British Pie Week Wine Matches

Photo taken from Sam Beckwith's photostream under the CCL

UPDATED: Prices updates during Pie Week 2015.

As many of you may know from your swollen bellies and general disgust towards the combination of lemon and sugar, yesterday was pancake day. Lucienne kindly provided the world with rum butter pancakes. I know it's not pancake day any more but try it, it's immense.

However, did you know that this years pancake day also fell in the middle of one of my favourite weeks of the year? It's Pie Week! I'll say that again but in capitals so it's much more effective, PIE WEEK!

This week celebrates the marriage of meat and gravy all confined with the comforts of pastry. If I had my way it would be pie week every week. Though to be honest I'd probably be dead by the end of the month. Gravy overdose and what not.

As a hurrah to a British favourite, I'll be taking a look at the classics and what to drink with them. This is a drinks blog after all. Duh!

Steak pie

Sitting pretty on many a pub menu is the classic steak pie. A hearty dish usually accompanied by a bit of spice is a great match for something from The Rhone, Southern France or Northern Spain.

I've gone for a pocket friendly Languedoc number. La Vielle Capitelle 2011 is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Carignan. Medium bodied with soft tannins, It's got a nice backbone of cassis and red fruits with a little bit of leathery spice and a slight herbaceous notes. Unpretentious and what's more in offer for £6.74 at Majestic. None of that 'multi-buy' malarky either!

Chicken pie

The famous Babs from the timeless film Chicken Run once stated, 'I don't want to be a pie, I don't like gravy'. You what I say to that? Tough! Get in the pastry, because chicken pie is brilliant!
Especially if it's paired with a nice oaky Chardonnay like this one.

Wither Hills Chardonnay is carefully oaked, giving it a soft, creamy texture whilst still retaining fresh citrus fruit and a zippy acidity. One of my personal favourites and only £10.25 from Sainsbury's.

Fruit pies

What would happen if someone had never thought of putting fruit between two fat layers of pastry? Well then life wouldn't be worth living. I couldn't live in a world where the only pies I could get my grubby little hands on were savoury.

Luckily some genius thought up the idea, and the beauty of life keeps on shining. Dramatic, but true.

Apple pie is quite possibly the best dessert going. It's a go to dish and never disappoints. Unless you get the proper cheapo ones. Yuck.

For a dessert like this, something like a Sauternes would be far too luscious. Instead, go for something a little bit less so, like a late harvest Riesling, or if you want to go more obscure, try a sweet sparkling wine. Yeah, I went there - bubbles are notoriously good with pastry.

The Blanquette de Limoux Methode Ancestrale from Antech is a low alcohol, light bodied sweet sparkling wine with a heavenly flavour of baked apples. It's a steal at only £9.95 from The Wine Society.

These are just a few basic suggestions of pie matches but there are loads of different pies out there so have a play around and GET IN THE KITCHEN AND MAKE ME SOME PIE!