What wines to offer with an à la carte brunch in his restaurant?

Updated on December 13, 2022

Brunch is a trend and more and more restaurants are offering it on their menu (especially on Sundays) to make their customers enjoy this culinary concept that comes from the mix between "breakfast" and "lunch". The brunch mixes sweet and salty and hot and cold drinks between tea, coffee and fruit juice. So we don't always think of proposing wine to accompany our brunch, even though there are beautiful combinations to be made, and it brings a more festive touch!

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To propose the right references to go with your brunch, it already depends on the type of brunch you offer in your establishment. Indeed, if brunch is an American concept, it has adapted to everyone's culinary habits and there are many ways to make brunch. We present you the main types of brunch with their wine pairing so that you find yourself in at least one of the situations.

The American brunch

We start with the great classic: the American brunch, with its pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, but also cheesecake and muffins. For a true New York-style brunch, offer an egg Benedict: a poached egg placed on a slice of bacon and a muffin, all covered with hollandaise sauce.

If you serve this type of brunch:

We recommend a rosé from Provence or even from Languedoc Roussillon or Bordeaux. Their lightness and acidity without too much tannin will go very well with pork and charcuterie in general. The favorite vintage that goes with : I have a date with you fromDomaine Rière Cadène.

Another option is to serve a light red, again with very little tannin. We suggest a red from the Loire region but be careful with the grape variety, we prefer a Côteaux or a Pinot Noir rather than a Cabernet Franc. The favorite wine that goes with it:Pinot Noir fromJM Biet

The English brunch

With their savory breakfasts, the brunch concept also works very well in England, and although close to the American brunch, it also has its specificities: we find scrambled eggs with bacon, muffins, but we also have English specialties such as scones, crumpets, white beans with tomato sauce, porridge and toast with marmalade. It is served with English tea, but wine can also work well, as long as you find the right one and serve it at the right time.

If you serve this type of brunch:

Our first tip is to avoid reds, especially if the brunch is served with tea. As a general rule, tea should be served with the sweet part of the brunch and wine should be served with the savory part.

For the English brunch, we will rather go for a white wine: a dry and fruity white wine which will be fresh and easy to drink. The favourite wine that goes with :Sables Fauves from Domaine de Laballe.

For the amateurs, we can also suggest a sweeter wine, which will go as well with the sweet part of the brunch as with the bacon and eggs. Favorite wine to go with :Coteaux du LayonfromClos des Sables

The Nordic/Scandinavian brunch

If you are rather fond of fish and fresh products for your brunches, you will propose a brunch that can be qualified as Scandinavian. On the menu, you will find smoked fish (salmon, tuna, herring), fish eggs, tarama accompanied by blinis, raw vegetables and fresh vegetables.

If you serve this type of brunch :

The pairing with fish and seafood is best done with dry, mineral whites such as Sauvignon de Loire in the Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé appellations. For these 2 appellations, we recommend the vintages ofJM Berthier.

We also suggest dry whites from Alsace (be careful, only dry whites): rather Riesling or Sylvaner. The favorite vintage that goes with it: theRiesling fromRieflé Landmann

The French brunch

Brunch is also very well suited to the French way of doing things: there are good viennoiseries, fromage blanc with fresh fruit or jam, toast as well as poached or boiled eggs. You can also add crepes, as well as a nice cheese platter before finishing with an apple pie with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you serve this type of brunch:

It's time to suggest bubbles! We suggest with all the pastries and sweet products of Champagne, with as a favorite vintage theBrut RéserveofChampagne Marteaux.

For a change from Champagne, the Blanquette de Limoux, a sparkling wine from Roussillon, is also a very nice option:the Blanquette de Limouxtraditional method ofAntech LimouxThe Blanquette de Limoux has buttery notes as well as hints of almonds and hazelnuts due to its maturation in barrels which go very well with pastries.

The Italian style brunch

Even if the brunch is not of Mediterranean origin, there is enough to choose from in a brunch that will satisfy all the fans of this cuisine. There are boiled eggs, bruschetta with parma ham, mozzarella, olives, smoked scamorza, focaccia, white ham with herbs and for a sweet touch, panna cotta or tiramisu.

If you serve this type of brunch:

This time, we will go for a light red wine but with a little character. Charcuterie goes very well with this type of wine, always avoiding wines that are too tannic. We will therefore start with a Beaujolais, with as a favorite vintage theCôtes de PyofDomaine de la Bonne Tonne.

We can also opt for a right bank Bordeaux like a Côte de Bordeaux, a Côtes de Blaye or a Côtes de Bourg. Our favorite domain: theChâteau Fleur Lamothe.

If you have the possibility, you can also propose an Italian wine, a red from Sicily for example.

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