Can You Pair Sparkling Wine With Cottage Pie?

A classic English dish with a wonderful English Rosé, on a lovely Sunday afternoon, what could be better than that?

When looking for English Sparkling Wine, you can’t really go wrong with a good vintage, the Sparkling Wine industry in England has been on an upwards trajectory for quite a few years now by creating outstanding Sparkling Wines, with no sign of slowing down, one great example of an English Sparkling Rosé is from Woodchurch in Kent.

What is the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie?

The dish received the name Cottage Pie sometime before 1791 and in 1854 someone started calling it Shepherds Pie, at the time the dish was the same, no matter what you called it, nowadays, it’s considered a Cottage Pie when you use beef as the meat ingredient and a Shepherd’s Pie if you use lamb or mutton.

During the times of 1588 and 1593, when the potato was introduced to England the word ‘cottage’ could be used to refer to a meat pie, and as many of the lower class would live in cottages, it at some point make the connection of ‘cottage pie’.

There is also a French name for this dish, ‘Hachis Parmentier’, Hachis translates to mince but also means anything finely chopped and ‘Parmentier’ is in honour of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who was a ‘vocal promoter of the potato as a food source for humans in France’ during the 18th century.

The English Sparkling Wine

Woodchurch Estate was Established in 2009 and is based in Kent, in the picturesque village of Woodchurch, they manage their vines by hand throughout the year to make sure they deliver the best quality English Sparkling Wines.

Woodchurch Wine Estate – Sparkling Rosé 2017 – Tasting Notes

Aroma 👃 “Red berries, red berry skins, natural spices, red rose petals and violets on the aroma.”

Flavour 👅 “Dryer red berries, red roses, raspberries, strawberries and more things red on the palate.”

This English Sparkling Wine Won a Silver Medal in the Dessert Category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2021. Although this wine won in the dessert category, this pairing goes to show how versatile the wine is.

Cottage Pie and Sparkling Wine Pairing

Pairing Notes – “The red berries from the Sparkling Wine are made sweeter, combining with the Creamy mash potatoes enhancing the dish with red berries without compromising the meaty flavours from the beef.”

Infomation Credit: Wikipedia

Image Credit: English Flag