Best Brunch Wines
Move over, mimosas!
by Erin Henderson
When I was still in Somm School, I did my stage (pronounced STAH-zsh – a fancy word for an apprenticeship), at a swinging King Street restaurant in the Entertainment District of Toronto.
It was busy all the time, but brunch was one of their shining stars. Every Saturday and Sunday the place would fill to the rafters with the yummy mummies and their ergodynamic prams, the tatooed bros, the aging, well-coiffed parents meeting their adult children and brand-new love interests, and the seriously, seriously hung-over.
Yep, Toronto is a brunch town. Even in winter storms that left sidewalks knee-high with snow, and shutdown subways and street cars, we still had a wait list 30 minutes long for people to get their sweet carbs and fatty proteins.
I admire dedication. And while sparkling wine is universal for brunches, as are mimosas, if you've braved the elements and the inlaws to get to brunch, you probably want a little more than the low-hanging fruit for wine pairings.
If you're looking for a proper pairing deisgned for the first meal of the day, we have some ideas.
Eggs Benedict + Chardonnay
Even though eggs takes first billing in the name, they're not the main consideration for a wine pairing. What we want to put front and centre for consideration is the rich, creamy, yet oh-so slightly Hollandaise sauce.
To match the fulsome weight of the sauce we need a wine equal in body, and to mirror the decadent Hollandaise, a wine with creamy texture would be required. Next we have these buttery flavours in the dish, and Chardonnay has them, too.
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Pancakes & Waffles & French Toast + Moscato
The cardinal rule to pairing any sweet food with wine is that the wine must always be sweeter than the food.
This does not automatically mean a dessert wine, but when it comes to maple syrup, powdered sugar, and berry compotes, it does require a wine with a touch more risidual sugar to stand up to the sweet breakfast.
A Moscato d'Asti a sweeter styled sparkling wine from northern Italy, with its grapey, fruity, delicately sweet flavours can handle the sugary food. And the bubbles have a cleansing affect to keep the tastebuds snappy and happy, not laden down with glucose.
Classic Eggs and Bacon + Pinot Noir
I'm going red for this one. The eggs, no matter how they're prepared – scrambled, fried or sunny-side up – are a textural prop that is fairly neutral. The bacon, on the other hand, is smoky, salty, and fatty.
If it were me, I'd reach for a Pinot Noir, perhaps something from Ontario or Oregon. Pinot Noir has a nice punch of acidity to brighten the rich meat and egg yolks, but also has its own smoky, earthy flavours to pair well with breakfast. Pinot also is low in tannin, so it will support this diner-style classic, not over-power it.
Of course, if you smother your breakfast in ketchup, brown sauce, or Tobasco, that changes the story, and you will need to consider the dominating favours in the sauce instead.
Smoked Salmon + Brut Champagne
There's something a little decadent about smoked salmon, even if it's simple bagles and lox. If you don't have too many herbs and strong onions, Champagne makes the right pairing because its lip-smacking acidity and palate-cleaning bubbles cut through the rich fats of the fish (as well as any creamy cheese or sour cream that accompanies it.) If the smoked salmon is paired to a lot of verdant flavours – dill, cucumber, chives, etc – a Sauvignon Blanc might be the better choice.
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Huevos Rancheros + Cabernet Franc
Huevos Rancheros is a hearty dish combining eggs, refried beans, red and green salsas, and cheese. The first thing to consider is the dense and earthy bean. We would want a wine of at least medium weight to stand up to it. The next thing I'm thinking of is the light heat, but the verdant flavours of jalapeño, cilantro, tomatillo, and avocado. A Cab Franc, especially one from Chinon in France's Loire Valley, has earthy and herbal flavours to pair with brunch, and the weight to not get buried under the robust dish.
Corned Beef Hash + Syrah
A delicious mix of potatoes, onions, and corned beef, the meat gets its smoky, piquant flavours from the pickling spices it was brined with. Syrah, especially one from northern Rhône, has meaty, smoky notes to mirror the flavours of the beef, but also has some grippy tannin to take on the brisket.
Quiche + Riesling
Clearly, quiche can be made of anything and everything, but for the sake of argument, let's assume this is a classic ham and cheese quiche.
Pork products absolutely sing with Riesling (just think of the food and wine of Alsace and Germany.) The salty note of the meat brings out the fruit in the wine. Riesling's naturally bright acidity mops up the cream and butter and yolky decadence of the quiche.
Shakshuka + Sangiovese
Shakshuka has become a bit of a darilng amongst the brunch set. A north African/Middle Eastern dish made by simmering eggs in tomato sauce with spices. Sangiovese, the red grape of Tuscany is a classic with tomato flavours, as the wine has its own sundried tomato note. It's also quite high in acidity which is needed to stand up to the tomato, which also has high acid. Pair a simple Chianti and watch how the pairing works.
Avocado Toast + Verdicchio
I think calling avocado toast the new breakfast of champions isn't a rogue statement. Everyone is getting in on it, from tree-hugging yogis to suburban mums. The creamy, green notes of the avocado could use a little energy boost, so Verdicchio, a high-acid white wine from Italy works like a squirt of lime over the spread. And Verdicchio brims with savoury, herbal notes to match with the green fruit. Finally, Verdicchio, while only medium bodied, does have a slightly oily texture, so it pairs well with the fatty avocado.
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