Pairing · charcuterie, sharing board
What wine with charcuterie?
A clairet or a young red, served cool. Saucisson, ham and rillettes want fruit and little tannin, not a great wine: a Bordeaux Supérieur one to three years old, between €7 and €12, does the whole job. The selector below builds the board and what goes around it; the page then says how much to plan for 30, 60 or 100 people standing, and when a wine merchant is no use at all.
Build the board and what goes with it
Charcuterie is preset as the starter, with a cold buffet as the main and a cheese platter: that is the sharing board as it is served standing. The balance shown is then about 57% rosé and 43% red, no sparkling. Change each line: the colour, age and price range follow, with no château.
Three wines for a board
Clairet de Bordeaux
A very pale red, macerated overnight, almost without tannin, served at 10 °C. It has the fruit needed against salt and fat, and drinks standing up without tiring. €7–12, one to three years old.
Young Bordeaux Supérieur
One to three years old, ripe Merlot, supple tannins, served at 14 °C. Enough body for a country terrine, enough fruit not to seem hard against the fat. €7–12.
A rosé alongside the red
When the board mixes charcuterie, cheeses and raw vegetables, a dry Bordeaux rosé at 8 °C covers what the red doesn't. That is the “cold buffet” line in the selector, rosé and dry white Bordeaux one to three years old. €7–12. For a full buffet, standing or seated, see what wine with a cold buffet.
Why not a great wine
The salt, pepper, garlic and fat of charcuterie crush the finesse of a wine for laying down and harden its tannins. A ten-year-old Pauillac with a dry saucisson tastes dry and bitter; a one-year-old clairet with the same saucisson tastes juicy. It is not a question of budget but of structure: charcuterie wants fruit, freshness and little tannin. That is why the selector suggests the same price as for a barbecue, not the price for lamb.
The second point is temperature. A board is served standing, often outdoors, for two or three hours. A red at the temperature of a warm room tastes heavy and alcoholic; the same at 14 °C tastes lively. Chill the clairet like a rosé and put the red in the ice tub for ten minutes before opening it. The what wine with a barbecue page follows the same logic for grilled food.
How many bottles for a sharing board
For a two-hour aperitif before a meal, allow one bottle per three guests; for a three-hour standing buffet that replaces the meal, one bottle per two. The table assumes two hours standing, 80% drinkers, half light red, half rosé and white.
| Guests | Clairet and red | Rosé and white | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 30 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 60 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 100 | 18 | 18 | 36 |
Rounded up to cases of 6, 8% margin standing. For a board with ten friends, four bottles: go to your local wine shop, you don't need us. For three hours or more, the how much wine for a standing buffet page does the exact count for your numbers.
The classic mistakes
- Serving the dinner red with the board. The ageing red meant for the main course tastes hard with saucisson and runs out before it reaches the table. Keep it for the meal, take a clairet for the aperitif.
- Forgetting that red is served cool. At 22 °C under a pergola, a Bordeaux Supérieur loses its fruit. Ten minutes in the ice, no more.
- Planning too much red. Standing up, people drink cool first: rosé, white, clairet. The extra red stays in the case, and unopened cases are not taken back.
- Neglecting bread and water. Charcuterie makes you thirsty. A jug of water per high table slows the wine down and avoids difficult ends to the aperitif.
For a board that opens a wedding meal or a reception, the full menu is put together on the food and wine pairing for a wedding menu page.
What red wine with charcuterie?
A young, fruity red with little tannin, served at around 14 °C: clairet de Bordeaux, or Bordeaux Supérieur one to three years old. Allow €7–12 a bottle. Great wines for laying down bring nothing here: salt and fat mask their finesse.
Red, white or rosé with a mixed board?
Both colours, roughly half and half. Clairet or light red for the charcuterie, a rosé or dry white for fresh cheeses, goat's cheese and raw vegetables. A clairet on its own can cover the lot if you only want to buy one wine.
What wine with saucisson?
A cool clairet, or a young Merlot red. Saucisson is salty and peppery: it wants fruit and freshness, not marked tannins. A dry rosé also works very well in summer.
Is bag-in-box suitable for a sharing-board aperitif?
Yes, for rosé and clairet served in cups, outdoors, to a lot of people: no corks, no breakages, and the wine keeps for several weeks once opened. For a red served at the table, stick with the bottle. The bag-in-box or bottle page compares the two for your volume.