Having a few friends round for Saturday night drinks? Any old excuse to put together a cracking cheese board to share with your mates over a glass of vino or two! But if you really want to take your nibbles and drinks to the next level, why not experiment with some biltong and wine pairings? Coming out of winter, it's still a bit on the chilly side which is an excellent excuse to crack open a bottle of wine. Meanwhile, with biltong's soft chew and delicate flavours, the two make for a perfect match to sip and snack away on throughout the evening.
Getting your pairings right takes a little bit of thought, as you want to make sure that the flavours of the wine and the biltong work together, rather than fighting for space on your tongue's palate. Get it right, though, and your taste buds are going to have one seriously enjoyable evening!
With so many styles of wine and so many flavours of Jerky Co biltong, there is plenty of opportunity for delicious biltong and wine pairings, so let's take a look at a few suggestions to help get you started.
Cabernet Sauvignon & Chilli Biltong
Cab Sav is one of the most popular styles of red wine. It has a rich palate of black fruits such as blackcurrent, black cherry and plum. It can also include adjunct flavours such as liquorice, mint, cedar and even eucalyptus. This makes it a full-bodied red wine that pairs well with chilli. Those who have a tolerance for chilli know how it can really crack open the flavours in your food, so nibbling on our chilli biltong with a glass of Cab Sav can really fill your mouth with lots of bold flavours.
Pinot Grigio & Sweet BBQ Biltong
Pinot Grigio is a delicate, slightly acidic white wine that is known to have lemon, lime, nectarine, pear and apple flavours. The predominantly citrus characteristics of this wine pair well with the sweetness of our sweet BBQ biltong as it fills in the sweetness gaps that citrus fruits are absent from.
Merlot & Fatty Truffle Biltong
Similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot's flavour characteristics are mostly made up of black fruits, however, it also includes herbal notes with undertones of vanilla and mocha. This gives it a lovely smooth and mellow flavour while still having a medium to full-bodied feel to it. This flavour profile goes really well with our exotic truffle fatty biltong for a warm, earthy flavour as its lack of acidity allows the dark fruit flavours in the wine to really cut through.
Chardonnay & Lime and Pepper Biltong
Our lime and pepper biltong is the new kid on the block, and it is just as delicious as it sounds. With earthy black pepper contrasted against zingy fresh lime, this biltong goes perfectly with a glass of crisp Chardonnay. Chardonnay is a classic white, usually containing notes of apple, pear, lemon, apricot and ginger. There are variations of Chardonnay (depending on where the grape is grown and the process in which it is made), but generally it is delicious full-bodied white, which goes perfectly with a strip of our zesty lime & pepper biltong.
Rosé & Garlic Biltong
Rosé gets its pink colour by allowing red grape skins to touch the wine during the fermentation process for just a short amount of time—usually just a couple of hours. This imparts just a small amount of their red colour and some flavour notes on the white wine to create this refreshing, fruity number. Rosé can vary quite a bit depending on the type of red grapes that are used in the process, but generally, this style of wine gives off flavours that include red fruits, melon, flowers and citrus with a finish of celery or rhubarb. These sweet and floral characteristics couple really well with garlic biltong. Garlic's bold and spicy flavour nicely compliments the fresh, citrus and fruity characteristics of the rosé, so together they please the sweet, bitter and sour zones of the tongue. Covering all these bases at once makes the tastebuds very happy!
Malbec & Extra Hot Biltong
Malbec is another red wine with a rich flavour profile that is made up primarily of dark fruits. Unlike many other red wines though, Malbec gets a lovely rich and smooth flavour by adding notes of chocolate, violet flowers, leather and even sweet tobacco depending on the ageing process. Just like how Cabernet Sauvignon can benefit by having its rich flavours cracked open by chilli, Malbec's even richer flavours will be further complimented by our extra hot chilli biltong. This is definitely the most intense and full-bodied of all wine and meat pairings you're likely to find.
Tempranillo & Smokey Biltong
Tempranillo is a a Spanish wine that incorporates contrasting earth and fruit flavours such as leather and cherry. These result in quite a savoury flavour that pairs well with the slight bitterness and earthiness of our smokey biltong. Not much sweetness going on in this combo, which makes it an ideal savoury pair before a meal.
Sauvignon Blanc & Traditional Biltong
A bit of an all-rounder, Sav Blanc gives the tongue a little of everything, including citrus fruits, grapefruit, passionfruit, peach and bell pepper. Additionally, if aged in an oak barrel it will also express vanilla and custard notes along with a riper tropical fruit profile. As it covers all bases, there isn't much room for any other particularly strong flavours so the best biltong to go with this one is good ol' traditional biltong. Its all-round meat flavour doesn't get in the way of the Sav Blanc, so it's the most complimentary among our range of biltong.
