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.

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.