Fine Dining at the White Swan

There is a definite art to matching wine with food. There are general rules that give indication of how to get a combination that ensures a sensible coupling. Sweet white wines such as rieslings and gewürztraminers work well with spicy food and full-bodied reds are a perfect match to slabs of steak and joints of lamb. However, not all food can be so easily categorised and the choice of wine with a course is vital to getting the most out of both. It doesn’t matter if the wine and the food are of a good quality. If they do not combine well together, it is awkward as having to spend time with two friends you know have little in common with each other.

Fortunately this was all taken care of at the White Swan pub near Chancery Lane. A five-course meal came with six glasses of wine and each course was preceded by a brief talk about the choice of the wine and the thinking of why it was paired with the food making its way to the table.

The starter of early spring salad, crayfish, broccoli and salad cream was paired with an English rose from Kent. The wine itself was very enjoyable, combining strawberries and elderberries to good effect. The problem was that it wasn’t a great match for the food which also suffered from a rather heavy-handed salad cream.

The same mismatch of wine and food plagued the next course of sea trout with tartare sauce, quail’s eggs and keta. Again, there was no problem with the wine itself, a sprightly sparkling wine from Ridgeview in Sussex. The issue came from the baffling idea to combine it with fish. The result was that the sparkling wine ran roughshod over the delicate flavours of the trout.

However, this was the last of awkward moments with much more cohesive pairings to be had in the courses that followed. The main course of roast wood pigeon, caramelised endive and sarlat potatoes even came with two wines, a red and a white, each vying for attention. In the end, the sensible choice of a New Zealand pinot noir made a fine accompaniment whilst the Australian chardonnay had merit as a wine but not as a good foil for the foul.

The cheese selection of Duddleswell along with a green tomato chutney was complimented by a sturdy Italian Sangiovese and the dessert of berry jelly with elderflower sorbet was exceedingly worthy of commendation. Combined with an Elysium Black Muscat, the dessert was proof that when food and wine find a resonance with one another, it can be a very splendid thing.

The White Swan
108 Fetter Lane
Holborn
EC4A 1ES

Tel: 020 7242 9696