I’ve been getting terribly bored of lunch recently. It’s difficult to be inventive all the time, especially when you’re preparing food to bring to work, so I tried out Niall’s carrot and leek soup last week (I used real chicken stock for my attempt), not only because I wanted something a bit different, or because I can hardly feel my face these days it’s so cold, but I hadn’t made an authentic home-made soup before so I was keen to give it a go.

Me mammy always made the best soup, so I was perhaps somewhat lazy in the past. Unfortunately, I’m about 250 miles from where she is, so I have to make my own now. Although I must say, it turned out really well, so good job again, Niall

There’s no harm in opening a bottle of wine if this is part of your evening meal. With the sweetness of the carrots, I’m looking at a medium-dry German Riesling. Please don’t be put off by the Blue Nuns of this world. Germany is arguably the world’s best white wine producing nation, and that includes Rieslings in the ‘not so sickly sweet’ bracket.

I love the Lingenfelder Bird Label Riesling from Pfalz. It’s heightened acidity makes it very versatile with an array of foods, including this lovely carrot and leek soup.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

Did you know that the oldest living animal ever discovered was a clam? So claim researchers of Bangor University. The clam, nicknamed Ming, was caught off the coast of Iceland in 2007 and was believed to be over 400 years old. Mind you, they maybe should have left it where they found it, as it died not long afterwards.

So that’s your random trivia for the day, and here’s our favourite, seafood-mad chef, Niall, to give us the low-down on how to get the best out of clams in the kitchen.

When matching wine and shell fish, I tend to keep it as simple as possible, using an elegant wine that won’t overpower. Personally for me, the Erbeldinger Burgunder Pinot Blanc is perfect. With no oak contact, there’s real purity in this wine, with very delicate fruit flavours on show and a touch of minerality.

If you prefer your clams raw, Chenin Blanc works well, or my favourite match for oysters will also work a charm – Les Grands Presbyteres Muscadet.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

Originating in Peru, Ceviche is a citrus-marinated seafood dish. It reminds me of my first night in Fiji when I was there in 2008. After spending 6 weeks in New Zealand I was ready for a new culinary experience, so we went out for a meal and I did my usual trick of pointing to the thing on the menu I knew least about – Kakoda.

As it turns out, Kakoda is one of the national dishes of Fiji and it’s very like Ceviche, in that it also consists of fresh raw fish and crunchy vegetables, the main difference with the Fijian version being the addition of coconut milk. A good Kakoda recipe can be found here.

Don’t be put off by raw fish – it’s delicious and healthy. Just make sure it’s fresh!

Imagine yourself in a few months time sitting outside on a warm summers evening with a bowl of Ceviche and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Sounds like bliss, eh? Especially after the weather we’ve been getting recently.

Ceviche cries out for a good white wine to partner it. It’s all about those fresh, zesty, almost Caribbean flavours, and a Sauvignon Blanc with that racy acidity is an excellent choice. If you’re not too heavy handed with the chilli and the citrus fruits (just as in the video), then Chablis would be the perfect choice.

Domaine du Chateau d’Eau Sauvignon Blanc (€9.99 for the month of January)

Jean-Marc Brocard Petit Chablis (€15.99)

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

Sure enough, quick pasta dishes came to the rescue last month. As the wine trade went into overdrive, time was at a premium so penne pasta with prawns and feta made it onto the menu a few times. With minimal preparation and cooking time, it doesn’t get much easier than this.

Prawns, garlic, fresh parsley, pasta and feta cheese. There’s nothing complex here, so a reasonably delicate white wine will do. An unoaked Chardonnay or a restrained Sauvignon Blanc would go well with the prawns, but one that is slightly more difficult to get hold of is the Argentine Torrontés, which would be a great match for the feta.

The obvious choice for me is the utterly delicious white blend of Torrontés and Chardonnay from Mendoza’s Tesoro de los Andes. Light, refreshing and very elegant, you can’t miss that touch of spice, which would also make it a good partner for a mild curry, and the salivating flavours of orange blossom and elderflower.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

The ultimate breakfast treat, or for something a little different on the dessert front this Christmas, pancakes with caramelised fruit is something that you’ll practice once and always keep in your armoury. And let’s face it, those are always the best ones.

While I say festive, there is of course no reason why you can’t try this at any other time of the year. Just omit the Santa hat.

I always see dessert wines as the ultimate indulgence when it comes to wine, and there’s never a better time to indulge than at Christmas. Although it must be said, despite what some may believe, alcoholic beverages are not on the breakfast menu in the Kane household.

So if you fancy trying this one for supper, then check out our new award winning Sauternes. It really is fabulous drinking at the price. You’ll find many of the sweet flavours from the caramelised fruit in this botrytised Semillon, and if you have a little left over at the end, indulge yourself further with some blue cheese. It’s very versatile with a variety of desserts and cheeses.

Ooooh, I’m getting excited already at the thought of it…

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

You can pick up a jar of pesto in the supermarket, but of course Niall would say (and rightly so) that you’ll never beat one that you can make yourself at home. If you have a good food processor, you’re landed. It can be prepared when you have time and frozen in batches if that makes it easier. This link will take you to the Look and Taste pesto video, which is well worth a watch if you do intend making it yourself.

A strong red may not be best suited to pesto and chicken, so a Rioja on the slightly lighter side of the scale should bring out the best in this dish. The Valliciergo Tempranillo is a youthful, easy drinking red with a hint of spice. Stainless steel tanks were used during the wine making process to ensure those red fruit flavours came to the fore.

