From guava and sake to radicchio and marsala, sommeliers from restaurants on the 50 Best Discovery list name their most creative combos
Something happens when the perfect mouthful meets its perfect wine or cocktail match. It’s a chemical reaction when a sommelier and chef come together to create the ultimate flavour combination – an ideal environment when both the food and the drink combine to create something even more spectacular than the individual components. In short, magic.
Each chef at the restaurants on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and the wider 50 Best Discovery list works with a world-leading sommelier to ensure their exceptional plates come with exceptional pairings. Last year, 30 of the world’s best sommeliers gathered from four continents and 16 countries to showcase the art of wine and food pairing
After they created the first World’s Best Sommeliers’ Selection wine list, which you can use to build your ultimate wine cellar wish list, we asked them to share their favourite pairings from their restaurants, from radicchio and masala to hay-smoked char and quince tea.
Onion soup and madeira
Restaurant: Frantzén, Stockholm
No.30 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
The sweetness of madeira works in well with the natural sugars of caramelised onions
Chef: Björn Frantzén
Sommelier: André Bekker
Perfect pair: Onion soup built in layers with onion, liquorice and almond with Barbeito Rainwater 5 Year Old Reserva Madeira
André Bekker says: “The most unusual pairing that we have at Frantzén is with one of our signature dishes called ‘onion, liquorice and almond’. Basically it’s an onion soup built in layers. In the bottom of the bowl you’ll find a caramelised onion purée made from Roscoff onions with roasted Marcona almonds. We then add a velouté of Roscoff onions, which is topped with an almond-infused milk foam and finished off with cream flavoured with liquorice root, roasted almond oil and a sprinkle of liquorice powder.
“This dish is paired with a madeira from Barbeito - one of the smallest producers in Madeira. We use the Rainwater Reserva, which is made from 80% tinta negra and 20% verdelho and aged for five years. The sweetness from the onions combines nicely with sweetness from the wine while the nuttiness of the wine matches the nuttiness of the dish. All in all, a great combo.”
Seafood and an old riesling
Restaurant: The Jane, Antwerp
No.39 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
Jean-Trésor Vets pairs aged riesling with The Jane's signature seafood course
Chef: Nick Bril
Sommelier: Jean-Trésor Vets
Perfect pair: Oysters, tuna tartare, yuzu kosho and caviar with riesling
Jean-Trésor Vets says: “We offer a single course created by Nick Bril that has become our signature dish. It’s inspired by Nick’s roots in Zeeland, the Netherlands, and features an Irish Mór oyster, Balfegó tuna tartare, yuzu kosho, Oscietra Kaviari caviar and a sauce made from buttermilk, the oyster’s liquid and miso created from leftover bread. This course was challenging due to the combination of the seafood’s salinity and richness and the sauce’s body but we found that an aged (approximately 20-30 years old) riesling from the Mosel region, crafted with residual sugar complements the richness of the dish.
“To cleanse the palate after having tasted the residual sugar, we serve a little bit of Manzanilla Pasada Bota 100 from Equipo Navazos. As manzanilla sherry is extremely dry, it takes away all the sweetness of the wine you just tasted and also because it’s fun to drink!”
Sobrasada with callet
Restaurant: Mugaritz, Errenteria
No.31 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
Heritage Spanish callet is the perfect partner for Mugaritz's vegan sobrasada
Chef: Andoni Aduriz
Sommelier: Kristell Monot
Perfect pairing: Vegan sobrasada with 4 Kilos Vis-á-Vis
Kristell Monot says: “This is a tribute to Mallorca. Right before the 2022 season, we visited Mallorca for our local wine selection called Vis-á-Vis. During our tour to the 4 Kilos winery, we got inspired by an exquisite lunch in one of their oldest single vineyards of callet, a native red grape native that 4 Kilos has brought back to life. There, they served the most delicious sobrasada (a typical Mallorcan sausage with raw and cured pork) we had ever had.
“Back at Mugaritz, we explored a way of recreating it with vegan ingredients. We finally made a vegan sausage with lacto-fermented dried tomatoes and smoked nuts coated in a kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). We served it with an old, single vineyard callet, which was not only a Mallorcan tribute, but also an explosion of Mediterranean flavours that transports our guests to a Mediterranean forest, surrounded by an exhilarating garrigue bouquet of lavender, rosemary and olive notes.”
Champagne and wasabi with oysters
Restaurant: Jordnær, Copenhagen
No.57 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
The slight sweetness and minerality of riesling stands up to Jordnær's punchy broths
Chef: Eric Vildgaard
Sommelier: Tina Kragh Vildgaard
Perfect pairing: Seafood with champagne or riesling
Tina Kragh Vildgaard says: “We’re surrounded by water at our Scandinavian restaurant so we love to serve fish and shellfish. As a marriage to chef Eric’s amazing food, we love our champagne pairing. To quote Lily Bollinger: ‘I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.’
