Breakfast wines broken down: what to quaff with your croissant
As January’s annual sobriety challenge draws to its close, sommeliers suggest their pairings for salmon, eggs Benedict and even croissants
A good meal paired with the right wine is like icing on a cake. But would you start the day with wine? While some frown upon alcohol before 5pm, others take a more relaxed view, especially when it comes to brunch.
Wine, or woi as it is called in the central German state of Hesse, is a must with a hearty breakfast. There, famous hotels offer sparkling wines with the breakfast buffet or à la carte dishes.
This tradition is by no means a new phenomenon. And the Metropolitan Hotel in New York had breakfast wines on its menu as early as 1859. But which wines are suitable for a special kind of breakfast at home?
“I use the term ‘breakfast wine’ – usually jokingly – for particularly fine wines, often with a sweet residue,” says Mark Barth, a representative of the Wein- und Sektgut Barth in Eltville-Hattenheim, Hesse, southwest Germany..
Barth’s first choice would clearly be a sparkling wine: “A high-quality sparkling wine made using the traditional method. The carbon dioxide in sparkling wine is said to have an invigorating effect. In the morning, if you are tired, it can really boost your circulation.”
