The Game of the Season

28 October 2021 - Justin Sims

No, I’m not talking about Premier League Football or even Premiership Rugby come to that. I’m referring to the fact that autumn is officially the season for putting game back on the menu, and with game come the big-hitting wines to compliment.

Choosing Wines to Pair with Game

The primary considerations when selecting wines to partner with any food is to try and match the core components of the dish, like weight, spiciness and intensity of flavour, as closely as possible to the components in the wine.

In the case of game, it means focusing on wines that have more richness and textural weight in the mouth, slightly lower acidity in the case of white wines and moderate, ripe tannins in the case of reds but try to avoid too many earthy, bitter tannins. Noticeably oak-aged wines will be better-suited to the spicier and gamier dishes.

Let’s explore the two-legged and four-legged game options out there before setting our sights on a few wine recommendations.

With talk about a turkey shortage this Christmas, it could well be the year to consider some other great seasonal alternatives. Both Partridge and Pheasant are easy to find, especially after a large number of last year’s birds avoided the guns due to the lockdown measures imposed through most of the shooting season.

Easy to cook and with amazing flavours, both birds are low in fat and cholesterol, and partridges have the added advantage of containing no saturated fatty acids. With both birds being rich in iron and B vitamins, these are ideal for the more health-conscious.

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I’m a massive fan of carefully oaked whites from cooler zones, especially Chardonnay. One of the best value examples I’ve tasted most recently is the Montsablé Chardonnay from the Pays d’Oc region in southern France. Sourced from established hillside vineyards in the Limoux sub-region, the limestone soils impart a freshness that gives the wine a similar profile to that of the Maconnais in southern Burgundy.

A small component of the wine (20%) is aged in French oak for just three months, so the wood flavour is subtle, but the textural weight is enhanced. This wine is bang on for milder flavoured game like whole roasted partridge and pheasant, in place of chicken, or serve it alongside a warm partridge or pheasant salad with pan-fried breast meat.

There’s a bunch of other wild birds that can be hunted and served up, too, with varying strengths of gamey flavours. Three are wild ducks - from the most delicate in taste; these are Teal, Mallard and Wigeon. Wood Pigeons are plentiful and available all year round with a lovely wild flavour, while Woodcock, Snipe and Red Grouse are the strongest flavoured and have a narrower season similar to Pheasant and Partridge.

In the UK, the four-legged game comprises grey squirrel, wild rabbit, hare and venison. Squirrel is becoming more widely accepted, and with such an abundance around us, we should be encouraged to serve it up more. It has fine-textured, light-coloured meat with subtle nuances of berries and nuts.

Both wild rabbit and hare are also relatively plentiful and make excellent substitutes in stews, curries and pies as well as for pâtés. Rabbit is low in fat and stronger flavoured than chicken, while the hare is richer, gamier and darker coloured - closer in profile to venison.

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The Rhône valley produces red wines that are absolutely ideal with rich game dishes. In the southern Rhône, the combination of juicy Grenache with smoky Syrah forms the foundation for most of the blends this region is famed for.

We all know of Côtes du Rhône, which is a pretty broad generic appellation for the entire region but move up a notch to Côtes du Rhône Villages, and things get a lot more interesting. Domaine Boutinot’s ‘Les Coteaux’ Côtes du Rhône Villages is a clever blend in every sense of the word. They blend the best fruit sourced from selected growers from different named villages and bring it all together into a forward, expressive and well-balanced wine. There’s ripe bramble fruit in abundance with subtle warming spices, all of which lends itself perfectly with slow-cooked or braised squirrel and rabbit or with pan-fried Wood Pigeon breast. It also works with milder venison like Fallow Deer and Muntjac.

When it comes to venison, we have six species roaming wild, all of which are delicious in their own right but also distinctly different from one another. A high-quality source of complete protein, venison is also low in saturated fats. It is a rich source of zinc, iron and B vitamins, so another healthy alternative to farmed meats.

Muntjac is the mildest of all and most tender with a fabulous texture and the perfect intro to venison meat. Similarly, Fallow deer is relatively mild tasting with a subtle gaminess and makes an ideal intro to the category.

Chinese Water Deer has a lot of fat and is probably the easiest to cook as a result as the fat prevents the meat from drying out. It’s full of flavour but not gamey. Sika Deer has a similar texture to fallow, but the game flavour is more pronounced and, like Chinese Water Deer, is fattier too, which adds to the flavour and keeps the meat tender as it cooks.

Both Roe and Red Deer are the gamiest, with red being the most commonly eaten venison. Both require a little more care when cooking in order to avoid drying out.

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The red wines from southeast Spain, close to Valencia, are not only becoming more fashionable but deliver great value for money too. The little DO of Manchuela sits on one of Spain’s highest plateaux, meaning it’s relatively easy to work organically and biodynamically, thanks to the prevailing winds keeping the vineyards free of disease.

Bodegas Altolandon is a family domain with wife Rosalía in charge of winemaking. Their Mil Historias Bobal has always impressed me for its bright, silky concentrated fruit, flecked with floral and herb notes. For a wine that wears the ‘natural wine’ mantle, there’s not even a hint of funk. There’s enough power behind this wine to match up to richer and stronger game dishes like Jugged Hare or venison sausages and mash.

So, what next?

It’s encouraging to see more and more pubs and restaurants promoting our native game and getting ever more creative with it. Not only is it healthier than traditionally farmed meats, but it’s sustainable too. Go to www.eatgame.co.ukto learn more about game, where to source it, and some inspirational recipe ideas.