9 great wine pairings for duck (updated)

Pinot Noir is the go-to wine with duck, and for good reason. Its lush fruit complements the meat in the same way as fruit like plums and cherries. But duck can be cooked many different ways, which means there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment.

The best wine with duck depends on how it’s prepared - roasted, confit, or cooked in wine, like my recipe for duck casserole with red wine, cinnamon and olives.

The common factor is that duck is a fatty meat that tends to need a wine with some sharpness and acidity to cut through and some ripe fruit to contrast with the rich flesh.

Here are the wines I think work best, plus my pairings for 10 popular duck dishes.

Pinot Noir

Whether it’s a fine old burgundy or an exuberant full-bodied pinot from California, Chile, Oregon or the Central Otago region of New Zealand, Pinot Noir is almost always going to make people happy. (See this pairing for example.) If you’re roasting a wild duck or serving it plainly cooked you might want to go for a more delicate red burgundy*. If you’re serving super-rare duck breasts or duck that has some kind of Asian spicing (e.g. Peking duck), a sweeter, riper style might work better. Whatever. Think Pinot.

Merlot

Having made the point about acidity, I have to admit that Merlot, which often lacks it, goes rather well with duck, especially in Chinese-style pancakes with hoisin sauce. A Pomerol would be heaven.

Barolo

Barolo has the same affinity as Pinot and is a good wine match for simply cooked roast duck without too much in the way of powerful sauces or vegetable accompaniments

Tuscan reds e.g. Chianti

The Italians tend to cook their duck longer - often braising rather than roasting it. Chianti matches particularly well, especially if the sauce contains tomato and olives.

Bandol and other Mourvèdre

The dark, intense smokey notes of Mourvèdre are fabulous with duck, especially cooked with a red wine sauce. Or smoked duck as in this highly successful pairing of tea-smoked duck with Bandol.

Madiran and Marcillac

Tannic Madiran comes from the same area of the south-west France that produces foie gras - and therefore shedloads of confit duck. It’s delicious as you can see from this pairing but I’m not sure I don’t prefer the lighter, more rustic Marcillac. Or a Cahors

Beaujolais

Serious ‘cru’ Beaujolais like Morgon can be delicious with duck if you’re looking for a fruity, cherry-flavoured contrast (though its fruit may be wiped out by a cherry sauce). Particularly good with cold duck or duck rillettes, paté or terrines.

Late harvest riesling

If you’d rather serve a white with duck, an off-dry German spätlese or other late harvest riesling can be a delicious pairing. Especially if the duck is cooked with apples.

Gewürztraminer

Brilliant with duck curries, especially Thai red curry or a Thai-spiced salad like this Thai roast duck and watermelon salad. Also good if duck is served with fruit such as quince or oranges as in this smoked duck salad or duck à l’orange.

Wine pairings for 10 popular duck dishes

Let’s look at this the other way round, duck first!

Peking Duck - A classic Chinese way of cooking duck. The crispy skin and tender meat is often served in pancakes with spring onion, cucumber and hoisin sauce. Pair with a full-bodied pinot noir from e.g. New Zealand’s Central Otago region, a merlot or an Argentinian malbec.

Duck à l’Orange - An old school French favourite combining duck with a bitter orange sauce. It’s a great dish to pair with gewürztraminer or a spätlese or other off-dry riesling but a ripe grenache or grenache-based southern Rhône red would work equally well. If you were daring you could serve a Sauternes!

Duck with apple sauce
A traditional British way of serving duck which actually goes best with a dry German or Austrian riesling though I suspect most of your guests would expect a red wine like a burgundy or other light pinot noir.

Duck paté or rillettes
Like other charcuterie duck paté goes particularly well with Beaujolais and other light reds like cinsault or pais especially if they could be classified as ‘natural’.

Confit de Canard - A French classic of slow-cooked duck legs, sometimes served on its own, sometimes in a cassoulet. It originates from south-west France so try a wine from the region like a Cahors, Madiran or Marcillac with it.

Thai Red Duck Curry - Spicy and coconut-rich. The perfect match for an exotic gewurztraminer which mirrors the dish’s own spice 

Tea-Smoked Duck - A Chinese delicacy where duck is marinated, smoked over tea leaves and twigs, then roasted to achieve a distinctive flavour. Pair with: Bandol. The slight smokiness picks up on the smoke in the dish.

Roast Duck with Plum Sauce - A popular dish combining roasted duck with sweet plum sauce. Try a red wine that has some sweetness of its own such as primitivo or zinfandel. (Look out for the description appassimento which indicates the wine has been fermented on dried grapes or skins, giving it extra sweetness and intensity.) Australian shiraz would work too.

Bao Buns with duck - These soft buns filled with spicy duck are likely to be one of a selection of dishes in a relaxed, casual restaurant which might mean you just reach for a beer. Duck-friendly pinot would obviously work too.

