Savennières pairs best with shellfish such as lobster, mussels and crab, along with white fish, salmon, pork tenderloin, turkey, chicken and veal. Made from the Chenin Blanc grape and hailing from the Loire Valley in France, Savennières is a full-bodied, dry white wine with notes of minerals, pear, white pepper, nuts, honey, earth, apples and spice. Lively with acidity and rich with flavour, Savennières will pair up with nearly anything except rich red meat dishes.
Best Food with Savennières
Pike and Savennières Pairing
Pike is not a popular eating fish as it is boney and difficult to prepare as you often only get 1/8th of boneless meat out of pike. However, it’s worth the effort! Pike is delicious as this is a predatory fish that eats other fish and this gives you a much more tastier flavour than with fish who root around the lake bottoms. You’ll want to look for Northern Pike with bright silver scales. Pike with brown scales have probably been swimming in stagnant water, which will give them a muddy flavour.
Up in cottage country, we bread our Pike before pan-frying it up, and here is where the acidity of Savennières comes in as it cuts through the breading to lift up the fresh Pike flavours. Apple, pear, pineapple and citrus notes all swoop in and provide plenty of refreshment, while the white pepper and herbal quality adds a touch of complexity, making this white wine an excellent wine pairing with Pike. Finally, I love how the mineral, chalk and earth flavours work with the Pike and complement the lake element notes of fresh fish.
Veal in a Mushroom Cream Sauce & Savennières Pairing
Savennières has an earthy and mineral quality that makes it excellent with the mushrooms found in this dish. Meanwhile, the high acidity of Savennières cuts through the creamy sauce and imparts a kiss of pear, pineapple, candied citrus and apple onto those savoury but delicate veal flavours.
Crab Legs & Savennières Pairing
Savennières is a delicious white wine to pair with Crab Legs, or any type of shellfish. The reason I’m giving it 4 out 5 stars here is that there are multiple ways of serving Crab Legs. A buttery Chardonnay is going to work much better with warm crab legs served in butter. Savennières will still work warm crab legs, but I find it better with crab legs served chilled.
The minerality of Savennières is what makes it such a treat with Crab Legs as it mirrors the ocean-kissed flavours of this sea-caught treat. Meanwhile, you get lovely apple, pear, and pineapple flavours that impart a refreshing twist upon the seafood.
Savennières is also relatively inexpensive, and this helps balance the books if you want to dine on crab legs and still enjoy a high-quality white wine.
Turkey & Savennières Pairing
Lots of people I talk to say that Turkey is a boring meat, however, I find it quite earthy, and the earthy and mineral flavours of Savennières complement this aspect well. While Savennières is a loud white wine, it won’t overpower the Turkey at all. Instead, Savennières provides just the right amount of refreshment with its apple and pear flavours, along with a touch of complexity with its notes of spice, herbs and white pepper. For these reasons, I find that Savennières and excellent white wine to pair with Turkey.
Asparagus & Savennières Pairing
Many claim that Asparagus is a difficult vegetable to pair wine with as it is a sharp veggie with very green flavours that can make tannin in wine taste harsh and metallic. Savennières is high in acidity, so it will always taste fresh beside Asparagus, plus you get lovely notes of herbs that complement the green flavours of Asparagus. On the nose of Savennières, you also get plenty of notes of white pepper, making it a fantastic white wine to pair up.
You’re more than likely to serve Asparagus as a side, so consider Savennières when you’re having Asparagus beside some shellfish, fresh lake caught fish, salmon, chicken, or pork tenderloin.
Producers of Savennières
There are many producers of Savennières from the Loire Valley of France. My favourites include Domaine de la Soucherie, Domaine du Closel, Nicolas Joly, and Damien Lareau.