The best wine pairings with venison (updated)

What is the best wine pairing for venison? An easy answer is the same sort of wine you’d drink with beef, but I’d suggest a few modifications as the two are not quite the same. Three qualities of venison, or cervena as it’s sometimes referred to in New Zealand, particularly distinguish it from beef and should influence your choice of wine match: 

• Venison is leaner
• Venison is gamier
• Venison is often combined with stronger flavours (e.g. juniper)

Let’s dive into each of these characteristics and see how they might influence the wine pairing for specific venison dishes.

For a start venison is quite a bit leaner than most beef cuts with a finer texture which tends to favour more elegant red wines such as red burgundy, barolo or mature Bordeaux - certainly when it’s served as a roast or a fillet (see this sensational match) Pinot noir is also particularly good with a venison tartare.

It is also a slightly gamier meat than beef which could lead you towards high end Rhône reds such as Côte Rôtie, Hermitage or Saint Joseph or a Bandol if it’s made into a casserole or venison stew. With more humble venison sausages try a Crozes-Hermitage. 

And it tends to be combined with strong flavours like juniper or wild mushrooms which again might lead you in a pinot direction or, as I suggest with this recipe for spiced venison with wild mushroom and truffle sauce with a more vibrant Western Australian cabernet merlot blend (or a younger, fruitier Bordeaux).

I also loved this recent pairing of amarone with a dish of venison and beetroot.

With a rich foie gras accompaniment it might even pair with a shiraz as I discovered to my surprise at a Wine Australia tasting a couple of years ago.

A more off-the-wall pairing, if you’re feeling adventurous, would be a German spätlese riesling which I greatly enjoyed with a dish of rare venison at a restaurant called Zum Krug. (But most people I suspect would prefer a spätburgunder (pinot noir) if they were thinking German wine.)

Image by Natalia Lisovskaya at shutterstock.com

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

White or red wine? What’s the best pairing for risotto?

Talking about wine matches for risotto is a bit like talking about wine with pasta - it’s depends on the other ingredients you use, not the rice.

That said, risotto is usually a delicate, creamy sort of dish which is served among the primi (the first main dish) on an Italian menu and generally suits a white better than a red.

It’s also typical of the northern half of Italy rather than the south, particularly the Piedmont area which points to an Italian white from that region.

In this post you’ll find my top wine pairings for popular types of risotto, including spring vegetable risottos (e.g. asparagus risotto), seafood risotto (e.g. Risotto ai Frutti di Mare), mushroom risotto, beetroot risotto and pumpkin risotto. Read on to learn which types of risotto best suit a white wine and which are better with red.

Spring vegetable risotto

With a light risotto made with spring vegetables like asparagus or courgette (zucchini) flowers or with seafood like shrimp or prawns I’d drink a Gavi, Soave or a Roero Arneis or - and this might surprise you - a glass of dryish* prosecco.

Seafood risotto

If the risotto was a bit richer - made with crab or scallops for example - I’d go for a richer white wine but still one with some acidity - a light creamy chardonnay for example or a pinot bianco. Premier cru Chablis, although not local, would be a good match and I have enjoyed a crisp fresh-tasting sauvignon with this style of risotto

Mushroom risotto

Chardonnay, especially white burgundy, is also a good pairing for a chicken or a mushroom risotto which tend to be richer and more savoury but you could also drink a pinot noir or a Barolo, even though this is not traditional in the region. (They generally save it for the meat course and drink a Barbera.). If truffles are involved, I would go for the Barolo though!

Beetroot risotto

I’d also drink a red wine with any risotto that was made with red wine, served with meat or one that was based on beetroot. Barbera would probably be my top choice but again pinot noir would work very well especially if that’s the wine you use in the recipe.

Beetroot and pinot noir risotto

I also prefer an earthy red like Barbera with a risotto made with saffron like the classic risotto all Milanese but again you could go for a crisp white like a Gavi.

Pumpkin risotto

And for rich pumpkin or butternut squash I might go for a richer style of chardonnay or viognier.

Wines that don’t go quite as well

Enjoying a risotto is all about the creaminess of the dish and the texture of the rice so you don’t want a wine that’s too intrusive either in terms of fruit character or tannin. So I personally wouldn’t go for a pungent New Zealand style of sauvignon blanc or a full-bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or shiraz. Feel free though if it works for you!

* I deliberately use the word ‘dry-ish’ rather than ‘dry’ because that’s a classification in the prosecco region that actually means medium-sweet’. You want to look for ‘brut’ style proseccos.

Image © Ale02 at shutterstock.com