There is nothing quite as delicious as an English fry up, particularly if you’re feeling a tad worse for wear. A little glass of something delicious alongside it only serves to make you feel even better! A bit of the hair of the dog that bit you. So, what should you be aware of when pairing wine with a full English?

The perfect fry up is a matter of much debate, everyone has their essentials that they feel makes the ideal combination. So, with so many variables, how are we to determine the perfect way of pairing wine with a full English?

Well, each food has its own specific characteristics. These characteristics affect the way you perceive wine. There’s a lot of key considerations when adopting a structural approach to wine tasting. If you to learn more about the structural approach to wine tasting, be sure to read our full guide on the topic here.

So, we’re going to take each classic component of what we consider to be a classic full English breakfast and show you what element of that food that you need to be aware of when looking at pairing wine with a full English. With that in your locker, you will be well on your way to creating a perfect brunch!

Pairing Wine With A Full English – What Makes A Fry Up?

The first thing we need to start with is the classic bits of a full English! We’re going to pick out key points for each one and show you how they should affect your choice when pairing wine with a full English.

• Sausages (Salt, Fat)
• Bacon (Salt, Fat)
• Baked Beans (Sugar, Salt)
• Tomato (Acid)
• Mushrooms (Umami)
• Fried Bread (Fat)
• Black Pudding (Salt, Fat)
• Fried Egg (Fat)

These are some classic components of a full English breakfast. So, one quick thing to note is how often the words salt and fat appear. Indeed, the greasy goodness is one of the reasons why people opt for it after a night of indulgence.

However, in terms of pairing wine with a full English, the fat content means that you’ll require a wine with acidity. Acidity in wine has the power to cut through these rich flavours, meaning that it has the ability to cleanse the palate of them.

Then, salt has the power to enhance the fruity flavours of the wine and increase the body, so something light with fruity flavours is going to be a winner here.

Next, we have the acidic components. Acid must be matched in wine, as acidic food can make low acid wine seem bitter. So, this means that whatever cleanses the palate will also have the power of not making the wine seem bitter.

Then, we move to the umami of what we see as the absolutely necessary mushrooms! Umami can make wine seem comparatively thin and decrease the sweet, fruity characteristics. A good way of reducing this is with tannin rich red wine, but these will generally be a bit too heavy for breakfast. No one wants a Barolo at 11am, or at least they do but they don’t indulge!

So, we think you need a wine that has an okay amount of body. Although, nothing too overbearing. It’s worth remembering that umami isn’t a dominant flavour here. So, don’t base your whole wine pairing around it!

Last, but not least, is the sugar content in the baked beans. This case works similarly to the umami. You should account for it, but don’t base your whole pairing around it. As well as this, the sugar content in the beans isn’t the same as a dessert. So, wines with just a touch of residual sugar will have enough to counteract the ability of sugar to make wine seem bitter.

Pairing Wine WIth A Full English – Perfect Wine Pairing

Bubbles make the perfect brunch companion for many and in this case a glass of fizz is ideal when pairing wine with a full English! Our choice is Crémant.

Our particular choice is from the talented family winemakers at Domaine Baumann-Zirgel, who are situated in the small town of Mittelwihr in the picturesque Alsace wine region.

The family Baumann-Zirgel family cultivate 11 hectares of organic vineyards and produce high quality, hand crafted sparkling and still wine. Valerie and Benjamin have the belief that excellence can only be achieved with respect for the land, its terroir, its vines, its wine and the health of all of us.

While they have a number of great Crémant d’Alsace wines to choose from, their Blanc de Blancs is our number one pick. Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine is sparkling wine which is made from just white grapes. This vintage sparkling wine uses 100% Chardonnay grapes, so it will provide a taste profile very similar to Champagne. An excellent choice when pairing wine with a full English.

It has an enticing current of fine flowing bubbles which transport notes of white flowers, freshly churned butter and toast to the nose. Then, a citrus backbone delivers powerful notes of lemon and lime. You’ll also notice that thanks to some bottle ageing subtle notes of ginger and mushroom will also have come into play, even more appropriate for pairing wine with a full English. Structurally the finish is long, elegant and with a great amount of acidity to cleanse the palate and keep the wine, (and by extension the breakfast), feeling light!

All in all, this is a perfect choice for pairing wine with a full English! The wine can match every aspect of this dish perfectly and who doesn’t like a glass of fizz with breakfast.

We sell Domaine Baumann-Zirgel Crémant d’Alsace Blanc de Blancs for £23.95 a bottle. However, anyone who is a member of our monthly wine subscription, or wine club, gets 25% off all single bottles on our site. That means you could be buying it for just £17.96 a bottle! Find the perfect choice for pairing wine with a full English and save money on wine?! Not bad.

If you’d like to learn more about our wine subscription, then click here. You can get delicious wines delivered to you each month, from our cellar. This comes complete with a magazine packed with great content on wine, special offers and tasting notes for the wines! You can also get 50% off your first box with code MW50.

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If you’d simply just like to learn more about wine from the comfort of your own home, be sure to check out our online blog and sign up to our mailing list. We’re always looking to teach people about different regions, grape varieties and producers. Beyond that, you can expect to find a whole host of playlists, cocktail cards and recipe cards packed full of wine pairing ideas. There might even be some special offers along the way so make sure that you don’t miss out!