Food and wine
What wine with cassoulet?
A dish that fears nothing: it needs a South-West red as sturdy as it is.
A slow-baked casserole of white beans, duck confit, pork and sausage, with a crust on top. Enormously filling. A winter dish from Toulouse and its neighbours.
Why this pairing works
This is the heaviest dish in French cooking. A light wine would be swallowed without being noticed. You need tannin, body, and enough acidity that a second plate stays possible.
Look for on the list
Madiran
24–45 €Tannat, the most tannic grape in France. Built for this, and from the same region.
Corbières
20–36 €From the Languedoc, warm and spicy, with character for little money.
Cahors
25–45 €Dark, firm malbec: another neighbour of the cassoulet, and one of the safest.
What to avoid : Anything delicate: pinot noir, whites, rosés. The dish erases them.
The ranges are restaurant prices for a full bottle. By the glass, reckon on roughly a quarter. At a wine shop, divide by two or three.
What to say
« Un rouge du Sud-Ouest pour le cassoulet, qu'est-ce que vous avez ? »
pronounced : uhn rooj du sood-WEST poor luh ka-soo-LAY, kess-kuh voo za-VAY
A South-West red for the cassoulet: what do you have?
Yes, but on this list?
Knowing which style of wine you want still does not tell you which one to take from the thirty lines in front of you. Photograph the list: Cépage compares what is actually available, at your budget, and decides.
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