Gazpacho

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold, raw soup of tomato, pepper, cucumber and garlic, sharpened with sherry vinegar and olive oil, so the dish is bracingly acidic and vegetal, and the wine must match that acidity or taste flat. Bone-dry, high-acid and savoury is the way, served well chilled. Avoid oak and tannin.

Pairs Perfectly

A Fino Sherry, Jerez, Spain. Its saline, bone-dry savour echoes the sherry vinegar in the soup, and the high acid keeps pace with the cold, sharp tomato.

Pairs Well

A Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, France. Green and racy, it bridges the pepper and cucumber and rides the vinegar.

A Verdejo, Rueda, Spain. Crisp, green and inexpensive, the Spanish answer to a Spanish dish.

Avoid

Oaked whites and tannic reds, which clash with the cold, sharp acidity.

Failing That

A Picpoul de Pinet, France.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, Italy.

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