tastecard unveils the perfect wine choice matched to popular takeaway dishes

Following recent controversial news of a wine expert pairing a £100 bottle of Grand Cru Chablis with a classic Big Mac, tastecard is now revealing the best wine pairings for the UK’s most popular takeaway dishes including Drunken Noodles and Pepperoni Pizza.

When it comes to wine pairing, we know that white wine pairs well with fish and a deep red complements red meat. But what if you fancy something a little less à la carte and a little more à la takeaway? tastecard, the UK’s leading diners club, has partnered with wine connoisseur Georgie Fenn to showcase luxurious wine choices that match perfectly with the UK’s favourite takeaway dishes.

Are you a Thai lover? Then grab a glass of a Chenin Blanc from South Africa to wash down your delicious fried rice. This flavour profile brings sophistication to your supper. Or do you have a sweet tooth? Our wine expert advises to match sweet with sweet and some Demi-Sec Champagne will pair perfectly with any dish, like soft cookie dough… yum!

From a classic Pinot Noir to a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, each wine has been individually selected to complement the vibrancy, spiciness, and sometimes greasiness, of the nation’s favourite takeaways. Who said a Friday night pizza is not fine dining?

tastecard’s wine pairing chart is available to view on tastecard.co.uk/the-perfect-match for some last-minute inspiration before consumers complete a takeaway order on the app.

Wine expert, Georgie Fenn said, “Wine pairings shouldn’t be exclusive to fine dining. In fact, any gastronomic delight from comfort foods such as beans on toast to the most exquisite takeaway selection deserve the perfect wine pairing! In fact, I believe starting pairings at home, can give everyone the confidence to choose something a little different when they’re out and about. It’s the perfect place to experiment!”

Matt Turner (he/him), Founder and CEO of tastecard said, “The new tastecard wine pairing chart is bringing an extra touch of class to the dining at home experience by recommending wines to pair perfectly with all of our favourite takeaway dishes, ensuring our tastecard takeaway nights in are even more delicious than ever.”

Wondering what wine will go best with your favourite takeaway? tastecard and wine expert Georgie Fenn has created the perfect match so that you don’t have to:

Buttermilk Chicken Burger – Champagne
It’s almost an unspoken rule that anything slightly battered or buttered is the perfect pairing to champagne. Something about the high acidity and the effervescence cuts through the richness of the batter and ultimately, makes it feel almost healthy. For the ultimate refreshing pairing, choose a Blanc de Blancs alongside your American buttermilk chicken burger. Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay and as it is from the most Northern part of France, it makes it a cool climate and therefore very dry, very crisp and super refreshing. For the ultimate treat, try France’s favourite, a bottle of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.

Suggested restaurant: BRGR LDN

Chicken Tikka Masala – Chardonnay
A Chicken Tikka Masala, or anything similar such as a Korma, where the main ingredient is cream, pairs so well with chardonnay. But it’s important to choose the correct one! We’re not looking for fruity, we’re looking for the ultimate buttery nectar, like you get from California. While there are so many fantastic examples out there, ease yourself into this pairing with Dark Horse Chardonnay. It has seen the perfect amount of malolactic fermentation, giving it a beautiful balance of citrussy acidity, and then toasted buttery notes. It’s also super easy to come by which makes it a nice easy wine pairing.

Suggested restaurant: Aroma Indian

Drunken Noodles – Pinot Gris
Drunken noodles are the ultimate comfort food, and they require a huggable and delicious wine to go with them for the perfect night in. Where there’s a hint of spice, but ultimately, a lot of flavour, opt for something smooth like Pinot Gris from Alsace. Not a wine you see too much of on menus, but it’s as fine as they come. This white wine is opulent with notes of pear, honey and a slight spice.

Suggested restaurant: Beijing Noodles

Quarter Pounder Burger – Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine might not be your first port of call with a burger, but it should be. This indulgent dish can be made instantly boujee with the pulling of a cork from a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, ideally from California. At the end of the day, this is big American food, so it needs a big American wine to wash it down with. The perfect example of a juicy voluptuous Californian Cabernet Sauvignon is Duckhorn from Napa Valley, look for the 2016 vintage. If you’re saving money on supper, you may as well invest it into wine instead, right?

