Why Red Wine Is The Best Choice To Pair With The Richness Of Duck

In some instances, wine pairing is easy: Red wine is perfect with steak and white wine is best with certain chicken dishes. However, some meats like duck pose a dilemma. On paper, you might reach for white wine since duck is classified as poultry. Then again, duck is much richer than other white meats like chicken. Fortunately, Corey Garner, a winemaker at The Federalist, has a solution for this conundrum.

Garner told Chowhound, "It's a rich, flavorful meat that pairs well with wines that have some structure and depth but still maintain some delicacy which screams pinot noir." Specifically, she recommended pairing duck with The Federalist's own pinot noir, saying, "It would offer bright cherry and spice notes that complement the natural sweetness of the duck while still balancing its richness, especially if prepared with a fruit-based sauce."

Pairing duck with pinot noir is a fool-proof recommendation for a few reasons. This wine contains medium to low tannins; the perfect counterpoint to duck's slight fattiness. Pinot noir also has enough acidity to cut through that fattiness. This is essential if you are to enjoy a balanced dining experience.

If you're not a pinot noir fan, or just don't have a bottle on hand, don't fret: It's certainly not the only type of wine you can serve with duck. Other red wines that boast similar fruity flavors, acidity, and tannins — like cru Beaujolais — are a solid choice too. Remember, the wine you choose should also depend on what duck recipe you're cooking. For something rich like duck confit, a tannic and full-bodied wine like syrah or malbec works. That being said, many Chinese duck dishes go best with lighter red wines that don't compete with the dish's spices. Merlot works solidly, in this case.

White wines are trickier to pair with duck, but not totally off the table. You'll usually want something pretty acidic to counter the fattiness (especially for roast or peking duck, where the fattier skin is served). The wine also needs to be fairly full bodied to stand up to the duck. Pinot gris and gewürztraminer are two wines that fit this bill.

Finally, if you really can't find the perfect pairing, Corey Garner has some advice on what pairings to avoid. She told us, "Wines I try to avoid with duck are anything in the overly tannic or heavily oaked realm, as they can overwhelm the delicate texture and natural richness of the meat." Avoid wines of this nature, and you won't go far wrong.