Duck is a great meal to enjoy with wine or cocktails. But finding the right wine to pair with duck can be tricky at first. The richness of the meat, combined with its darker flavor, means some wines will drown it out and others will get overpowered by it. This guide is here to help you find the best duck and wine pairings for your next dinner party, so let’s dive in!
Red or White Wine with Duck?
You’ve probably noticed that red wine is often paired with duck. For example, I enjoy a glass of Malbec to go with my crispy-skinned roasted duck dish at home. But why does this pairing work so well?
As you may know, meat and red wine are often linked together in the world of food and drink. This makes sense because the acid in red wine cuts through the fat in the meat while still allowing you to taste the rich flavors found in both items.
White wine has more sugar than reds and thus makes it harder for your mouth to taste anything other than sweetness when paired with savory foods like roasted meats or fish dishes like salmon filet (which happens to be my favorite).
Pairing Duck with Red Wines
There are a few red wines that will work when you will pair them with duck. The first rule of pairing wine and food is to match the weight of the dish with the weight of the wine. So, if you’re serving a rich, fatty dish like a duck, you’ll want to serve something light and lean like rosé or sparkling wine.
Another important factor to consider is acidity; this keeps your mouth from getting weighed down by fat or alcohol and prevents your palate from being overwhelmed by those tastes.
When you pair rich food with tannic red wine – ‘red wine with chicken makes an owl’.
Popular French Quote.
You know that the French have a saying for when you pair rich food with tannic red wine – ‘red wine with chicken makes an owl’. It’s a warning against pairing red wine with rich food. It’s not just about the acidity and tannins, but also about fat content!
The French phrase is a warning against pairing red wine with fatty meat. The reason is that both fats in your mouth and fat on your plate are hard to break down, so they will interfere with your enjoyment of both the food and drink.
This means that if you want to enjoy what you’re eating AND drinking then make sure they are both light enough so they don’t compete with each other on either scale (either too much fat or too much density).
This is the essential conflict of pairing duck with red wine. Duck meat is rich and fatty, while red wine is full-bodied and tannic.
If you’re a fan of eating duck and you’ve ever wondered what wine best pairs with it, here are some useful tips to help you make a decision.
Red wine is full-bodied and tannic, which means that it’s rich in flavor and high in acidity. Because of this, many people who don’t usually enjoy reds tend to find them too bitter or sour.
The fat content in duck meat resembles the fat content in red wine; these two foods are similar because they share strong flavors that can overpower other ingredients on your plate (like potatoes or salad).
However—and this is where things get tricky—duck meat has a distinct taste that makes it incompatible with most wines. If you try pairing them together without first experimenting with different types of reds (something we encourage), chances are good that either your duck dish will taste too acidic, or else your wine will be overpowered by an unpleasant flavor from the meat itself!
They just don’t go together.
The first thing you need to know about duck and red wine pairings is that they just don’t go together. It’s not a matter of taste preference, but rather one of chemistry: duck is rich and fatty; red wine is tannic, full-bodied, and high in acidity.
Duck has a lot of fat. The best way to cook duck breasts—the fattest part of the bird—is by roasting them at high temperatures so that the skin crisps up while keeping the meat tender and juicy inside.
This process creates a lot of fat left behind after cooking, which means that pairing your roasted breast with a rich Cabernet Sauvignon might not be your best bet because it will clash with all those extra fats (no matter how delicious they may be).
Red wines are also full-bodied but have less sugar than white wines due to their oxidization during the fermentation process (which results in oxidation).
When paired with something very sweet like chocolate cake or ice cream, this might make sense; however, it doesn’t make sense when used as an accompaniment for savory food such as steak or potatoes–especially if those dishes have been cooked in butter or olive oil!
But there are certain wines that can cut through the fattiness of the duck, bringing about balance and harmony.
There are several things to keep in mind when choosing a wine that will pair well with duck. You want your wine to be dry, but not too dry.
The same applies to tannins—not so much that they overpower the fattiness of the duck, but enough so you can taste them.
If you’re having trouble finding a wine that fits this description, here are some suggestions:
- A Pinot Noir from Oregon or California.
- A Riesling from Germany or Austria (or any other German-speaking region).
Pairing Duck with White Wines
Duck and white wine are a classic pairing. White wines are lighter than reds, so they’re better able to bring balance and harmony to the fattiness of the duck.
They also have less tannic acid, which means it will cut through all that richness and fat in your food without being so overpowering that it overpowers the taste of everything else on your plate.
If you’ve ordered duck with fruit sauce, go for something like a chardonnay or sauvignon blanc; otherwise, try something even lighter like pinot grigio or riesling.
White wines go well with duck because they can help cut through all those rich flavors in your meal without making everything else taste bland by comparison.
This means that if you’re going to have red wine with your meal (or just want some variety), choose something more mellow instead of bold—like cabernet sauvignon!
Sparkling Wine with Duck
Sparkling wine is also a good choice for duck because it is light, fresh, and acidic.
You may be wondering: “Why would I pair sparkling wine with duck? Aren’t other wines better options for this dish?” The answer is yes! Sparkling wines are also great choices because they aren’t too heavy or tannic.
This means that they won’t overpower the flavors of the meat. Plus, they’re refreshing and don’t have high alcohol content like some other wines do.
Conclusion
There are all kinds of different wines and many different kinds of ducks. While it may seem that some wines pair better with certain types of duck than others, the truth is there is no hard and fast rule about what will make your next dinner party a hit.
Duck goes well with almost any kind of wine! Just remember to avoid high alcohol levels, as they can overpower this delicate bird’s flavor; instead stick to something like Pinot Noir or Burgundy.
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