What wine is the best to serve with hamburger?

A sloppy greasy burger with creamy dressing, can it really be paired with an elegant wine? Is that even allowed?
Well, admittedly there’s a bit of Lady and the Tramp about it, and just like in the film, the combination works very well. But as always, you need to keep an eye on the flavours, the toppings and the cooking method to find the right match.

What’s in the burger?

No two burgers are the same, and every self-proclaimed grill master has their own preferences. But for the sake of simplicity, we’ll go with the classic cheeseburger. To find the perfect wine, we should break down the hamburger into details. What are the flavours we find in a hamburger? First of all we have Umami from meat, salt and fat from both meat, cheese and dressing, maybe some pickled onions or pickled cucumber which also contribute with acidity. One important question: Is it with or without ketchup? Ketchup is sweet and needs a wine with a distinct fruity sweetness.
If we also have raw vegetables such as raw tomatoes or onions, you should look at the white fruity wines with low astringency. But let’s start with a hamburger where everything is more or less cooked.

Let’s take it piece by piece.

First we have the meat. Classically, it’s ground beef that has spent some time on the grill. That’s where we find fat, umami and the clear grill surface. A real wine lover will be happy to meet a full-bodied and robust wine with good acidity, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon. We can also add a slice or two of bacon for extra salt and meaty flavour.

The cheese, that defines the Cheeseburger.

Even cheese is fat, a sharper blue cheese can be difficult to match with wine but the classic American cheddar cheese contributes mostly fat. A refreshing acidity in the wine can be nice to freshen up the flavour combination.

Sauces and dressings

Then there are the sauces and dressings (you know, the ones that will drip when you try to eat the burger) Most often we find here fat from mayonnaise, sweetness from ketchup, a piquant flavour from mustard. With ketchup on the burger, you can advantageously choose a fruity red wine that contributes a clear fruit sweetness. A word of advice: be carful with strong mustard such as Dijon, whose spicy flavour is an enemy of wine.

the little extra

To make the burger extra tasty (and fussy to eat), we add a few extras.
Pickles such as cucumber or pickled onions add acidity, which should be paired with a wine that has high acidity. Raw vegetables like onions or tomatoes are the enemy of harsh red wines, so for a perfect combination, you should actually omit the vegetables from your burger or cook the vegetables to remove the raw flavour (the salad is usually mild enough that it rarely makes a bad combination with the wine).

the wine

As we see, there is a lot of different tastes in the burger and the variations are endless. But, in general, what kind of wine do I choose for the burger? As I personally like the combination of cheese and bacon on my burgers and like to have a little extra ketchup, my first choice is a fruity Zinfandel but am certainly no stranger to uncork a Italian Barbera to go with the sloppy delight or a soft Shiraz from California.
In short, I look for wines with some tannins, sweet tendencies and savory flavors. But, as usual, there is no right or wrong, just your own personal taste.

Maria Scharffenberg
Sommelier and Teacher