The best red and white wines to pair with bacon are Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Syrah and Pinot Gris. Sparkling wine like Prosecco and Cava, along with Rosé make for exceptional pairings with Bacon as well.
While Bacon can often be eaten on its own, you’ll often see it as a flavour enhancer, such as a hamburger topping, with eggs, on a pizza or wrapped around salmon. My blog will cover many situations where you might see bacon, and while I cover the main bases, there are still a lot of bacony good dishes to write home about.
Thus, for even more bacon dishes, check out my wine and food pairing database on my homepage, which has thousands of food and wine pairings.
Best Wines with Bacon
Pinot Noir and Bacon
Bacon is a salty and savoury food that is high in fat and protein. The rich and smoky flavours of Bacon are the perfect complement to the delicate and complex flavours of Pinot Noir. The saltiness of the Bacon brings out the fruitiness of the Pinot Noir, while the smokiness of the Bacon complements the wine’s earthy and spicy notes.
Salty foods can make a huge impact on the flavour of your wine, and to properly pair Pinot Noir with Bacon, you want to purchase Bacon that is reasonable in sodium. In fact, red wines high in tannin, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, rarely work out well with salty foods like Bacon, as the tannin in the wine makes the dish taste even saltier. You might as well be a deer out in the wild, licking a ‘salt lick’ to enjoy this pairing.
Pinot Noir, on the other hand, is low in tannin and high in acidity, making it a refreshing contrast against the salty, savoury and smoky flavours of Bacon.
If you’re eating a plate of Bacon (which I have done many a time when I was on a Keto diet, along with ‘other’ reasons), Pinot Noir is your best choice of wine to pick as both the wine and the Bacon make one another taste even better. However, this wine pairing will go even better with bacon dishes that have mushrooms, chicken, beans or fish/seafood.
Off-Dry Riesling and Bacon
With its tangy apple and crisp pear flavours, an off-dry Riesling is already best friends with pork, making it a natural complement to Bacon. Meanwhile, the sweetness and acidity of Riesling will provide refreshment against the saltiness of the Bacon, while its citrus and floral notes can balance the richness of the Bacon.
I wouldn’t pair an Off-Dry Riesling with Bacon on its own. It wouldn’t be a bad pairing, however, I don’t think it would be a pairing you’ll fall in love with, either. Instead, match an Off-Dry Riesling with lighter bacon dishes such as a Hawaiian Pizza with Bacon, a Chicken and Bacon Submarine Sandwich, Perogies and Bacon, or a BLT sandwich.
Syrah and Bacon Pairing
A French Syrah is often described as savoury and meaty, containing notes of Bacon which swim around in rich concoction of blackberries, raspberries, black pepper, smoke, spice and cassis. Maybe I turned you off of Syrah there, as who wants to drink something fruity and meaty? When you think of it that way, not many of us.
However, when you think of pairing a glass of red wine with a Hamburger loaded with Bacon, you’re consuming something both fruity and meaty, and Syrah, which balances out both flavours, is an amazing match.
Thus, while I wouldn’t pair Syrah up with straight up Bacon, the wine is wonderful with Pizza loaded with olives, Bacon and all of the lord’s meats, Hamburgers topped with Bacon , Lamb and Bacon dishes as well as anything heavy, savoury and bacony.
Rosé and Bacon Pairing
A dry refreshing Rosé that features crisp raspberry and black fruit flavours offers a lot of refreshment against the saltiness of Bacon. Rosé would also be exceptional with Bacon that is on top of a green salad or a Caesar salad. Swordfish or Salmon wrapped in Bacon, along with Scallops wrapped in Bacon are also delicious with Rosé.
Other opportunities to enjoy Rosé with Bacon include Brunch, where Rosé will go amazing with Salmon, Lamb, and Ham. Rosé is also excellent with a BLT sandwich as it can cut through all the mayo, bacon grease and saltiness so you can hone in on the sweet and earthy bacon flavours.
Prosecco & Bacon Pairing
Prosecco won’t knock your socks off with Bacon. However, it will ensure you enjoy every little piece of Bacon you eat. The reason behind this is that Prosecco is an acidic and sparkling wine that whisks the salt and fats of Bacon away with every sip. This is a good thing, as it’s so easy for our taste buds to become clogged up, muting our senses.
Prosecco will also be amazing with Brunch, where Bacon is often featured. Foods high in carbs, such as pancakes, waffles, French toast, and hash browns or home fries, are all perked up by the acidity of Prosecco. Meanwhile, by cutting through all the grease, Prosecco will keep a tight rein on all the greasier foods such as Bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs Benedict and western omelets.
Thus, by pairing Prosecco with Brunch, you won’t overeat, as the acidity and bubbles allow you to taste your food by striping away all of the grease. This helps you leave Bruch feeling satisfied and not like you need a nap from a carb and meat sweat overload.
Prosecco is also the best wine to pair with Bacon and Eggs. The light nature of Prosecco won’t overwhelm the eggs, meanwhile the crisp flavours of apple, pear, toast, peach and apricot won’t overwhelm your eggs either.