10 Best Wine Options With Pork Chops: Tasted & Ranked (2023)
Last Updated on September 14, 2023 by Lydia Martin
After years of experience, I’ve known a lot about wine and food pairings, and I can help you find the best wine with pork chops.
Whether you prefer a light and fruity red wine like Pinot Noir or a strong and earthy one like Syrah, I’ll show you the perfect match to make your pork chops taste even better. Read on.
Top 10 Wine Bottles To Pair With Pork Chops
10. Barbera
Average Price: around $19-$30/750ml
Alcohol Content: 13-15% ABV
Why We Like It: If you want something lighter than a Cabernet Sauvignon, try Barbera. We recommend this red wine for its rich notes of dark berries with savory hints.
This is one of the perfect wine pairings with pork dishes like pork roast with red sauce. It’s best served cold. So, refrigerate it 30 minutes before your meal to enjoy its full flavors.
9. Beaujolais-Villages
Average Price: around $14-$25/750ml
Alcohol Content: 12-13% ABV
Why We Like It: Pairing Beaujolais Villages with lighter fare, such as a pork sausage, is ideal.
This wine, made from Gamay Noir grapes, is relatively inexpensive but offers various flavors, such as tart cherry, strawberry, cranberry, and raspberry.
We like its hints of smoke, candy apple, and banana, which pair with pork chop or pork sausage. If you don’t like its funkier flavors, serve it cold alongside a pork dish.
Read: Recommended Red Wines For Pasta
8. Dry Rosé
Average Price: starts at $9/750ml
Alcohol Content: 11-12% ABV
Why We Like It: Rosé wine with pork during a meal is really appetizing. Its citrus, strawberry, and watermelon aromas have good acidity – one of the best wines for food.
Many wine enthusiasts would agree that this wine is somewhere between red wines and white wines.
It combines the profile of reds and whites, making the right wine pairing for grilled pork chops with white BBQ sauce.
7. Chiroubles – Beaujolais Cru
Average Price: around $15/750ml
Alcohol Content: 13% ABV
Why We Like It: The Chiroubles is a lighter-bodied version of a Beaujolais Cru. We like its mineral and red fruit flavor on the nose, followed by a floral and herbaceous finish.
It’s great with various food items, such as pork tenderloin and grilled pork chop.
Read: Recommended Wines As Christmas Presents
6. Spanish Wine
Average Price: around $30-$60/750ml
Alcohol Content: 17-22% ABV
Why We Like It: Wines from Spain, either a sparkling wine, red or white wine, are great to drink, especially when paired with lighter cuts of meat (red or white meat).
Some of the best examples include Grenache, Tempranillo, and Rioja, which have similar flavors – leather, cherry, and wood aromas.
“Wine is bottled poetry.” –Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish Novelist
Try serving Spanish wines alongside Prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin.
5. Savennières
Average Price: around $27-$40/750ml
Alcohol Content: 14% ABV
Why We Like It: Savennières, a dry white wine from France’s Loire Valley, is another ideal wine pairing pork chops. – x.
We like its mineral and black pepper spice notes, which pair nicely with pork tenderloin, red meat, and pork dishes.
4. Chardonnay
Average Price: around $25-$50/750ml
Alcohol Content: 13% ABV (on average)
Why We Like It: A good oaky Chardonnay wine pairs well with pork dishes cooked in butter or creamy sauce. The fruit and creamy texture of this wine complements rich dishes.
But the bright acidity of an unoaked Chardonnay [1] wine balance the sauce’s richness.
The earthy notes, alongside apple, pear, and citrus, pair well with apple sauce and apple-stuffed pork chops.
3. Lagrein
Average Price: around $15-$40/750ml
Alcohol Content: 12.5-13.5% ABV
Why We Like It: Lagrein is a full-bodied wine with smoky and bright flavors. We like its robust yet delicate characteristics, including herbs, leather, and tobacco hints.
This red wine pairing goes with pork chop, roast pork belly, pork sausages, and pulled pork for its fresh acidity.
Find out what’s the top organic red wine here.
2. Zinfandel
Average Price: around $12-$23/750ml
Alcohol Content: 13-17% ABV
Why We Like It: Zinfandel wine grape variety has higher acidity, making it a perfect food pairing wine with pork chops, especially those with a bit of spice.
This wine is perfect with pork chops topped with barbecue sauce.
1. Pinot Noir
Average Price: around $20-$45/750ml
Alcohol Content: 13.5-15% ABV
Why We Like It: Pinot Noir is among the best wines to pair with pork chops. It has a low tannin with fruit-forward flavors that taste great with tender meat, like pork chops.
The smoky flavors of this fruity wine pair well with barbecue and sweet sauces, especially with grilled pork chops.
“Pork chops and Pinot Noir, a harmonious duet of flavors.” – Liquor Laboratory
Pinot Noir is always our go-to wine whenever we have grilled pork or pork loin chops on the meal and crispy suckling pig during occasions.
**Average prices are based on the estimated suggested retail price on the market, which may vary depending on the store.
4 Types of Pork Chops & Their Wine Pairings
Loin Sirloin Chops
These lean cuts are great when cooked at high temperatures and seasoned with herbs and citrus.
For these pork chops, opt for a white wine with bold herbaceous and floral characteristics, such as Chenin Blanc or Viognier.
Rib Chops
Compared to the boneless kind, this cut is tender. It’s closer to the blade end and is fattier, keeping it juicy. Rib chops taste best with Zinfandel or Pinots (Noir and Grigio).
Shoulder Blade Chops
This cut has a fatty texture with a bit of hard gristle. You can either slow-cook or braise these baby cuts, and it pairs best with Beaujolais Cru or Beaujolais-Villages wines.
Loin Blade Chops
These chops have a portion of the pork tenderloin. These are very mild and lean and can be cooked either by broiling or pan-frying.
Pinot Noir, Beaujolais-Villages, or sparkling wines are the best pairing wine with these chops as they won’t overpower the meat’s mild flavors.
FAQs
What red wine goes best with a pork chop?
The best red wine to go best with pork chops is Pinot Noir for its light and earthy tones with strawberry, cherry, and raspberry flavors.
What’s the best wine with grilled pork chops?
The best white wine with pork chops cooked grilled is Chardonnay for its fruity and creamy texture that tastes great with grilled dishes, especially pork.
But you can also try the German Riesling, Dry Riesling, Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio), and Sauvignon Blanc [2].
Final Verdict
There are lots of recommendations for pairing wine pork and pork. But the best pairing is subjective, and it depends on your preference.
There are no standard rules on how to pair food and wine. Just choose the one that you love. But if you ask us for our best recommendation based on our experience, you’ll never go wrong with Pinot Noir.
References:
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/5-things-to-know-about-chardonnay-the-worlds-most-popular-white-wine/2019/07/26/eed6635c-ad55-11e9-a0c9-6d2d7818f3da_story.html
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlsson/2023/05/26/top-wines-in-the-world-sauvignon-blanc-competition/
