Elevate Shrove Tuesday this March by trying one of these yummy English wine and pancake pairings

Classic lemon and sugar pancakes

If you’re a traditionalist and like to keep your pancakes simple with just a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkling of sugar, finding a wine to match the sweet and sour flavour isn’t that easy. Sweeter wines will work best but you need something to cope with the acidity of the lemon juice so an English sparkling wine will work well. We’d recommend something like Ambriel English Reserve – a demi-sec sparkling that tingles with lemon sherbet bubbles.  

Pancakes with syrup

Whether you choose golden or maple, the sticky sweetness of syrup needs a wine that is equally rich and honeyed therefore a dessert wine is the best option. Made from 100 per cent hand-picked Ortega, Denbies Noble Harvest is luscious and complex with dried apricot characters that stand up to the candied flavour of syrup.

Chocolate pancakes

Chocolate is usually paired with big, opulent reds, which are pretty much impossible to come by in cool-climate England. However, Bluebell Estate’s Ashdown Boundary Block 2018

is made from 100 per cent Merlot grapes. Having spent 14 months in old oak barrels, this medium-bodied wine has notes of soft black pepper, blueberries, blackberries and black cherry which match well with chocolate.

Pancakes with fresh strawberries

Strawberries and Champagne may well have a romantic ring but traditional brut styles of sparkling wine won’t actually match particularly well with strawberries – their sweetness will bring out the acidity in the drink. Instead try a sparkling rosé, particularly one with strawberry aromas such as Coates and Seely’s Rosé Non-Vintage.

Savoury pancakes

If you’re cooking up something like Crepe Savoyarde (ham and cheese), a lighter red like Pinot Noir or a smooth dry white wine such as a Pinot Blanc, work well. Try Bolney Estate Pinot Noir 2019 or Stopham Estate Pinot Blanc 2018.