For a good white wine match, I would tend to edge towards New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to compliment the herbal flavours of the dish. Check out the Tussock and The Ned Sauvignon Blanc, still with 15% off indicated prices until the New Year.

Oh yes, you heard right. Herb encrusted lamb chops. If I wasn’t so conscious about little lambs getting the chop (excuse the pun), my own diet or my wallet (and in that order), I’d be sitting down to lamb chops every night of the week. But no, this is a lovely little treat for the weekend that needs to be appreciated and savoured with a nice bottle of red.

A seriously delicious alternative to plain lamb chops, you really don’t have to be Niall Harbison or a Jamie Oliver to do this well.

Lamb is traditionally well paired with Old World Cabernet Sauvignon, and in this case, the ingredients of the food will match incredibly well with a food friendly Bordeaux. There are a lot of obvious herbaceous and vegetal flavours here, and if you crack it when it comes to your wine choice, you can expect celestial bliss between the two.

An inexpensive wine to match with a host of dishes, the Ginestet Bordeaux Classique Rouge, is a great option, and if you really want to up the game, check out Ginestet’s award-winning Margaux, which was recently reviewed by wine writer Paul Kiernan (click here to view).

Naturally, there’s a huge range of reds that will go magically with lamb chops. You could travel to the Rhône for a Crozes Hermitage or a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or forget about France altogether (which I’ll totally understand after last week’s football match) and head for Chile. Santa Alicia’s Malbec sets the bar in terms of quality for other wines available in Ireland at around the same price.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

One of the greatest gifts in life is food and wine – separately, but even more so, together. And it doesn’t have to be posh food. Fish and chips, beans and spam or a Big Mac – there’s a ton of inexpensive food friendly wines out there that will go with almost anything. I have a glass of wine with my meal every night, and believe me, it’s never caviar or lobster on the menu.

And so, a Cajun chicken burger, the food of a common man such as myself… who says I can’t enjoy a glass of wine with it?

If you want to be a tad more attentive to your choice of wine, by all means, consider mine.

An off-dry white wine that can handle some Cajun seasoning is on the cards for me. The best off-dry wines are those that possess a good acidic backbone, so as not to taste sickly sweet, and it’s the acidity that makes wine such a good partner to food.

Viognier is a great match as it has those restrained fruit flavours and the ability to cope with spice, but Vouvray is the one that came to my mind when I first watched this video. Vouvray, in the French Loire Valley, is well known for its age worthy whites made from the Chenin Blanc variety. And what a fantastic varietal it is.

The Vouvray Les Coteaux Demi-Sec has an ageing potential of 2016, but don’t expect it to last if you’re going to start making Cajun chicken burgers any time soon. For a drier style, the sister wine, Vouvray Les Coteaux Sec, or Paarl Heights Chenin Blanc, are just the ticket.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

A great alternative to meat and two veg, these tasty fish skewers will help brighten up any mid-week menu. Whatever day the fish monger comes to town, you’ll be prepared. It’s fresh, vibrant and packed with omega three oils and all the goodness of the crunchy vegetables. Once you have your ingredients, it shouldn’t take you any longer than 30 minutes to prepare and cook.

I must admit, I’ve come across easier dishes to match wine with. We have two very different types of fish here. Salmon and monkfish. In addition, there will be some spice from the chillies and the cajun pepper, combined with a bit of zest from the lime and a touch of acidity from the pepper and the onions. Notice, though, how Niall isn’t too heavy handed with one ingredient over another. This should lead to a good balance of flavours.

Despite the great complexity, there is much delicacy here. One ingredient will not shroud the characteristics of another. That should also be the case for the wine, so I would be inclined to avoid full-bodied reds. A light-ish Syrah from the Rhône or New Zealand might not be too out of place, particularly if it has a little spice in itself.

I also think a light, elegant white may struggle to cope with the flavours, so for me, Gewurztraminer is the best bet. Cooked red peppers and Gewurztraminer are a marriage made in heaven, and its generally got the fullness in its body and the well structured citrus flavours to match an array of ingredients. It also tends to be spicy, so I reckon the lime and chilli from this dish will not dominate the wine.

For the Old World drinkers, from Domaine Paul Blanck, a lively Alsatian Gewurztraminer, and perhaps a more pronounced option, the Greenhough, from Nelson in New Zealand, was made for this kind of food.

There is 15% off all indicated prices in our New Zealand range for November and December.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.

Prawns and asparagus. Not the cheapest dish in Niall’s armoury, but it’s as quick and easy as you’ll find. I’m mad for my carbs, so the last time I made this I also prepared some rice noodles. With or without noodles, it’s super tasty and very healthy.

Asparagus can be a tricky enough ingredient to match with wine, but a good Loire Valley or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc may well bring aromas or flavours of asparagus of their own to the fore. A cool climate Sauvignon Blanc should also possess good acidity, so it will handle the acidity of this dish, which would be fairly high, particularly after the addition of the cherry tomatoes.

My favourite Touraine is the Domaine du Pre Baron, a superb food wine which was recommended on BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen. Stepping it up, you could head to Sancerre, but I think the best match would be the Tohu Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s only Maori winery. Although I would consider it dry, it’s not bone dry, so the sweetness from the fruit matches well with the prawns, whilst the acidity compliments that of the tomatoes and asparagus.

And with 15% off all New Zealand wine until the end of December, it really is a no-brainer.

Video courtesy of Look and Taste.