Portobello Mushroom Burgers pair best with flavourful, earthy, fruity red wines such as Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Beaujolais Villages, Zinfandel, and Baco Noir.
Grilled Portobello Burgers are a delicious substitute for beef and present savoury flavours of meat, earth and richness. Tannin is not essential when pairing wine with a Portobello Burger as there is no protein or fat in a Portobello mushroom, meaning there is nothing to soften down the rough edges of the wine. In addition, When adding condiments, such as cheese, ketchup, relish, onion, and mustard, plus your bun, acidity plays a huge factor for pairing wine, as it is required to wash the fats and carbohydrates away.
Best Wine with Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Pinot Noir & Portobello Mushroom Burger Pairing
The fruity and earthy characteristics of Pinot Noir both complement and contrast the earthy and rich flavours of your Portobello Burger. Silky flavours of black cherry, raspberry, cranberry and strawberry keep you refreshed as you bite into your hearty mushroom burger. Meanwhile, notes of truffles, earth, herbs, mushrooms, forest floor and smoke complement the delicious grilled mushroom flavours.
The problem with Pinot Noir is that it is expensive. If you are vegan and love a Portobello Burger, the pairing might be worth the additional cost. However, if you are a casual Portobello Mushroom Burger fan, you might not want to slap down $40 or more for this pairing. In this instance, I would pair the wine up with a Morgon Beaujolais Cru (if you can find one), or a Beaujolais Villages. Both wines feature fruity and earthy notes that are nearly as good as Pinot Noir at a fraction of the cost.
Baco Noir & Portobello Burger Pairing
Baco Noir is this rustic red wine from Niagara, Upstate NY, & Michigan area that is full of blackberry, blueberry, plum, leather, smoke, earth and black pepper flavours. If you love the earthiness of Portobello Mushrooms, you will love this pairing. High in acidity and low in tannin, Baco Noir will keep you refreshed while not clashing with acidic condiments like relish, ketchup, mustard, relish or pickled onions.
Shiraz & Portobello Burger Pairing
An Australian Shiraz is full of black pepper and spicy flavours, along with smoke, dark chocolate and vanilla, all of which go along great with the charred flavours of your mushroom burger. In addition, you’ll get refreshing flavours of jam, plum, raspberry and blackberries which contrast the earthier flavours of your meal.
Syrah from France does make for a better pairing than Shiraz, as with Syrah, you’ll get deeper flavours of meat, bacon, olives and black pepper. That said, Shiraz from Australia is the bigger crowd-pleaser for North American wine drinkers, so if you throw a BBQ and have Portobello mushrooms on the grill, I’d stick with an Australian Shiraz.
Chianti Classico & Portobello Mushroom Pairing
I’m a big fan of Chianti Classico, and I’ll never stop promoting it as I feel it’s the perfect gateway wine for selecting an old-world wine over the polished new world wines.
Chianti Classico tastes like you think Italy would taste like. This red wine is spicy with flavours of black pepper and licorice, slightly sweet with notes of cherry and strawberry and a little bit sweaty with notes of meat, herbs and smoke. Balanced with tannin and acidity, this medium-bodied red wine makes for a great wine pairing if your Portobello Mushroom Burgers is grilled and topped with a little bit of ketchup and perhaps some onions.