Food and wine goes together like – well, like love and
marriage, which makes it perfect for the sophisticated stag party. There’s no
beer-swilling, football-song singing loutery here. This is about relaxing and
enjoying those last few days of freedom with your best and dearest friends.
Well, OK, maybe there’ll be a little
bit of singing. And possibly a cigar or two. But the point is, the stag party
doesn’t have to be a lager-and-sambuca-fuelled rampage to the nearest night
club. It can also be a convivial trip down memory lane, aided by a few choice
varietals.
1: Like Goes Best With Like
This is the oldest food and wine
pairing tip in the book. It’s the accepted wisdom that red wine goes with red
meat and white wine goes with white meat: and to an extent that’s true. In
fact, the same pairing trick can be used to match wine with vegetable only
dishes: dark rich colours require a red wine; lighter colours, or lots of
green, and a white is usually involved. The exception to this rule is very dark
green vegetables, like kale or spring cabbage, which can have a robust flavour
well matched to a red wine.
2: Tannin and Fruit Don’t Mix
All sorts of sauces have citrus
flavours, or fruit actually in them – from the capers and dill used to
make fish sauces to the citric components of Thai and Asian food. The citrus
notes in all of these dishes comes from a family of chemical compounds that
react badly with tannin, creating a distinct tinny taste on the palate. Both
the flavour of the wine and the flavour of the food will be ruined.
3: Wine and Cheese Will Often Please
Cheese is the traditional partner of
red wine. Within reason, you can safely mix most strongly flavoured cheeses
with most readily available reds: port and stilton, of course, is a very
well-known combination; and reds also go excellently with goat’s cheeses and
nutty brie. Dessert wine can also complement specific types of blue cheese –
Roquefort is top of this list – while some milder cheeses are good with a
medium white wine, or a sweet dessert wine again.
4: Wine and Indian Food
Indian food makes a great meal for a
stag party. It’s flavourful and colourful, and easy to share – encouraging
a feeling of getting together and really unwinding. It is also often served in
many small portions rather than single big ones, which makes it easier to drink
without filling up too quickly.
Wine and Indian food can mix very
well, provided the choice is made properly. Red wines should be avoided for the
reasons listed above – clean, fruity whites are the order of the day here.
5: Volume and Food
Watching the volume of drink at a
stag party isn’t always boring. Drinking slower means drinking for longer
– and that can result in a much more enjoyable (not to mention memorable)
night for all involved. As with tip number 4, the trick is to find food that
soaks up the alcohol without filling the stomach too much. Tapas can be great,
and makes the perfect excuse to get involved with some serious reds. You could
even try chilled Rioja, a favourite in Spain.
6: Wine for Snacks
In some cases, it’s best to forgo a
sit down meal in favour of a finger buffet or snacks. This has two immediate
advantages – one, everyone stands up, so they mingle more freely; and two,
by putting out a range of snacks and buffet nibbles, you effectively free up
the palate so you can serve any variety of wine you want.
A stag party these days often lasts
for a weekend. Why not try a wine and food night on the Friday; and go out on
the Saturday?
Lisa jane is a wine writer. For his own stag party, she used
wine cases from Telegraph wines and food from Waitrose.
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