St. Patrick’s Day Food & Wine
7 03 2008
With St. Patrick’s Day looming on the Emerald Isle our thoughts are turning to all things Irish. What is classic Irish cuisine? And what are the perfect wine matches for contemporary Celtic gastronomy?
There was a time when boiled bacon and cabbage was considered a traditional dish to be served on St. Patrick’s Day. Nowadays I imagine there are few homes serving up such fare. Nonetheless what would be the ideal accompaniment to this long-established dish? The bacon is quite salty, the cabbage bland and the parsley sauce rich. For me a classic Burgundian Chardonnay would be a great match, with plenty of body to stand up to the bacon and parsley sauce and slight sweetness to cut through the saltiness. Patrick Javillier’s Meursault les Tillets would be my choice.
For my ideal St. Patrick’s Day dinner, however, I would look more to contemporary Irish produce such as Dublin Bay prawns to start. There is nothing quite like the succulent texture of this tasty shellfish, simply pan-fried in butter and with a squeeze of lemon. A nice crisp bottle of Chablis would do nicely, such as the Domaine Billaud-Simon. For main course I would look to Ireland’s world famous beef. If entertaining a crowd I would serve a decent roast to share or for two there is nothing easier than a lean fillet steak. I always serve a red Bordeaux with beef, my current favourites are Chateau Petit Val St. Emilion or Berrys’ Own Pomerol.
I always like to round off a good meal with a cheese board and what to serve with cheese often sparks some debate – port or dessert wine? I am happy to serve either – Berrys’ William Pickering 20-year-old tawny is hard to beat for complexity of flavour. The intense nutty flavours go well with a variety of cheeses, from soft to blue. Or if I am in the mood for dessert wine I might be reaching for a bottle of Chateau de Malle Sauternes. Slainte!
Welcome to Berrys' Fine Wine Blog from 
I love the traditional boiled bacon and cabbage but I would never of thought of having Chardonnay with it…will have to try it out on some friends!
Whatever happened to Guinness!
While Dublin Bay prawns might seem the obvious choice to start off you St Patricks day feast, I would be inclined to veer westward and alter the menu to begin with Galway Bay’s world famous oysters. While it isn’t quite oyster season, being far too early in the year, this is really only due to our (I’m Irish) inherent laziness in fishing for oysters in the rough Atlantic ocean during the winter months. The oysters you will get at this time of year will be those plucked from a surprisingly warm ocean, thanks to the blessings of the Gulf Stream. As many will already be aware the perfect accompaniment to a platter of oysters is a delicate Billecart Salmon Champagne. The complex subtle floral tones of this Champagne are a perfect compliment to the soft, salty flavours of the Oyster.
For the main I feel it’s time to move from the contemporary and return to the traditional. I agree that bacon and cabbage has somewhat had it’s day but one dish that will never die is the traditional Guinness Stew with a relatively thick puff pastry hat. This should, as you would guess, be accompanied by a pint of Guinness. The stew will be relatively salty and the gentle carress of the Guinness will freshen the mouth, and stomach, and enable you to convince your already bulging belly to polish off the stew.
In general I don’t really go for desserts and after the meal above I doubt I could muster the courage to handle the Baileys Cheese cake that I would expect to be presented at this stage. Instead I would push the host for a Baileys coffee and a spoon to annoy any other guests present by insisting on trying the dessert from their plates.
To round off the meal, once retired to a soft comfy sofa, a glass of an 18 year old Jameson would be ideal. This is one time when my usual practice of adding a small splash of water would not be necessary as the soft palate of the whiskey is such that any softening with water would mean that it might just pass my lips without a true appreciation of it’s depth and disguised intensity.
Now that’s a St Patricks day feast of which any Irish man or woman would be proud.
Gareth,
What a wonderful feast you outlined for your St. Patricks Day celebrations! I hope it turned out exactly as planned. Your Guinness Stew sounds delicious and I agree it’s hard to beat oysters from Galway Bay, perhaps with a nice chilled glass of Chablis.