alcohol.
2. You can pair food and wine in two ways - by opposing elements that create balance and tension or by similar characteristics that enhance each other.
3. Fatty foods benefit from acidity to cut through the fat and freshen your palate.
4. Sour, acidic foods make wines seem sweeter and softer, so you need plenty of acidity in your wine to achieve balance.
5. Salty foods also soften wines, making them seem fruitier and sweeter.
6. Fresh citrussy foods need similarly light, bright wines to reflect this.
7. Rich and powerful dishes need similarly powerful pairings.
8. Tannic red wines should be paired with foods that are high in protein, to help ‘mop up’ the drying tannic sensation.
9. Hot spicy food benefits from wines with a little sweetness, which helps damp down the heat, while lower alcohol is helpful too.
10. Sweet foods should be paired with sweeter wines, or they will make the wine taste dry and bitter.
So, bearing these tips in mind, let’s consider which Hungarian wines would pair well with some international dishes. Moving through the starters and the fresh and light to the exotic and hearty and finally the sweet…
You could sip a refreshing glass of bubbly from Etyek-Buda Wine District as an aperitif along with some blinis with caviar, some smoked salmon canapés or a grilled fish bites.
Light, citrussy, acidity-driven Ezerjó from Mór would make the perfect match for a salade niçoise from the south of France or how about a zingy, aromatic Irsai Olivér with a crisp green salad with grilled asparagus, or maybe a refreshingly dry rosé from Szekszárd Wine Discrict with a chilled Spanish gazpacho soup.
Heading for the sea, you could enjoy a minerally Furmint from Tokaj with fresh seafood or sushi, perhaps an elegantly floral Királyleányka with a seafood paella fragrant with saffron or a moreish bouillabaisse fish stew from Marseille complemented by a tangy, high acid Badacsony wine such as Kéknyelű. British seaside staple, fish and chips could find its match in a fresh Olaszrizling from around the shores of the Balaton, or even in a fröccs made from the variety, just like on the Balaton. A meaty, grilled tuna or swordfish steak would also work well with a chilled light, spicy Kadarka-based siller.
Sherry lovers should sample the complex, tangy flavours of a dry Szamorodni from Tokaj to enjoy along with some cured meats such as prosciutto or jamon, some mature cheese or olives.
Heading next to German-speaking lands and a steaming plate of sauerkraut or perhaps even to Poland to enjoy some bigos, these hearty dishes with high acidity and usually plenty of fatty sausages and meat might well meet their match in a structured, mineral Juhfark from Somló, perhaps even with a bit of age.
Lovers of Asian food can also find great pairings with Hungarian wines. Fragrant Thai curries or Pad Thai noodle dishes would be perfect with aromatic varieties such as Cserszegi Fűszeres, Zenit or Sárgamuskotály, whereas anything with a bit more spice, such as an Indian curry, would work well with something with a little sweetness, such as an off-dry Tramini, Hárslevelű or maybe a Szürkebarát from Badacsony. Best to stick with white and avoid anything with tannins, as this will just exacerbate any heat.
Let’s travel to the boot of Italy and maybe even down to Naples for a pizza. A Kékfrankos from Sopron Wine Discrict with its fresh acidity and bright fruit could complement the tomato and mozzarella-based treat, or maybe even a bowl of steaming pasta with a simple tomato sauce.
And now to some oozy comfort food like macaroni cheese, which could work well with one of Hungary’s higher acid whites like Furmint or fast-food staple, the hamburger, whose juicy meat patty is crying out for a more structured, spicy, black-fruited Kékfrankos from Szekszárd Wine Discrict or perhaps a lighter classic Bikavér.
Onto the meat course, maybe coq au vin with a spicy, light Kadarka or a rich, creamy beef stroganoff with a Bikavér superior from Eger. For the more serious meat eaters, the juicy bright fruit of a Villányi Franc would make the perfect complement for the tender pink meat of roast lamb or lamb chops or even the smoky flavours of barbecued meat. A succulent steak then simply has to be accompanied by one of Hungary’s big guns, a Bordeaux blend or perhaps a Cabernet Sauvignon from Villány Wine Discrict, the country’s most southerly wine district.
Of course, we mustn’t forget Hungary’s crown jewels, its sweet wines. A lighter, late-harvest Cirfandli from Pécs or even a sweet Szamorodni from Tokaj would be the perfect foil for a scrumptious cinnamon-spiced apple pie or a Portuguese custard tart, pasteis de nata, while a luscious Aszú pairs perfectly with some blue-veined stilton after the meal or even some foie gras before, bringing us full circle and back to the starters.
