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Asparagus and English Wine Pairings

Asparagus and English wine pairing is easy. Our 5 combos show you how.

Delicious as it is, asparagus and English wine pairing can be tricky. And it’s not just with English wine. Asparagus has a notorious reputation for being one of those foods that is hard to pair with any wine. This is because asparagus is a very vegetal vegetable. That chlorophyll-driven green flavour makes it taste fresh and delicious. But it’s also what clashes with a lot of wines. But don’t despair.

Find The Right English Wine To Pair With Asparagus

Cooked with the right ingredients asparagus and English wine pairing is easy. As a rule, floral wines like Bacchus are a good bet. Any of the crisp and aromatic English white Pinots, such as Pinot Gris would be perfect. English Sparkling Wine is also a great option, especially if you are adding cheese or charcuterie to the dish. That’s because the acidity of the wine perfectly complements the salty, creaminess of the cheese and meat. We’d recommend avoiding oak aged wines or sweet wines as the flavour profiles can clash with asparagus.

Find the right asparagus and English wine pairing and you’ll have a classic British delicious dish to bring to the table.

Asparagus is considered to be quintessentially English

There’s nothing scientific about this, but somehow asparagus just feels like a classic English dish. This might be because the season traditionally starts on St George’s Day (23^rd April). Maybe it’s a hangover from the 18^th century when the UK grew more asparagus than anyone else in the world. Or simply that it represents the taste of an English spring after months of winter greens. These days the world’s largest producer of asparagus is China. Britain doesn’t even feature in the top 10 asparagus producing countries. But don’t be fooled. Although you can now eat imported asparagus all year round, it won’t taste as good as British asparagus in season.

Asparagus Is Best Eaten Fresh

The UK growing season is only a couple of months long. Although it’s possible to buy asparagus all year round, outside the short UK season most of the produce in the UK will be from Peru or Mexico. These can be rather tasteless and sometimes stringy. This is because after asparagus is picked, the sugars decline and the spears turn fibrous and stringy. So, the fresher you can find asparagus, the better they will be. Farmers’ markets usually pick asparagus the morning of the market.

Top Tip: when you get your asparagus home, store it in the fridge in a glass of water, rather like a vase of flowers. Eat within 4 days for maximum flavour.

Five Great Asparagus and English Wine Pairings

We’ve picked five super simple, quick ways to serve asparagus and enjoy the taste of spring.

Naked Asparagus and soft-boiled egg

This is the simplest, quickest, and healthiest combination and makes a superb light lunch. Use a quail’s egg for bit sized snacks. Or layer up an open sandwich with smoked salmon on your favourite toasted bread.

Asparagus and English wine pairing: Grassy, aromatic English Bacchus.

Try:
New Hall Sigle Estate 2022 Bacchus – £16.50
Missing Gate 2021 Bacchus – £22.50

Asparagus And Morel With Black Garlic Toast

Asparagus and English Morel are only in season for a few months of the year which makes this dish even more delicious. We call this our butterfly dish as it’s gorgeous and fleeting.

Wine pairing: English Pinot Noir with earthy notes.

Try:
Charles Palmer 2019 Pinot Noir £23.00
Yotes Court Starters Orders 2022 Pinot Noir Reserve £24.00

Spring Vegetable Tempura

Purple sprouting broccoli and asparagus tempura with a spicy dipping sauce is the perfect start to a meal.

Asparagus and English wine pairing: English Pinot Blanc.

Try:
Stopham 2022 Pinot Blanc £16.95
Penn Croft 2021 Pinot Blanc £32.00

Pea and Asparagus Pasta

Make an Italian classic with Carleschi, the first people making pasta in the UK from 100% British ingredients. Use Old Winchester instead of Parmesan and a sprinkle of wild garlic flowers for a full on British Delicious experience.

Asparagus and English wine pairing: A crisp, unoaked English Chardonnay.

Try:
Terlingham 2021 Chardonnay £19.50
Artelium 2022 Chardonnay £25.00