Magret de Canard - A French dish featuring seared duck breast. It depends a little on what sauce is served with it - quite commonly fruit like cherries. Pinot noir again is a reliable go-to but a fuller-bodied cru Beaujolais like a Morgon would be a great match too. Or try a Belgian Kriek (cherry beer) 

Photo of crispy duck with pancakes by vsl and duck confit by nelea33. Both at shutterstock.com

Top wine (and other) pairings for sausages

There are very few occasions on which sausages don’t appeal but what’s the best pairing for them?

As always it depends on the type of sausage and the way they’re cooked but I personally find that beer and cider are just as good matches as wine.

Sausage and mash

The quintessential British sausage dish is almost always better accompanied by Britain’s national drink, beer than wine, especially if served with onion gravy. (The same goes for toad in the hole.)

I’d pick a hearty ale like Timothy Taylor Landlord but if the gravy is dark and intense as in this recipe for sausages with rich Guinness gravy you could even try a stout or a porter. If you don’t drink beer a hearty southern French or Spanish red or Argentine malbec would all work well.

Pork and leek sausages

Lighter sausages such as pork and leek or pork and apple pair well with cider. You could also drink white wine with them - I’d suggest a chenin blanc or unoaked or subtly oaked chardonnay.

Hot spicy sausages e.g. chorizo and merguez

Spice generally calls for wines with a touch of sweetness but with sausages like chorizo, merguez or Cajun-spiced sausages I’d be looking primarily for a red with ripe fruit: one of the new wave Spanish reds such as Montsant, an unoaked Douro red, or a shiraz, pinotage or zinfandel. Avoid reds that are heavily oaked though as oak-ageing tends to accentuate chilli heat.

Sausage casserole

It depends on the other ingredients in the casserole. If onion, apple and cider are involved I’d drink cider with it too. If the sauce is tomato-based or includes red wine like Tom Kerridge’s recipe for sausage, tomato and butterbean stew I’d go for a rustic red similar to those I’ve suggested for sausage and mash. A decent Côtes du Rhône is usually a reliable option.

Tuscan-style sausages with beans

One of the most wine-friendly of sausage dishes with which you could drink a good Tuscan (or other Italian) red as recommended with this dish of roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and nduja sauce from Theo Randall.

Garlicky French sausages e.g. Toulouse

Work well with southern and south-west French wines of lesser known appellations such as Marcillac. Again particularly wine-friendly if accompanied by pulses such as haricot beans and lentils, as in a cassoulet. A modest Bordeaux wouldn’t go amiss.

Venison or beef sausages

Tend to have a slightly gamey flavour that generally goes with wines that pair well with game. More robust styles of Pinot Noir such as those from Central Otago, northern Rhône reds such as St-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage come to mind.

German-style sausages such as frankfurters and bratwurst

Definitely beer in my book. A light lager, pilsner or Kolsch for frankfurters, a slightly sweeter beer like a helles or golden lager for grilled brats. Try a crisp, dry Riesling if you don’t like beer.

Top photo by Martin Turzak at shutterstock.com

Which wines pair best with pork?

As with most foods, the best wine pairing with pork depends how the pork is cooked, and what it’s served with.

Technically it's regarded as a white meat but ‘whiteness’ somehow seems to suggest lack of flavour. Although that’s still true of much mass-produced pork there’s far more rare breed pork around these days which has a great deal of character.

It’s certainly substantial enough to carry a red, on the other hand it is often accompanied by ingredients - such as apples or fennel - that point in the direction of a white. And it does have chicken’s chameleon-like ability to take on other flavours which means you often have to think of pairing the sauce rather than the meat. It can also be quite fatty which calls for a wine - white or red - with some freshness and acidity to cut through.

It’s not a ‘noble meat’ - I don’t often think of pork and Cabernet or pork and Barolo in the same breath but it can be a fine one, well worth bringing out a good bottle for.

Here are my favourite wine pairings for different ways of cooking pork:

The best wine for roast pork

To tell the truth white wine is a better match than red with most roast pork dishes but psychologically one tends to expect a red with a roast, even one cooked, Italian-style with fennel, lemon and garlic. I personally enjoy Northern Rhône and Italian reds with pork: something like a decent Crozes-Hermitage or a Chianti Classico (particularly with the latter dish) though I know many pork fans prefer a Pinot Noir.

With a more traditional dish of roast pork and apple sauce a decent Côtes du Rhône Villages will do the trick. Even with more delicate roast suckling pig a light to medium-bodied red can work well. I recently enjoyed a Portuguese Bairrada, a Casa de Saima with this dish which hit the spot perfectly.

