Burger and Wine Pairing Guide

How great are burgers? Seriously! Whether fast food on the go, wolfed down in the car on a road trip vacation, or as a luxury dry-aged Wagyu minced rump with foie gras and truffles silver-served to your linen napkin-draped personage, burgers have satisfied the human race for at least a hundred years on many a starving moment. They’re the best thing since, well, sliced bread we suppose! Or since sliced buns, as in ‘two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun’ kind of buns…

Back in the day, all you’d have to consider is whether you’d want fries and a coke with that, but now you’re a discerning Good Pair Days wine drinker, what actually ARE your grown-up options? Let us do the work here (it’s a hard life, but someone’s got to do it right?!) to determine what the best vinous matches are to your Friday-night take-away favourites. Read on, my fast-foodie friends…

The Cheeseburger--racy

Lettuce start with the classic (boom boom)… and the holy trinity of squashy milk bun, meat patty and cheese slice (ideally American jack or other bright yellow, melty, plastic cheese. Mmmmm). This burger will no doubt have a squirt of tomato ketchup and dab of American mustard too - the classic sweet ‘n’ sour combo that can prove tricky with wine…

Wine match: Textural but with high acid, and a little sweetness to foil the ketchup/ mustard combo - this burger needs Chenin Blanc! Yes, it’s white - but it’s got everything you need; texture, acidity and fruitiness too. Boom.

The Veggie burger--eggplant

Veggie burgers have come a long way baby… whether chickpea or white bean patty, sweet potatoes and quinoa, brown rice and tofu, kidney beans and cornmeal, grilled portobellos, or even seitan and vegetables topped with vegan mayo or mozzarella cheese and Sriracha, you’ll need a glass of something special to wash it all down!

Wine match: The texture of the veggie-based bean patties with all those herbs and spices means you’ll need something fragrant with good acidity, and ideally with a little tannin for balance to match… Look no further than a ‘natural’ skin contact wine, usually orange-hued from the contact with the grape skins, and super-aromatic, and they’re usually made without any animal product either, so perfect right?

The OG #1 Big Mac--cork

Back to those all-beef patties and special sauce, nothing quite tastes like a Big Mac, other than, well a Big Mac… All-satisfying, never-changing, I’m sure if you had one at ten years old and another one again at fifty it would taste the same. Except you’d probably finish it this time... it’s the OG for a reason.

Wine Match: A Champagne producer’s Brut NV is their most important wine. The house may produce vintage wines in great years, or a Cuvée Rosé, or Blanc de Blancs or Noirs that fetch much higher prices, but their ‘house’ Non-Vintage, a blend of multiple vintages, wines from different vineyards and indeed base wines from different grape varieties integrated together, ensures the style and flavour remain the same every time you drink it, whether at 18 or 88. Just like a Big Mac! So there you go. Plus the acidity is a winner with the special sauce.

The OG #2 Flame-grilled Whopper--pizza

Whether your choice or location is of the BK or HJ leanings, one thing’s for sure: nothing beats a Whopper on that road trip… A beefy patty that actually tastes like beef, crunchy veggies that don’t get in the way, with pickles, onion, and sesame bun, somehow it doesn't fall apart when you’re eating it one-handed travelling at speed in the fast lane.

Wine match: Anyway, were you to pull over and set up camp for the night, you’d not do better than to crack the seal on a Sangiovese… bright sour cherry fruit aromas with dusty leather notes and excellent acidity to match the tangy elements of the burger toppings, and those lovely gripping tannins working wonders with the beef. You’d sleep well anyway.

Chicken burger--plum

The lettuce in our ole’ famous Southern-fried chicken burger has recently been usurped by shredded cabbage ‘round our parts, but no matter as it’s still supremely finger-licking good! (see what I did there?). Tender fillets or thighs (or who knows really, but does it matter?) of chicken deep-fried in a crunchy coating on a soft bap with lettuce (or, cabbage!) and mayo allows for the crunchy/ soft/ textural/ creamy heaven in a box we know and love.

Wine match: White meat plus crunchy coating and mayo equal oaky chardonnay, obviously! If you can splurge then pull out the big guns with a luxe white Burgundy, or if you’re opting for a Zinger-style with chilli heat, tone down the oak and plump for a bottle of Chablis instead;  Chardonnay that’s usually less about the oak and more about the minerality. Any way you have it, Chardonnay is your goal here!