Suggested restaurant: Big Joe’s

Curry Chicken – Orange Wine
Caribbean food is always a taste sensation, so it’s important to pair it with a wine that reflects this vibrancy. Here, it would be a great opportunity to dabble with orange wines. If you don’t have too much experience in this colour wine, then you will be interested to know that they are made from white grapes where there has been skin contact. Usually with white wine the juice is just pressed from the grapes and the skins are scrapped. But in this instance, the skins hang around, giving the wine a unique and interesting texture that results in orange wine! Expect honeyed aromas to come from the glass and a similar intensity on the palate, they’re super powerful and will pair alongside Caribbean food like a match made in heaven.

Suggested restaurant: Cee Bee

Pepperoni Pizza – Amarone Italian Wine
It would be criminal to tuck into an Italian meal without an Italian wine and with so many magnificent Italian wines out there, what an opportunity you’ve given yourself. Throw the boat out a little and go for something that might start you on a wine adventure with no return. There is a viticulture heaven in Italy called Valpolicella where the supreme wine of love and romance was born, Amarone. It is made with grapes that are dried, and therefore it is concentrated, rich and decadent in all forms. It also has a wonderous acidity that could cut through any Pepperoni and leave you hankering for more.

Suggested restaurant: El Murrino

Hot Wings – Riesling
There’s something so addictive about hot wings, they’re just so tasty and go down a little too easily. Slow it down a little, make it an event by bringing some fine wine into the equation. Riesling has been having a moment for the last few years, a moment it’s deserved for a long time. There are many different styles of this magnificent grape, but with hot wings you want something slightly off dry. Look for labels that say ‘Riesling Kabinett’ from Germany. It is delightfully fragrant and often, quite low in alcohol too. If you’d like a more specific direction to go in, you can’t go wrong with Dr Loosen’s Rieslings.

Suggested restaurant: Tasty Feast

Cookie Dough – Demi-Sec Champagne
If you think there isn’t a wine for when you get round to desserts, think again. Sure, you could just finish what you’ve got open. But why not make your pudding the main event, and pair it with a wine to make it an extra special moment. Ultimately, you want to match sweet to sweet, which is where Demi-Sec Champagne comes in. Demi-Sec means half dry, which also means semi-sweet and just has a higher ‘dosage’ (amount of sugar added) to the champagne during the wine making process. There is actually a fantastic English demi-sec wine made by Nyetimber called Cuvee Cherie, you deserve it in your life.

Suggested restaurant: Love a Slice Desserts

Fried Rice – Chenin Blanc
Thai food is more often than not, on the sweet or spicy scale rather than being packed full of seasoning. This opens it up to a handful of wines, but with Thai fried rice in particular, look for a Chenin Blanc from South Africa. The flavour profile is usually slightly creamy with notes of vanilla, honey, peaches, and toasted almonds. This bouquet of aromatic flavours pairs beautifully alongside Thai food and will bring sophistication to your supper.

Suggested restaurant: My Thai

Chelow Kebab – Pinot Noir
When it comes to Persian pairings, think of a light-bodied and refreshing red like a Pinot Noir to complement the richness of the dish. Pinot Noir has this huge reputation, but it isn’t actually a huge wine, it’s often light and bouncy, even into old age, remarkable really. With Persian food, there are a lot of herbs to balance with and so a Pinot Noir from a delightfully cool climate such as somewhere in New Zealand will pair harmoniously and let the flavours really open up.

Suggested restaurant: Persian Palace

Tandoori Chicken Wings – Gewürztraminer
When there is a bit of spice present in a dish, it’s always good to keep acidity down a little, and choose a wine that’s a bit more on the slick side of things. You know those wines that coat your mouth with a comforting almost oiliness? A bottle that’s sure to pair well with Indian tandoori chicken wings would be a Gewürztraminer from Alsace. The name is also the name of the grape in this instance, it’s grown on steep slopes and brought to flawless ripeness by the perfect conditions the mountainous landscape creates. You can expect notes of rose water, tropical fruits and crushed chamomile from Gewürztraminer, the intensity harmonises perfectly with all the flavours you’ll find in Tandoori Chicken Wings.

Suggested restaurant: Shobhas Rasoi

Sausage and Egg Cheese Muffin – Provençal Rosé
There is an array of fun Canadian options from Tim Hortons and the beauty of them is in their simplicity. This gives you a bit of free rein when it comes to wine pairings. However, wine should be emotive and, in this instance, bring a bit of sunshine to your Sausage and Egg Cheese Muffin with a glass of Provençal rosé. For some reason, a Grenache-based pale rose just makes us feel summery, no matter what the weather is doing outside. A strong favourite of this year is Le Bijou by Sophie Valrose, so refreshing.

Suggested restaurant: Tim Horton