If you can move outside your comfort zone you will find many whites will match well with roast pork, especially when it’s served cold. Old vine Chenin Blanc is a very enjoyable match for cold roast pork while an off-dry German Riesling makes a delicious match for roast belly pork (though watch the accompanying vegetables. Tomato-based dishes won’t help the pairing).

See also Six of the best pairings for roast pork

Wine pairing with pork chops

Similar recommendations to the above, depending on the saucing (if creamy, follow the recommendations below). You might well be thinking of accompanying it with something more Italianate like a salsa verde, in which case a dry Italian white or a decent Valpolicella or Chianti would be a good choice.

Pork in a creamy sauce - with mushrooms or mustard

Both red and white burgundy work well (unsurprisingly) with this classic French bistro dish which is often made with pork tenderloin. Other cool climate unoaked or subtly oaked Chardonnay or Pinot Noir should work too as would a dry Alsace Riesling or Pinot Gris or a Vouvray.

Pork casserole or pie with cider or apples

Cider is actually by far the best match here but if you want to drink wine I’d again suggest a good Chenin, Chardonnay or easy-going inexpensive southern French red that’s relatively modest in alcohol. Like Côtes du Rhône again.

Barbecued/char siu pork

The combination of spice and sweetness tends to strip the fruit out of whites so I’d pick a robust jammy red with either of these dishes. A mid-weight Shiraz or Australian Cabernet-Shiraz, a Chilean Merlot or Carmenère, a Pinotage, a Zinfandel - you get the picture. Gutsy wine, sweet fruit.

Pulled pork

Pulled pork is suggesting beer to me (a good IPA for preference) but pinot noir proved a surprisingly good wine pairing recently. If its more about the barbecue sauce follow the suggestions above

Sweet and sour pork

More often than not combined with other dishes that may affect the pairing but a fruity new world rosé especially a Merlot rosé should take it in its stride. Better than the often-recommended match of Riesling, I find. A very fruity white such as a Colombard or Semillon-Chardonnay can also work

Goulash

The paprika is always more important than the pork to me and suggests a rustic red. You could try the Hungarian Kékfrankos (Austrian Blaufrankisch) if you wanted a regional pairing, otherwise I suggest a Rioja or similar Spanish red.

Wines with pork and bean stews e.g. Cassoulet, Feijoada, Fabada

These tend to be quite filling so you don’t want a wine that’s too high in alcohol. A simple medium bodied red, even carafe wine works with Cassoulet. Go for a slightly fuller fruitier wine - maybe an inexpensive Navarra or other Spanish red or a Malbec if the stew is a touch spicier.

See also six of the best wine pairings with cassoulet 

Charcuterie

Pork is what classic French charcuterie is all about so it seems apt to pair a French wine with it. With its bright fruit Beaujolais works particularly well with preparations like terrines, jambon persillé and rillettes - chose a Beaujolais Villages or cru Beaujolais (Morgon particularly appeals). You could also try a rustic Marcillac or a dry rosé

Top image by Jez Timms on Unsplash

10 good wine pairings with paté

By paté I’m thinking of what wines to drink with rough country patés and terrines like a paté de campagne rather than fish patés or vegetarian patés which I’ll tackle separately. The sort that you might take on a picnic or eat in a wine bar.

Given that most patés contain a fair amount of fat you need a wine with some acidity. That could be white but personally I’m always drawn to rosé or a light, juicy red with the sort of bright berry fruit that complements paté perfectly, especially when served cool. Here are my top choices:

Beaujolais
The best wine bar none with charcuterie, paté included. I wouldn’t go for the cheapest examples but they don’t have to be a cru Beaujolais like a Morgon either.

Inexpensive red burgundy
I say red burgundy rather than Pinot Noir because I’m looking for acidity rather than sweetness. Nothing too grand - something like a Chorey-les-Beaune or even basic Bourgogne from a good producer

Loire reds like Saumur, Bourgeuil, Chinon and Anjou (as in this pairing)
Lightly chilled Cabernet Franc is great with paté

Rustic south-west French wines like Marcillac and Fronton - heavens, even a simple young Bordeaux

Valpolicella
No reason why France should have the monopoly on wine pairings. Its bright cherry fruit is lovely with pork

Mencia from the Bierzo region of north-west Spain - one of my new favourite Spanish grape varieties

Young syrah/shiraz - preferably from a natural wine producer like Hervé Souhaut

Southern French rosé - again I pick this as opposed to fruitier rosés because it’s dry. And rosé always seems the perfect picnic wine

Chablis - good with ham so generally good with paté too

Dry - or even sweet - oloroso sherry
Surprisingly good with richer game patés and terrines

And finally - not a wine but a surprisingly good pairing - gin!
Because of the botanicals, especially juniper. Again particularly good with a game paté

Image © © zoryanchik at fotolia.com