Wine Sediments

With most wines - from Chardonnay to Sauvignon and from Cabernet to Shiraz I can easily find a dish to match but with Viognier the mind goes blank. If I take the alternative route - starting with the dish and selecting a wine to accompany, one of the last wines I would think of is a Viognier.

Having said that, as I discovered a few days ago, Viognier has a particular affinity with lightly spiced dishes. Cumin, Curry, Coriander and Ginger all work wonderfully with Viognier; as long as the dish is not overly spice ‘hot’.

Taking this as a base dishes such as Asian-style crab salads, cream or yoghurt based curried sauces

Honey has also been mentioned as a good match with Viognier; roasted meats with a honey glaze for example. You could also extend this to include other sweet glazes and stuffings based on sweet fruits (apricots for example). The Wine Lover’s Cookbook (Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com) provides recipes that fulfil these criteria - Duck Breasts with Honey, Ginger and Lavender and Lobster Salad with Apricot-Walnut Vinaigrette being just two that look very tasty.