Pairing Wine With Burger

Beef burger is probably one of the most well-known and eaten food all around the world in the last decades. The ideal recipe is the original American one: a smooth bread filled with beef meat, tomatoes, salad and a slice of cheese, all topped with some sesame seeds.

Pairing Wine with Burger

As you already know, there are hundred of variants of this recipe and the term “burger”, originally used to describe only the meat, now is used to talk about the recipe and the whole food. We will also use it to refer to the recipe in this article.

Introducting—PairME’s “The Wine for Steak”

“The Wine for Steak” is the ideal match to pair your traditional or gourmet burgers

Burgers require exactly the same wines of grilled or braised meat, thanks to their strength and pronounced smoothness. In this case, a tannic red wine with high acidity is the key to keep under control the aroma of a burger, traditional or gourmet one. Just think about a gourmet burger with grilled foie gras and premium camembert cheese used to top the patty. The tannins found in a red wine help to balance the smooth texture of the burger, cleaning up the mouth, and the fruity aromatics on the aftertaste help to keep under control the powerful aroma of the foie gras combined with the beef meat, making the mouth ready for another bite.

If you are a fan of burgers, whatever its style, and you need the ideal wine to pair it, check to learn more about our “The Wine For Steak”.

Beef burger history: who created it?

As you know, beef burger became a must-have on the menus of both fine dining restaurants and informal pubs. To understand its origins, we have to travel as far back as Ancient Rome in 1 AD. Within the Apicius – a cookbook that showcases a collection of ancient Roman recipes – there is evidence of beef preparation known as ‘Isicia Omentata’. In this process, beef was mixed with pine kernels, black and green peppercorns, and white wine. The meat was heavily seasoned and it was served baked, we would say overcooked nowadays.

However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the beef burger really started to make its appearance. In the aptly named city of Hamburg, Germany, high quality beef was minced and combined with garlic, onions, salt and pepper, before being formed into patties. This made what were known as ‘Hamburg steaks’ or ‘Frikadelle’, as they’re known in Germany. They were not served between a bread bun and were considered quite gourmet and pricey. The burger history started as a premium priced product, not accessible to all.

During the first half of the 19th century, millions of emigrants began to make their way to America. Many of the German immigrants arriving in New York set up successful restaurants where they offered ‘Hamburg-style American fillet’ or ‘beefsteak à la Hambourgeoise’. The American preparation of mince beef came directly from the need to fit the taste of the millions of arriving European immigrants. The beef burger stormed to immense popularity throughout the 20th century, becoming an iconic staple of American cuisine. At the start of the 20th century, there was a need to provide food for people living within the huge cities and urban sprawls all across the USA. On top of this, food also had to be cheap and affordable enough for the working class. So, the beef burger was born at just the right moment in history when people needed to eat both fast and cheap.

The rebirth of gourmet burgers

As we said, burger started its life as an expensive and premium product, and there is now a style of it that wants to enhancing the value of this product. Better burger chains aim to stand apart from typical fast food by providing focused menus, novel items, and customizable options.

The first high-end burgers didn’t really show up until 2001. Chef Daniel Boulud made the DB Burger, an outrageous upgrade of the sirloin beef patty to include red wine-braised short ribs, a dab of foie gras and black truffles. Specialty house-made buns and pickles, unusual cheeses, experimental aioli and unique meat combinations became the expectation, rather than the difference.

These style of burgers require specific wine pairings depending on the ingredients, the style of the bread and the cheese; they are often served in high quality restaurants that will provide an already-made pairing with a wine or a beer.

The most iconic burger recipe: the cheeseburger

An American-style cheeseburger consists of a patty of grilled, fried, or seared ground beef topped with a slice of cheese, wrapped with two halves of a bun. Common cheeses include American, Cheddar, and Pepper Jack.

The powerful aroma of the beef meat and the smoothness and fattiness brought by the cheese give to the mouth an astonishing pleasure and a smooth and aromatic aftertaste. However, bite after bite the smoothness of a cheeseburger could overwhelm the mouth stuffing your taste buds. A lively, yet tannic red wine is the best pairing for this recipe because it has the ability to clean the mouth from the fattiness of the cheese thanks to the astringency of the tannins. Moreover, the acidity of a fresh red wine will help to keep under control the powerful aroma of the meat patty, cleaning the taste buds.

Pairing an ideal wine with a cheeseburger could help to feel less full and eat even more burgers.

Conclusion

Meat burgers must be managed as a steak or braised meat, talking about pairings. In fact, beef meat represents the main ingredient and the most important feature of the recipe thanks to the smooth texture and the powerful aroma on the aftertaste. As for a grilled steak, the beef meat gives an extra strength to the recipe and it is clearly detachable on the mouth; the fattiness of the meat, often enhanced by the smoothness of the bread and the extra-fattiness of the cheese, must be balanced by a red wine with high tannins and lively acidity. These two features are crucial to clean the mouth, making it ready to take another bite, together with powerful black fruits aromas to sustain the strength of the meat. There are different solutions to pair a burger, but you won’t go wrong looking to our “The Wine For Steak”, our Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah blend.