Dry, bright and fruity red wines such as Dolcetto, Zinfandel, Valpolicella Classico, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Carménère pair best with Lamb Tagine.
Lamb Tagine is a Moroccan stew consisting of lamb, spices, fruits seeds/nuts, and vegetables such as onion, garlic, ginger, figs, prunes, apricots, and pomegranate. The bright notes of a fruity red wine complement the dried fruit in the Lamb Tagine. Meanwhile, you’ll often find herbal, spice and earthy notes in the wines mentioned above that underline the cinnamon, ginger and onions used in your Tagine.
What does Lamb Tagine Taste Like?
Lamb Tagine tastes savoury with bursts with sweetness. Along with incorporating chunks of Lamb, Lamb Tagine uses a lot of dried fruit and spices (paprika, ginger, cinnamon), which gives it that sweet and savoury contrast. Tagine (the stew) may also be made with chicken, goat, beef, or fish.
Best Wine with Lamb Tagine
Zinfandel & Lamb Tagine Pairing
A smoky and fruity medium-bodied Zinfandel is my favourite pairing with Lamb Tagine. Provided the Zinfandel isn’t overly syrupy and raging with alcohol, you’ll find that the blackberry, black cherry, and raspberry jam flavours complement the fruit used in the Tagine. Zinfandel is also notable for its spicy flavours, including cinnamon, raisin, toast and black pepper, which further indulges in the sweet and savoury contrast of Lamb Tagine.
Dolcetto & Lamb Tagine Pairing
Italian Dolcetto is a medium-bodied red wine with a dry bite and a refreshing fruity acidity that makes it perfect with Lamb Tagine. Notable flavours of black and red cherries dominate Dolcetto, along with prune, plum, strawberry and raspberry, which complements the dried fruits used in your Moroccan Lamb Tagine. With Dolcetto, you can also expect notes of earth, licorice, almond and smoke, which feed perfectly off the savoury side of the Lamb Tagine.
Nero D’Avola & Lamb Tagine Pairing
Nero d’Avola pairs well with Lamb Tagine as this inexpensive, dry red wine from Sicily is high in tannin with medium-high acidity. Known for its dried black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and plum flavours, the dry but fruity flavours of Nero D’Avola keeps you refreshed in between bites. Meanwhile, the lamb protein helps soften the tannin in Nero D’Avola, fleshing out its subtle notes of smoke, tar, tobacco, earth and black pepper.
Carménère & Lamb Tagine Pairing
A dusty Carménère smells like earth, blood and black pepper, which serves it well when complementing the savoury aspect of Lamb Tagine. You can also expect notes of earth, game, herbs, tar, soy sauce and spice that mingle their way into the Tagine with every bite.
Carménère isn’t all just dust and bones as you’ll also find refreshing notes of blackberries, black cherry and plum, which come off as refreshing as well as integrate wonderfully with the dried fruit in your Tagine.
With medium acidity and high tannin, Carménère is a silky red wine with rich and savoury flavours, followed up with a lovely fruitiness that makes it ideal with Lamb Tagine.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo & Lamb Tagine Pairing
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo pairs well with Lamb Tagine as this Italian red wine mirrors the savoury and sweet contrast of Lamb Tagine as the wine has its own balancing act of bitter and fruitiness going on.
Full-bodied with medium tannin and medium-low acidity, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo will wow you with its big, fat and rich flavours of blackberry, black cherry, blueberry and plum. On the flip side, you’ll note flavours of earth, leather, chocolate, olives, and violet that mingle perfectly with the deeper Lamb Tagine flavours.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is inexpensive and meant to be drunk young and fresh making it best for Lamb Tagine served in a casual setting.