Burgers and rosé wine pairings
Think pink
Shake up your standard burger and a brew routine with a chilled rosé and its perfect homemade gourmet burger pairing—there’s something for everyone here!
Sparkling
What do we look for in a burger-ready rosé? Freshness is essential—it must have a structure of acidity that can cut through the fattiness of the burgers and stand up to tangy toppings and condiments. A little bit of weight can also help the wine hold its own: Medium-bodied rosés do well against such rich textures. Fruitiness is definitely a plus, and a hint of sweetness always seems like a delicious match with slightly charred flavours from the grill.
Enjoy the added refreshment of bubbles with these hearty, earthy Black Bean, Mushroom & Lentil Burgers.
Cono Sur Sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé
Cono Sur’s rosé is made with Pinot Noir—a grape that, in other guises, has a natural affinity with the flavour of mushrooms—from Chile’s cool southern Bio Bio Valley. Aromas of peach and cherry, and a hint of tangerine carry through into the taste.
Lazzara Rosato Secco Sparkling VQA
The Lazzara comes from Ontario’s own Henry of Pelham, a fine, crisp bubbly based on Riesling that’s pinked with Gamay and Pinot Noir, and full of apple and stone-fruit flavours.
Elegant
Rosés can be fun and easygoing; they can also be svelte and elegant, as perfectly balanced as a ballet dancer. With zippy acidity and aromas that seem more floral and citrusy than “berry-cherry,” it’s a style associated with the South of France—but it's not exclusive to this region.
Try this style with these Shrimp & Salmon Burgers with Lemon Aïoli.
Domaine Lafage Miraflors
Miraflors from Domaine Lafage is great value, the blend of Mourvèdre and Grenache Gris conjuring up lively floral and orange zest notes.
Perrin Studio by Miraval
Studio by Miraval also has a cinematic connection: It’s a collaboration between Château Miraval, still owned by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel fame. An ethereal colour gives no hint of the juicy cherry tang and merry spritz of this treat.
Yes Way Rosé
Exceptionally pale, delicate and dry, Yes Way Rosé brings subtle peach blossom and citrus flavours with a refreshing acidity—like a squeeze of Provençal lemon on our seafood burger.
Francis Ford Coppola Sofia Rosé
Francis Ford Coppola achieves the same thing in California with the latest vintage of Sofia (named for his daughter), a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noir that finishes with a sleek minerality. It’s great with any seafood and really picks out the lemon aïoli on the burger.
Fruity
The topping of cranberry jam on this delicious turkey burger is a perfect bridge into a fruitier style of rosé, where all sorts of juicy aromas carry through into the fruit-forward flavours of the wine..
Turkey, Cranberry & Brie Burgers
The Beachhouse Rosé
The Beachhouse is a South African rosé made from the Cape’s famous star, Pinotage, which here offers the scent of strawberry and red apple. Great value, it has enough heft to handle any kind of burger with ease.
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Rosé
Jacob’s Creek Reserve gives a South Australian option, its lightweight body carrying notes of redcurrant, tangerine and rose petal with a final kiss goodbye of strawberry.
Trius Rosé VQA
Trius Rosé is pressed from Niagara Gamay Noir and Syrah, and has its own cranberry note surrounded by tangy grapefruit and redcurrant. Dry and well-knit with a medium body, it cuts through the richness of the brie.
Josh Cellars Rosé
Great value, it has enough heft to handle any kind of burger with ease. From California, Josh Cellars Rosé is mostly Barbera, a grape that makes famously fresh and food-friendly reds in its homeland of Italy.
Bodacious
Spicy, fruity and with the added tang of feta and tomato, this gorgeous lamb burger has everything: A wine of real character is called for.
Reach for this style of rosé when enjoying our Moroccan Lamb Burgers.
13th Street Burger Blend Rosé VQA
Niagara’s 13th Street Winery has actually created a rosé specifically for your precious patties. Its Burger Blend is a mouth-watering quartet of locally-grown Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Merlot that ticks every box, balancing a hint of sweetness with enough acidity to cut through the richness of the meat and comfortably handle the apricot chutney and tomato condiments.
Jacob’s Creek Moscato Rosé
Try Jacob’s Creek’s fragrant, off-dry, spritzy Moscato served very well-chilled. As a rule, it’s more of an easygoing aperitif, but here the Muscat’s pear-blossom aromatics make charmingly sweet music with the apricot chutney.
Gran Feudo Rosé
A trace of dried herbs behind the plum and watermelon in Gran Feudo’s smooth, muscular version picks out the spices in the burger.
Bold
We love a challenge, and finding a rosé that can pair well with a red-blooded beef burger further enhanced with the fiery fermented flavours of kimchi and gochujang certainly qualifies! Add the palate-coating yolk of a fried egg, and the game is most decidedly afoot. You could play it safe with one of the sparkling rosés we paired with the black bean burger, or bring in a wine of real substance.
Make these Gochujang Burgers with Kimchi Mayo.
Cave Spring Dry Rosé VQA
Cave Spring Dry Rosé is a big mouthful, smooth and round and not too fruity, with beautifully integrated suggestions of redcurrant, red plum and cranberry. It’s reminiscent of a Tavel, the great rosé of the Southern Rhône—serious wine, in other words.
Longshot Rosé
Dry and finely balanced, Longshot from California offers pretty strawberry and cherry flavours, but at 13.5% ABV it has the backbone to take on this burger. One other option (though it’s “orange wine,” not pink) would be a skin-fermented white to pick up on the funky taste of the kimchi. Four Ontario versions will be in the August 7th VINTAGES release.