Fish burger--earth

Flake, hake, cod, barra, whatever! A chunk of soft white large-flaked fish in a crispy batter, topped with tartare and bunged in a soft bun, with a few chips squashed in underneath for full glorious effect… there’s nothing better than a fish and chip shop fish burger!

Wine match: You’ll be hankering for something crisp, zesty and clean after all those delicious deep-fat-fried chips and fish… those fresh flavours scream young Riesling: limes, mineral, slate and white blossom, with both dry or off-dry styles working brilliantly as it’s really the acidity doing all the good work on your tastebuds!

Luxe fish burger--red

Back in the day, there was just the Filet-O-Fish option out there in the wide world, but now it seems every Tom, Dick and Harry is opening up a gourmet fish place and sous-videing this or wood-fired-ovening that… the latest craze is the charcoal fish joint - like charcoal chicken but fishier - with meatier fillets like swordfish or tuna, and Ottolenghi’d toppings like ‘roasted Savoy and almonds’ or ‘kale and black barley’. Totally delicious, if not a bit out there!

Wine match: Pinot Noir has all the fruity grace to soften the meaty oomph of a charcoal-grilled piece of fish, enough savoury forest-floor character to match the veggie-heavy aspect of the toppings, and the acidity to clean up any richness and make you want another bite/sip. Pinot is just the best though, to be fair…

Keto burger--vegan

It is possible to wrap an extra lettuce leaf around your burger and call it keto, but whatever you do, DO NOT LET GO! It is impossible to reconfigure your wrapping once it has been compromised, and then it’s slop city lady, followed by knife and fork time. Embarrassing! Or you could be very elegant and order steak tartare instead. Yes, it’s raw as opposed to flame-grilled, but it’s a taste sensation of the most premium, fresh hand-cut beef fillet mixed up with cornichons, capers, egg yolk and shallots with Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Very French and very, very chic. Usually eaten with crisps or toasted baguette, but hello, Keto! So you can have a salad instead.

Wine match: Red wine definitely. French wine, naturellement! And something with good acidity n'est-ce pas? You will be choosing Gamay mon ami, from Beaujolais; light in body, fresh in flavour, perfect acidity and light tannins. Très élégante, bien fait!

The Posh restaurant burger--wines

Do you know those times when you’re invited out to a smart restaurant with work, perhaps it’s a deal-closing lunch or an end-of-financial year celebration, but all you’ll feel like is a burger? We know that feeling too - the good news is that even the best restaurants have their own version nowadays. Yes, you may well go weak at the knees when you see the price, but hey, work’s paying, right? Are you going for the foie gras and truffled-topped burger, or simply the 300-day dry-aged Wagyu 9+ score hand-cut rump version with Gruyère, or perhaps it’s the lobster and grass-fed ‘surf and turf’ monster you’ve got your eyes on, but it’s coming with hand-cut chips and silver-service-spooned accompaniments, and for that you are grateful. Hallelujah for the work expense account!

Wine match: Top-notch grub needs top-shelf wine, and if you’re somewhere posh, go straight to the back of the wine list to the Cabernet section, and slide your finger to the Bordeaux listings… you need a Cabernet-dominant wine here for its cassis, leaf and leather aromas, its structure of weight, acidity and tannin, its prestigious label, and mostly for the Gordon Gekko feelings you get when you order it.

The Aussie Burger ‘with the lot’--cellar

The classic Aussie, mate! A slice each of beetroot and pineapple (tinned of course), a fried, runny-yolked egg and crispy bacon, topping off a beef patty with iceberg lettuce and a few slices of sloppy tomato ensuring you can’t let go once you’ve committed.

Wine match: You’re going to need a big Aussie glass of bold Barossa Shiraz here, with rich, ripe fruit that matches the intensity and acidity of the pineapple and sweet but earthy beetroot, with texture for the creaminess of the egg, and tannin to muscle up to the beefiness. A mouthful no matter where you look!

About the Author

Melissa Moore is a competition-winning sommelier, wine writer and perpetual student of wine (currently WSET Diploma). She has a sharp palate for both wine and sandwiches, enhanced only when blaring loud dance music.