A charcuterie board can be a fun and creative way to display a selection of sophisticated snacks, whether you’re hosting (or attending!) a summer gathering, or just feel like dressing up your food a little before a night on the couch.
‘Charcuterie’ is a French term originally used to describe cured meats. But a contemporary spread can include just about anything your heart desires, from classics like meat and cheese to fun and funky additions such as pickled fruits or edible flowers!
Because of the variability of the modern charcuterie board, knowing what wine to pick for your platter is a tricky business. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you find the perfect pairings for your next spread.
How to pair wine with charcuterie
Unless you’re planning on choosing a unique and individual wine to go with every element of your charcuterie board (far be it from us to tell you ‘no,’) you’re going to want to generalize a little bit.
For the purposes of this post, we’re going to operate on the assumption that cured meats and vibrant cheeses will be making up the base of your board. The easiest thing to do in this case is to pair your wine with protein, and maybe narrow your selection of 100-wines-that-go-with-brie to 2 or 3 by matching subtler tasting notes to the other aspects of your platter.
Fatty pork products like prosciutto are uplifted by crisp whites like Chenin Blanc or Riesling. Duck products, such as rillettes or paté, love a lighter bodied red like a Pinot Noir (most aspects of a charcuterie like a Pinot, to be honest.) Spicy meats, and cheeses including Bries, Camemberts, surface-ripened goat cheeses and many semi-hard varieties, are well complemented by drier whites and high-acid but low-tannic reds.
Now let’s get into the specifics. Here is a selection from the Argaux cellars to match your charcuterie array.
Best red wine for charcuterie
2021 Piaggia Sangiovese ‘Pietranera’ Toscana – $25
This wine is so smooth and an absolute pleasure to drink. It is an unparalleled value for the level of quality and our new gaux-to weeknight Italian sipper. Sangiovese is generally higher in acidity with hints of local earth and herbs including roasted tomato, balsamic and oregano making this wine a great match for you guessed it: all things tomato! This specific Sangiovese has notes of red raspberry, strawberry, forest jam, sweet spices, cocoa, dusty rose, and sage. Pair it with your classic Italian cheeses such as Pecorino and olives, or Focaccia with roasted tomatoes and sage.
2020 Gouchas Lujan de Cuyo Malbec – $22
A Beaujolais is a classic staple of any charcuterie picnic. But, if you don’t have Beaujolais, why not go for something made in a similar fashion? This Beaujolais-inspired Malbec is exciting and oh so fresh. Fair warning, this could be your new favorite chillable red – seriously, we would drink a lot more Malbec if they all tasted like this. Think blueberry, black cherry, cranberry ocean spray, cocoa, leather, cigar box.
- 2019 No Name Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir – $35
This Pinot is perfectly balanced. With regards to Burgundian Pinot Noir, this wine is rather Volnay-like, and finishes with stony minerality and soft tannins. This Pinot is the quintessential libation for enjoying with a platter of prosciutto, dried apricots, spicy cornichons, Crottin de Chavignol and pork paté. Yum. We know what we’re having for lunch.
- 2020 Les Athlètes du Vin Touraine Pinot Noir – $25
A bouncy and accessible Pinot that gives your fresh berries, cherries, and cherry blossoms with every sip. If you’ve invited this wine to the party, serve it chilled and make sure to include crostini with ricotta and sour cherry preserves as well as a generous shave of Jamon Iberico on your board.
Best white wine for charcuterie
- 2020 Les Athlètes du Vin Sauvignon Blanc – $25
Tart, acidic and totally delicious, this refreshing wine is an athletic and energizing delight during a hot summer day. Enjoy on a white tablecloth loaded with smoked salmon, goat cheese, burrata and rosemary-roasted marcona almonds.
- NV Doyard Vendemiaire 1er Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut – $24
This delicious bottle of bubbles is produced by the Bronca sisters in the Valdobbiadene zone of Prosecco. The wine is refreshing, light and mineral-driven – the perfect staple bottle of bubbles for the house, plus it’s great in a spritz! Produced using organic farming practices, woman-owned and operated. Pair it with Camembert, Halloumi or aged Cheddar, summer sausage, and chicken liver mousse.
- 2019 Pedralonga Rias Baixas Albariño – $24
Wild, floral and aromatic, we want to take this wine with us on a bicycling tour of her native Spain, stopping for tapas and sunbathing at every opportunity we can find. If you can’t make it to the Iberian peninsula just yet, open this Albarino with feta, garlic-stuffed olives, and Soppressata.
- 2015 Champagne Delavenne Pere Fils Brut Millesime Grand Cru Champagne – $135
Something about charcuterie just begs to be paired with Champagne that tastes like a bakery. This elegant, effervescent, citrus-tart forward bottle is not the drink for a casual picnic in the park, but there’s no reason you can’t dress up your board to match the auspiciousness of whatever occasion would give you cause to pop this cork. Think caviar, duck Foie Gras, and the freshest Mozz you can get your hands on.
Best rose wine for charcuterie
- 2020 Chateau Barbebelle Aix-en-Provence ‘Cuvée Madeleine’ Rosé – $25
Rich, friendly and utterly delicious, this fruity and floral rosé is a summer staple made using sustainable farming practices at a woman-owned winery in the heart of Provence. With this wine on your table, you should think about loading your charcuterie with fresh fruit, semi-hard cheeses and dry-cured salamis.
How Argaux can help
If you want to learn more about wine, and especially about pairing wine with day-to-day vittles, check out our Wine 101 Tasting Kit and the book Big Macs & Burgundy, Wine Pairings For The Real World. Vanessa Price, foodie and author extraordinaire, put together a guide to wine pairings that covers viticultural matches for everything from fast food burgers to grilled swordfish. With this book in hand, as well as a few select bottles from the Argaux collection, you’ll be ready for whatever a charcuterie board has to throw at you, no matter how chaotic things get.
