What appetizers go with Bordeaux wine?

Okay, so you’re planning a dinner or at least an “apéro à la Française” and plan on serving Bordeaux.

By the way, good thinking on choosing the wine before you choose the food to succeed in your pairing! Another way to succeed in wine and food pairing is to pair wine and food from the region.

So, what appetizers go with Bordeaux wine?

Well, all depends on the Bordeaux wine you’re planning on serving

For a Crémant, a sparkling Bordeaux

Sparkling is usually drank at the beginning of a meal. I know, I always like to start with bubbles, it rinses the palate and wakes up the stomach.

Another thing I like to start with is oysters! They’re light (not many calories), easy-to-eat with its texture and salty, which also wakes up the buds on our palate.

And guess what : it’s also one of my favorite pairings. So with a Crémant, I would recommend Oysters from Archachon or Bouzigues, both being in the Bordeaux region, so you’ll know they are fresh too!

It also works with shrimps, salmon, crab bisque if you want to stay in the food area.

If you’re not into oysters, you can also pair Crémant de Bordeaux with French soft goat cheese such as Banon, Cabécou, Chabichou du poitou, Crottin de Chavignol or even some Gougères (French Choux Pastry), which are very airy.

One of my favorite appetizers with Crémant (and is quite easy to prepare) is Gouda on Apple slices. Put a little of Ginger and Cinnamon and there you go! You’ll get points for originality too.

On the vegetable side, you could prepare asparagus toasts, this works well with Crémant too.

Before we go back to still wines, a controversy pairing I like, is pairing foie gras with Crémant. Indeed, foie gras has a thick texture and I like to “break it” with a lighter wine, such as the crémant with its bubbles.

For a dry white Bordeaux

For dry white wines, you can actually use the same pairings as with Crémant. It works wonders with sea food and soft goat cheese.

If you’re getting a white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc only, I would recommend sticking to the oysters or other seafood.

However, if you’re getting a wine with more body, such as a blend from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon from Pessac-Léognan or Graves, you can pair it with veal, pork or chicken. I would add a creamy sauce and serve it into small portions, such as verrines.

For a sweet white Bordeaux

Sweet white Bordeaux, such as Sauternes, are usually paired with foie gras. However, as I said in the first paragraph, I prefer to pair foie gras, which has a rich texture with a lighter wine, such as Crémant. Otherwise, I find the pairing too “heavy”. But this is MY taste. So you may not share my opinion and it is a recommended pairing, so if you like it, go ahead!

Some like pairing sweet white wine with oysters… Although I love the sweet/sour flavor, I am really not a fan of this pairing. But if you haven’t tried it, give it a go (and let me know in the comments how it went!).

Concerning cheese, any blue cheese works wonders with sweet white wines, especially Roquefort. It is very salty and the sweetness in the Sauternes for example breaks it down a bit.

If you want to make verrines, try lobster or chicken with a sweet&sour; Asian sauce for example. I love those!

For a red Bordeaux

Although I wouldn’t recommend starting off your dinner or “apéro” with a red Bordeaux, it could work if you’re planning on sticking to one color in order to avoid the next day’s headache.

So what appetizers would go best with a red Bordeaux?

Appetizers can be a little trickier than meals to pair with red wine. Indeed, Bordeaux red wines are usually full-bodied, so you need food that also has “body” to compensate the wine’s power.

Pizza works wonders for both Banks. Mushroom such as truffles or porcini mushrooms pair well with a red Bordeaux : pan-fried button mushrooms could be an idea or an omelet with truffles for example.

All in all, here are a few ideas of my personal pairings of Bordeaux wine with appetizers! What appetizers would you pair with Bordeaux wines? Let me know in the comments!