Seven wine styles to drink with pork:
White wine
- Riesling
- Viognier
- Chenin Blanc
Red wine
- Sangiovese (Chianti Classico)
- Mencia
- Grenache / Garnacha (red or rosé)
- Gamay (Beaujolais)
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Red or white wine with pork?
There are many juicy red wines and richer white wines with a backbone of refreshing acidity that pair brilliantly with pork at the dinner table.
Riesling white wines can work perfectly to cut through a fatty roast pork belly, while Grenache-based reds may elevate a midweek bangers and mash.
How about Sangiovese-fuelled Chianti Classico with slow-cooked pork shoulder? That balance of tannic structure, acidity and berry fruit found in many wines could make for a real treat.
‘Italian reds always have that wonderful acidity that’s perfect with pork,’ wrote food and wine expert Fiona Beckett in this Christmas pairing suggestion with porchetta-style pork belly.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoine, deputy director of food and beverage at The Goring hotel in London, previously told Decanter it’s important to consider:
- the cut of the pork;
- the way it’s cooked;
- the sauce you are serving it with
Matthieu Longuère MS, wine development manager at Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school, agreed. ‘Whatever the meat is, it depends what you do with it.’
Think about matching the intensity of the wine with that of the dish, as well as any acidity and sweetness brought by ingredients in the meal.
That said, even classic styles will vary between producers. Food and wine pairing is highly subjective, too: personal preference counts for a lot in this arena.
Wine with pork belly and suckling pig
For tender, melt-in-the-mouth suckling pig, Lemoine advised drinking lighter styles of red. These include Spanish Mencia, Nerello Mascalese from Sicily, Pinot Noir from cooler regions or Chilean Carménère.
He also recommended Riesling with a touch of sweetness. This can be a classic with pork belly, too.
‘Roast pork belly works best with a wine that has a high level of acidity plus a touch of sweetness,’ wrote Fiona Beckett, naming 25 top food and wine pairings.
Germany is renowned for top Riesling wines, as is Alsace in eastern France, but great examples can also be found elsewhere, such as in Austria, Australia and New Zealand. Decanter recently explored exciting Riesling wines in Canada’s Ontario, too.
Flavours in the dish might affect your choice.
Apricots in this cider vinegar-roasted pork belly recipe ‘would lead me in the direction of Viognier rather than Riesling’, Beckett noted.
In a Decanter ‘perfect pairing’ article for chestnut-stuffed pork fillet, she said: ‘Given the sweetness from the chestnuts, prunes and redcurrant jelly, I’d go for a wine that has a touch of sweetness itself. [For example] Alsace or New Zealand or Oregon Pinot Gris, or an old-vine Chenin Blanc.’
Red and white wine to drink with a classic pork roast
‘Roast pork calls for something that combines richness with acidity, whether it’s white or red,’ Rhône expert Matt Walls previously told Decanter on the subject.
For white wine lovers, ‘Condrieu [Viognier] can be a brilliant match for pork roasted with herbs like Oregano or Marjoram,’ said Walls, who is Decanter’s Rhône correspondent.
He added that it’s also worth considering fresher styles of Chardonnay, as well as Chenin Blanc from either the Loire Valley or South Africa.
For red wines with roast pork, Tuscany was mentioned earlier in this article. Alongside Chianti Classico, Decanter’s recent guide to Rosso di Montalcino is worth a look.
Walls pointed to Grenache-led wines, as well as Pinot Noir from warmer climates.
Grenache is known as Garnacha in Spain, and stole the show in a recent Decanter panel tasting of red wines from Aragón.
Wine to drink with pork sausages
Walls returned to the Grenache theme when considering a wine for pork sausages. ‘For a classic bangers and mash, I tend to reach for a young Grenache-based wine like a southern Rhône.’
Classic blends of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre (GSM) are produced in many regions, from the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon in France to parts of South Australia and California.
Decanter’s Julie Sheppard recently recommended this Nero di Troia wine from Puglia. Gentle oak, a touch of spice and ‘a lovely depth of ripe juice black fruit’ would be ace with sausages or burgers, she said.
Other options include Gamay-based Beaujolais Cru, which can also make a great wine match for traditional Christmas ham.
Why not try any of the above with a comforting bowl of ‘pigs in blankets’ this Christmas?
Don’t ignore rosé wines at the dinner table, either.
Dry rosé wines could be a good bet for BBQ pork, whether pulled or cooked as a chop, said Lemoine. However, the meat might overpower some of the more delicate styles.
Watch out for too much oak in some wines
Beware of wines with prominent oak flavours when it comes to some pork dishes.
Oak in wine can be tricky with sweet and sour pork, for example, said Longuère at Le Cordon Bleu London.
‘The oak is quite bitter, quite smoky. If you have something sweet, it tends to make it taste quite metallic. And if you have something quite high in acidity, it clashes.’
This article was first published in 2019 and has been edited in November 2024.
Great wine with pork: inspiration from our experts
The following wines cover a range of price-points and have been tasted by Decanter’s experts.
