Aged Serra cheese
Structure and acidity carry a rich sheep's cheese.
Our editors write the food pairings for every bottle we review. Grouped by kind of food, the Touriga Nacional pairings come out like this, most frequent first. Each card names the bottle, so you can read the full tasting note before you cook.
143 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with cheese
Aged Stilton
Only the greatest blue cheese matches its intensity.
Aged Serra da Estrela cheese
The cheese's salt tames the grip and lets the cocoa note through.
Queijo Serra da Estrela curado
The cured ewe's milk cheese is salty enough to soften the structure of a young bottle.
Aged hard cheese
High tannin needs the fat of a well-aged cheese.
Aged sheep's cheese
Firm tannin needs the richness of a mature cheese.
99 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with desserts and sweets
Dark 70 percent chocolate torte
Bitter cocoa meets the wine's cassis and liquorice for a rich after-dinner match.
Dark chocolate
Liquorice and cocoa.
Dark chocolate torte
The barrel-given cocoa note runs alongside the dessert instead of clashing with it.
Bitter chocolate
The wine's density and dark fruit carry high-cacao chocolate.
74 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with beef and red meat
Grilled beef
Fine tannins carry red meat.
Grilled entrecôte with sea salt
Simple charred beef lets the fine tannin and stony freshness do the work.
Roast beef
The dry finish handles rare red meat.
Dry-aged côte de boeuf
Firm polished tannins and 14.5 percent alcohol need a cut with real fat and char.
69 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with lamb
Roast lamb
Firm tannins and herbs frame roast lamb.
Cabrito assado da Serra da Estrela
Roast kid from the mountains above the estate has the fat and herb crust to meet the wine's firm tannin.
Grilled lamb chops
Lamb fat and char take the firm tannin off the wine.
Slow-roasted lamb
A classic pairing for a structured Alentejo red.
Grilled lamb
Ripe fruit with lamb.
62 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with game
Wild boar stew
Gamey richness meets the wine's dark fruit and spice.
Roast venison
The firm tannins frame gamey meat the way the wine ages around its fruit.
Roast partridge
Game bird and the wine's resinous pine note are a Dão pairing of long standing.
Hare civet
Tertiary notes and dried nuts belong with long-cooked game.
Venison with red wine jus
A powerful red for game in a rich sauce.
Grilled quail
Aromatic Touriga Nacional suits delicate grilled game birds.
53 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with pork
Leitão da Bairrada
The suckling pig's crackling and fat are met by two years of barrel tannin.
Leitão à Bairrada
Baga is Bairrada's grape and the suckling pig's crackling is its traditional foil; the tannin cuts the fat.
Alentejo black pork secretos
Full body and high tannin match a rich cut of pork.
Grilled Alentejo black pork secretos
Full body and firm tannin stand up to the char and fat.
Grilled sausages
Ripe fruit with grilled pork.
28 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with charcuterie and cured meats
Cured cheese
The persistent finish keeps up with a strong cheese.
Chouriço and pepper stew
Black pepper in the wine repeats in the dish and the acidity keeps it fresh.
Grilled chorizo and black pudding
A robust red for smoky, rich charcuterie.
Spicy chorizo skewers
Red-berry register handles paprika spice; racy acidity refreshes between bites.
Alentejo charcuterie
High acidity cuts through cured meats.
20 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with chicken and white meat
Roast poultry
Silky red fruit suits roast chicken or duck.
Roast chicken
Brioche and light toast give enough body for a simple roast bird.
Quinta da Falorca Espumante Blanc de Noir Bruto Grande Reserva →
Roast chicken with piri-piri
The wine's freshness resets the palate between bites of chilli-brushed skin.
Herb-roasted chicken
Bright acidity and medium body work with poultry.
14 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with fish
Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa
Fresh acidity lifts the salt cod and potato.
Fried salt cod cakes
The bubble scrubs the fry oil and the low 11 percent alcohol keeps it drinkable.
Salt cod fritters
The bubble and acid scrub the oil off pastéis de bacalhau.
Quinta da Falorca Espumante Blanc de Noir Bruto Grande Reserva →
Fried fish (peixinhos da horta)
Bubbles and acidity suit fried food.
13 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with mushrooms and truffle
Dark chocolate truffle
Cocoa against profound black fruit.
Dark chocolate truffles
Cocoa on the wine's liquorice and dark fruit.
Mushroom rice with wild boletus
Serra da Estrela boletus and the wine's earthy truffle register are a direct match.
Mushroom risotto
Length rather than weight makes it work with an earthy vegetarian dish.
13 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with oysters and shellfish
Grilled prawns
Strawberry and citrus lift partner sweet grilled shellfish.
Oysters
Vibrant acidity and a fine bead are the standard case for raw shellfish.
Quinta da Falorca Espumante Blanc de Noir Bruto Grande Reserva →
Oysters and lemon
Direct-pressed red grapes give a sparkling wine with the acidity raw shellfish needs.
12 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with duck and goose
Duck confit
The violet-and-pine aromatics lift a heavy, salty bird.
Duck confit with braised cabbage
Savoury spice in the wine and the salt of the confit meet halfway.
Roast duck breast
Rich meat holds up to the wine's juicy tannin.
Roast duck with berry sauce
Rich meat and berries suit the fruit-forward style.
8 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with vegetables and salads
Roast beetroot and lentils
The cedar-leaf note and red-fruit core suit earthy vegetables.
Summer salads with berries
Watermelon and redcurrant register pair berry-and-leaf salads.
Tempura vegetables
Freshness and bubble cut fried batter cleanly.
Alentejo tomato salad
A refreshing match for a light vegetable dish.
7 Touriga Nacional pairings
Touriga Nacional with pasta, pizza and grains
Arroz de pato
Duck rice with its crisped chouriço top finds the balsamic and spice register in the nose.
Aged Serra da Estrela with walnut bread
The dried nut register in the wine is a literal echo of the bread.
Tomato pasta
Fresh acidity lifts a red sauce.
Taste it with the food in Porto and the Douro Valley
Food and wine tastings you can book in Douro Valley, the region with the most Touriga Nacional bottles on our pages that sells them.
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Where the bottles come from
Touriga Nacional pairings by region
- Dão (91 bottles), Dão food pairing
- Douro Valley (90 bottles), Douro Valley food pairing
- Alentejo (31 bottles), Alentejo food pairing
- Vinho Verde (1 bottle), Vinho Verde food pairing
Touriga Nacional food pairing, FAQ
What food goes with Touriga Nacional?
Across the 213 Touriga Nacional bottles on Cork & Curve, the dishes our editors pair most often are cheese, desserts and beef. For example, our page for Barca Velha from Douro Valley suggests "Aged Serra cheese": Structure and acidity carry a rich sheep's cheese.
What cheese goes with Touriga Nacional?
Cheeses our editors pair with Touriga Nacional bottles include Aged Serra cheese, Aged Stilton and Aged Serra da Estrela cheese.
What meat goes with Touriga Nacional?
Beef and red meat is the pairing that comes up most among meats for Touriga Nacional: Grilled beef, Grilled entrecôte with sea salt and Roast beef are among the dishes on our Touriga Nacional bottle pages.