Finland's most popular ready meals are lifesavers for busy weekdays. Whether you're a fan of pea soup, spinach soup, meat and mashed potato casserole, macaroni casserole, or even liver casserole – did you know there are wines for all of these? It's true!
Ready meals are true everyday heroes, and for that reason they're sometimes seen as somewhat modest food. They're hardly the first thing you'd associate with a romantic candlelit dinner or a festive meal, even though they're delicious. Perhaps so, but how about adding a touch of luxury to an ordinary weekday now and then? You can also play the wild wine card with ready meals! A ready meal doesn't ruin wine, and wine doesn't ruin a ready meal – and fortunately we don't have to worry about that, since there are already great wine recommendations for ready meals.
As a rule of thumb, meat dishes go well with red wine, and lighter dishes like vegetable soups pair best with white wine. So for liver casserole, you should choose a glass of red wine, and a good complement to spinach soup is white wine. We warmly recommend at least the easily approachable pairings below.
Pea Soup and Pares Balta Brut 'b'
Pea soup and pancakes for everyone! What to serve with pea soup? If you want to make pea soup festive, we boldly suggest sparkling wine alongside it. Pares Balta Brut 'b' is a versatile sparkling wine, so it elevates not only pea soup but also pancake dessert smoothly. It's an organic sparkling wine that's among Finland's most popular. In flavor, Brut 'b' is pleasantly fresh and crisp, with aromas of fruits like apple and apricot. To top it all off, Pares Balta sparkling wines are Demeter-certified biodynamic production and also suitable for vegans. So it's a win-win – this suits everyone from main course to dessert!
You can find price and product information here.
Spinach Soup and ABC Chardonnay
A classic for a classic! Traditional spinach soup, with or without egg, tastes great with a traditional white wine choice. “Always Better with some Chardonnay”, or ABC Chardonnay, is true to its name—always a little better—and this easy-drinking white wine is especially good served chilled. As the name suggests, the grape in this oaky, fruity wine is Chardonnay. The wine comes from Chile’s Central Valley, the country’s most important wine-growing region.
You can find price and product information here.
Meat and Mashed Potato Casserole and Trevisana Merlot Bio
Soft meat and mashed potato casserole is of course complemented by a pleasantly balanced and smoothly supple red wine. The Italian wonder Trevisana Merlot Bio is organically grown and has no added sulfites. As its name suggests, this medium-tannin and medium-bodied companion is made from Merlot grapes, and its flavor features red berries and lively acidity. The wine is also suitable for vegans.
You can find price and product information here.
Macaroni Casserole and Footmark Pinotage
Fancy some macaroni casserole? Continuing on the gentle line of soft red wines is Footmark Pinotage, which in its softness is an excellent all-purpose wine. A glass of delicious Footmark Pinotage does wonders for the flavor of macaroni casserole garnished with ketchup or enjoyed plain, and this medium-tannin and medium-bodied wine is an easily approachable wine choice. Also works with chicken or grilled food, for example, or just on its own if for some reason there happens to be any left over. Can everyday life really taste this good? Absolutely!
You can find price and product information here.
Liver Casserole and Parés Baltà Honeymoon
From the white wine section, there's the lovely Parés Baltà Honeymoon to elevate liver casserole, which every quality-conscious diner is sure to love. This pleasant and versatile white wine from Parés Baltà's most aromatic Parellada grapes is a wonderful social drink and aperitif that feels right at home as a table companion to liver casserole. The semi-sweet and acidic wine is delightfully apricot-like, ripe lime-ish, and floral. This unique wine gives any dish that final touch.
Only one question remains, and it's a tough one – will you have Honeymoon with liver casserole with raisins or without?
You can find price and product information here.
Order Wines for Ready Meals!
Ordering is easy. By clicking “Go to order”, you’ll be taken to Alko’s online store, where these wines have already been pre-selected for you. You can add the wines you want to your cart and choose delivery to the store of your choice. Alko handles the order, and there’s no extra charge.
