So, we thought it appropriate to put our wine pairing skills in action and come up with some great wine recommendations for 4 classic burgers recipes: plain, with cheddar, with mushrooms and swiss, and with barbecue bacon cheese.
The only problem is you’re going to be hungry and thirsty after reading this (at least we warned you).
Awesome Burger and Wine Pairings
Perfect Burger
You know the one, it’s the burger with lettuce tomato and onion that doesn’t need cheese in order to be a masterpiece in each and every bite. Subtle perfection is the name of the game and this classic burger recipe is the ultimate test of quality burger-manship.
Lambrusco Amabile
“Amabile” is a slightly sweet version of Lambrusco
Spanish Garnacha
(AKA Grenache) Found in the Northern wine regions of Spain
Cannonau di Sardegna
(AKA Grenache) A smoky style and a great wine find of Sardinia
Ruby Port on the Rocks
One of our favorite Port cocktails of all time
Simple Sangria
It’s better when you make your own Sangria.
Why it works
Traditionally, this burger calls for Coke or a Root Beer so, choosing wines with an element of bitter-sweet pays homage to the classic brown soda pairing. Interestingly enough, the wines listed above (as prepared) all have substantially less sugar than a can of coke.
Classic Cheeseburger
A perfect burger (like the one described above) with the addition of a slice of cheddar cheese which adds tang and creaminess to the overall profile.
- Crianza or Reserva Rioja
- Chianti Classico or Montalcino Rosso
- Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
- Coonawarra Cabernet
- South African Cabernet
Why it works
Cheeseburgers are often classically paired with sweetened ice tea and the reason iced tea works so well is that its tannin acts as a palate cleanser, cleaning up after the stickiness of cheese. The wines above also feature higher tannin. Additionally, they have more savory flavors (tomato, roasted pepper, black currant, dried leather) which will better compliment the cheddar cheese and ground beef combination. You could actually bump this pairing up a notch by adding a piece of roasted red pepper into your burger!
Mushroom Swiss Burger
This savory style burger delivers rich umami flavors of grilled mushrooms (usually sprinkled salt and pepper) and a slice of melted buttery, nutty swiss cheese.
Cool-climate Merlot
including New York, New Zealand, Canada, and Switzerland
Right Bank Bordeaux
These are the Merlot-dominant blends of Bordeaux… amazeballs.
Langhe Nebbiolo or Roero
The Italian red that’s light in color but massive in taste.
Washington Merlot
Loads of red fruit and ample acidity.
Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger
For those of us thrill seekers, this burger is the equivalent to wingsuiting because of the intensity of flavor blasted into each bite (you can also die from overdoing it… but a lot slower). This would be the holy hand grenade of burgers.
Lodi Zinfandel
Smoky smoky Lodi is super underrated.
Aussie Shiraz / Paso Robles Syrah
Paso Robles and South Australia produce the boldest Syrah in the world.
French Syrah
An herbaceous, light style of Syrah from the Northern Rhône.
Petite Sirah
(AKA Durif) is an American favorite.
Mourvèdre
(AKA Monastrell) Deep, rich, peppery and somewhat meaty red wines from Spain and Southern France.
Aglianico
Aglianico is all about smoky, leathery, Italian wines…
Are We Doing This Right?
In researching this article I became obsessed with the proper way to build a burger. I always thought the rule was “lettuce on bottom and meat on top.” It made sense, you are essentially championing the meat on the top and using the lettuce as a way to stop the meat and tomatoes from making the bottom bread soggy. Nobody likes soggy bottoms. Of course, when you look online for the answer, there are a bunch of pictures putting meat at the bottom of the stack.
What do you think?
Meat on bottom, lettuce on top, or vice versa? Do we have any burger experts out there? Inquiring minds want to know! (Tell us in the comments section below.
By: Madeline Puckette
***Grabbed from: http://winefolly.com/tutorial/burger-and-wine-pairings-done-right/