Flatbread, flavouring profile

Flatbread, flavouring profile

Flatbread is rarely eaten on its own, so the wine follows what it carries: olive oil, za'atar, garlic and dips such as hummus or labneh, usually as part of a spread of small plates.

The compounds that matter. Toasted, charred wheat from a hot oven or griddle, which suits a wine with a little savoury depth. Olive oil and garlic butter, which want acidity. Za'atar, whose thyme and sour sumac bring herbal and citrus notes that a herbal, sharp white picks up.

What it demands of a wine. Fresh acidity, a herbal or citrus register and light to medium body. A wine with a touch of grip from skin contact handles a whole table of dips better than a neutral white. No heavy oak or tannin.

Seek. An orange wine, preferably a lightly macerated, coppery Pinot Grigio in the ramato style from Friuli, for example an Attems or a Vignai da Duline, whose gentle grip suits a spread of dips. Vidiano from Crete, apricot and herb scented with some texture, for za'atar and oil. Moschofilero from Mantinia, off dry, floral and sharp, for flatbread with labneh or honey. Grenache Blanc from the southern Rhône, round and nutty, for garlic butter.

Avoid

Tannic reds and heavily oaked whites, which clash with garlic, sumac and oil. Very neutral, featherweight whites, which vanish against a table of strong dips.

Three to reach for. Skin contact Pinot Grigio, ramato style, Friuli, Italy. Vidiano, Crete, Greece. Off dry Moschofilero, Mantinia, Greece.