Six of the best wine pairings with cassoulet

Anyone who has a passing knowledge of cassoulet will know that there are hotly disputed arguments about what constitutes the authentic version. But whichever way you make it it’s a substantial dish, a slow-cooked casserole of beans, meat and herbs. French-style comfort food.

I see little reason to stray away from the wines of cassoulet’s homeland of south-west France and personally much prefer red to white as a match.

Here’s what I’d go for...

6 Best Wine Pairings with Cassoulet

Marcillac

Probably my favourite choice, a delicious bright fruity red made from Mansois, the local name for Fer Servadou.

Madiran

Can be a little high in alcohol for such a heavy dish but if you like more robust reds it’s a good choice

Cahors (and other malbecs)

Another south-western French red that hits the spot. Malbecs from elsewhere in France and more savoury European styles of Argentinian Malbec would work well too.

Hearty Languedoc reds such as Minervois and Corbières.

Kate Hill, author of Cassoulet, A French Obsession, recommends a biodynamic Coteaux du Languedoc called Far Ouest made by biodynamic wine producer Mylene Bru.

Côtes du Roussillon

Lighter and brighter than some of the more expensive and extracted Roussillon reds, their freshness would offset the richness of cassoulet well.

Côtes du Rhône Villages

A good Côtes du Rhône especially from a named village like Séguret or Valréas would also be a good match as would a Costières de Nîmes

Red Bordeaux

This might be more of a surprise but can work really well as this pairing with Chateau le Puy demonstrates.

If you want to stray over the border into Spain there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t drink a Rioja crianza or other tempranillo.

For other bean pairings see The Best Wine Pairings with Beans.

]Photo ©Jerome.Romme 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

The best wine pairings with beans

Pulses such as beans are a good friend to the vegetarian winelover - their rich, mealy texture provides a similar foil as meat to a hearty full-bodied red.

They are of course also served with meat in dishes such as cassoulet and fabada and also pop up in soups and salads.

In general I think reds work better than whites - bean dishes tend to be quite hearty and often spicy: as with pasta it depends more on the seasoning of the dish than the kind or shape of the bean.

Here are my suggested wine pairings for 10 of the most popular bean recipes taking account of the other dishes that usually accompany them (I’m excluding green beans here which rarely dictate a match on their own account.)

I wouldn’t say the wines you drink with them have to be grand (although if they're on the plate as a side as in lamb with flageolets - they could be*) so don’t fret too much.

A Pauillac, for example.

The 10 best wine pairings for beans

Chile con (or sin) carne

Any hearty fruity red works well with a chilli. Try a zinfandel or a malbec

6 of the best pairings for chilli con carne

Cassoulet

Cassoulet comes from south-west France so it makes sense to drink a wine from the region - my favourite is Marcillac but you could try a Madiran or almost any Languedoc red

6 of the best wine pairings with cassoulet

Fabada (image © Food Via Lenses)

A robust spicy pork and bean stew from northern Spain which includes chorizo and morcilla. I’d go for an inexpensive Rioja or Ribera del Duero with it but mencia would work well too.

Tuscan sausages with beans

A similar but less spicy dish from Tuscany that is just perfect with Chianti

The best food pairings for Chianti and other Tuscan sangiovese

Bean burgers

Less about the beans, more about the spicing, sauce and sides. I’d probably go for a slightly lighter red than I would with a meaty burger - say a medium bodied southern French red but a juicy red from almost anywhere would work. A good gamay? Absolutely

Six of the best pairings for a burger

Black bean soup

Quite like chilli con carne when it comes to wine although there are all the fancy toppings by way of sour cream, avo, coriander and lime to contend with which might make you inclined to drink a lighter, maybe Portuguese, red like a Dao. Honestly it’s more of a beer dish though. A really nice lager or a Negro Modelo would do it for me. (Here's the recipe if you fancy making it!)

Refried beans

Rarely served on their own so it’s much more about what you’d be inclined to drink with a Mexican or Tex Mex. Again I’m thinking beer but zinfandel would be a good bet or, if there’s chicken involved and bright flavours like lime and coriander on the plate, a fruity white like a sauvignon blanc. Refried beans are generally a side show.

Wine, beer and other pairings with Mexican food

Tonno e fagioli (tuna and bean salad)

I’d definitely go for a dry Italian white with this classic tuna and bean salad - something like a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

What’s the best match for tuna?

Mixed bean salad

Most likely to be part of a spread of other summery dishes so you’d be unlikely to go wrong with a rosé. On the other hand if you have a warm salad with a very assertive dressing like this purple sprouting broccoli with flageolet beans with preserved lemon mayo you might want a crisp white like an albarino.

Baked beans

A strong cup of black tea is by far and away the best option so far as I’m concerned but a fruity red like merlot would be fine. Bear in mind beans are quite sweet so could make a lighter, drier red taste a bit stripped out.

Matching food and Priorat

I was reminded about my trip to Priorat almost exactly two years ago by my recent visit to the Roussillon which has a similar terroir. And I think the wines would go with similar kinds of food. These were my suggested pairings at the time . . .

Priorat has some of the most expensive wines in Spain but they’re also high in alcohol and reflect their wild, untamed terroir. There’s a marked difference between wines from ‘hot’ vintages like 2003 and 2005 and the more recent fresher cooler wines of 2007 and 2008 and between older vintages and younger ones. The former can develop quite bosky ‘animal’ flavours, particularly those that contain old Carignan but then, surprisingly some can be quite delicate, almost ethereal.

In terms of comparison with other wine regions I would think Châteauneuf is a better reference point than Bordeaux despite the presence in many wines of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Although they obviously appeal to the Asian market to me they’re not the obvious bottle to reach for with subtle, delicate cuisines such as Cantonese or Japanese (although some of the top winemakers are making wines that would match well). The whites (which are again similar to those of the Rhône) are more suited to cooked shellfish, fish and vegetable dishes than to raw or lightly cooked ones.

Like most great wines most would benefit from being served with simple food and as full-bodied reds, grilled and roast meat, especially lamb and beef. The bigger, more broadshouldered wines would pair well with meat served rare with a degree of charring; older vintages with slow roasts like slow roast shoulder of lamb. Lighter more graceful wines from higher vineyards or more recent vintages could work with dishes like braised rabbit. (I particularly liked Sara Perez Ovejero of Mas Martinet’s suggestion of pairing her sumptuous Els Escurcons with braised rabbit wih olives and herbs)

In fact furred rather than feathered game seems a good direction to go. I’d also like to pair Priorat with venison, hare and wild boar (or rare breed pork), again slow-cooked. Think oxtail too. I found a slightly funky 2004 Vall Llach absolutely transformed by a dish of braised oxtail with Priorat and prunes, bringing its primary fruit once more to the fore. It just seems the right thing to do with such strongly terroir-driven wines to pair them with food from the region - or across the Pyrenees with dishes from south-west France. Priorat and cassoulet? Priorat and Toulouse sausages with Puy lentils? Priorat with duck confit? They’d all work.

Then of course there’s cheese. We didn’t have much while we were away but Priorat, which has much in common with rich, brambly wines like Amarone and those from the Douro, would make a good companion for stronger, more challenging cheeses, especially blues. And on the basis of successfully pairing a mature Manchego with some of the wines I’d definitely look at some of Spain’s other excellent sheeps’ cheeses.