“Chef Eric has a dish where he combines horseradish, wasabi and oysters, and while champagne is a wonderful pair, I match it with a riesling kabinett from Mosel. The slight touch of sweetness together with the minerality makes fireworks in your mouth. The dish and wine are amazing alone but together they become even stronger, like a good marriage – like Tina and Eric.”
Guava sorbet with sake
Restaurant: Nusara, Bangkok
No.74 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
Nusara sommelier Tam Chaisiri Tassanakajohn looks to Japan for its sorbet pairing
Chef: Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn
Sommelier: Tam Chaisiri Tassanakajohn
Perfect pairing: Pink guava sorbet and roselle parfait with Richard Geoffroy’s Sake IWA 5
Tam Chaisiri Tassanakajohn of Nusara pairs the EWA 5 sake with a pink guava sorbet and roselle parfait.
“The sweetness in sake together with a touch of fermented rice aroma brings the juiciness all over your mouth.”
Radicchio salad and marsala
Restaurant: Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
No.10 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
Bruno Verjus' creative spin on radicchio salad works well with a traditional marsala
Chef: Bruno Verjus
Sommelier: Agnese Morandi
Perfect pair: ‘Dans l’Amer’ (lukewarm salad of different varieties of radicchio) with Marco De Bartoli Vecchio Samperi
Agnese Morandi says: “With this salad, I pair Marco De Bartoli Vecchio Samperi. This wine is from Marsala in Sicily, a legendary expression of the ‘perpetuum method’, where the barrels are never completely emptied before being topped up with the latest vintage.
“It’s a wine that lets us live the pre-Britannic tradition of the wine in Marsala. Grillo grapes from 15 different years, every year topped up with a younger wine. Brilliant acidity, walnut and complex oxidised notes that remind of the same notes of the lukewarm salad.”
Lentils and marsala
Restaurant: Reale, Castel di Sangro
No.16 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
Gianni Sinesi chooses a drier marsala to enhance the complexity of Reale's lentil dish
Chef: Niko Romito
Sommelier: Gianni Sinesi
Perfect pair: Lentils, hazelnuts and garlic with Francesco Intorcia Heritage - Dry Marsala Vergine 2004
Gianni Sinesi says: “The great complexity of this marsala amplifies the complexity of this dish. The intense nose with notes of dried fruits, citrus peel and caramel, balanced by a saline freshness on the palate perfectly accompany the flavour of the lentils, the delicate aroma of garlic and the rich and sweet tendency of the hazelnuts.
“The structure and the persistence of this marsala allow to embrace the evolution of the dish, bite after bite. The velvety texture of this also plays with the different structures present in this dish, with the lentils jelly, the hazelnut paste and al dente lentils.”
Char and quince tea
Restaurant: Memories, Wahlkreis Sarganserland
From the 50 Best Discovery list
Pairings don't have to be alcoholic: Memories opts for alpine tea for one course
Chef: Sven Wassmer
Sommelier: Amanda Wassmer-Bulgin
Perfect pair: Char from Val Lumezia with quince Alpine iced tea
Amanda Wassmer-Bulgin says: “The idea behind the drink was to recreate the molecules found in an oak-matured chardonnay. It’s based on a mountain herbal tea that’s picked and blended every season. The tea is brewed using water infused with pine needles. We then add smoked Woori tea, which we smoke using the same hay used to smoke the fish. It is sweetened with a reduction of wild quince juice and finished with a drop of a mountain herb tincture.”
Risotto and vernaccia
Restaurant: Le Calandre, Rubano
No.41 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023
This vintage vernaccia works in harmony with the saffron and liquorice notes of the risotto
Chef: Massimiliano Alajmo
Sommelier: Matteo Bernardi
Perfect pair: Risotto passi d’oro with Antico Gregori Vernaccia di Oristano Riserva DOC 1979
Matteo Bernardi says: “Something very interesting that we do in our restaurant is put together a risotto with saffron and liquorice powder and a Vernaccia di Oristano Riserva DOC 1979, the Antico Gregori from Contini.
“The oxidation of the vernaccia gives it an almond sensation that reminds us of the saffron, and the bitter finish reminds us of the liquorice roots. That’s why I think this wine is the liquid transposition of the plate.”
These acclaimed sommeliers were among the 30 from four continents and 16 countries who gathered to compile the first World’s Best Sommeliers’ Selection wine list, released in February 2024. As well as selecting wines for the list, they also provided extensive tasting notes and food pairing recommendations for each wine. You can find further inspiration on the World’s Best Sommeliers’ Selection.
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