Pairing Wine With Schnitzel

Schnitzel describes a slice of meat which is pounded thin, breaded and then fried. It is of German and Austrian origin but it is now popular all around the world and it can be made from different kinds of meat. Most popular choices of meat for Schnitzel are pork, veal, chicken, beef and many more.

Being a piece of meat, breaded and fried our wine pairing would have to consider wines which will have a medium to high acidity, medium body and low to medium tannin level for our red selection.

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Schnitzel

Characteristic	Detail
Sweetness	Dry
Acidity	Medium to high
Tannins	Low to medium
Body	Medium bodied white, Light Reds
Tasting Notes	White Wine Notes – Citrus, green fruit, bread, brioche Red Wine Notes – Ripe red fruit, black fruit

Sweetness – We will be looking for dry wines only, since a higher level of sugar won’t help enhance your dining experience.

Acidity – Medium to high level of acidity is a must since Schnitzel is breaded and fried, it will be slightly oily and for this reason we need a solid amount of acidity to cut through the fat.

Tannins – Our red wine selection will have low to medium tannin levels to make sure that we have just enough tannins to create a rich mouthfeel but not to overpower our dish.

Body – We will be looking for medium bodied white wines, which have just enough power to counterbalance the dish. For our reds, anything more than a light body might be too much.

Tasting Notes – White wines tasting notes should be dominated by citrus fruit, green fruit, bread and brioche aromas coming from lees aging which we will explain afterwards. Red wines should be ripe, with red fruit predominant aromas and just a touch of black fruit. Reds would be our main focus if we were having a beef schnitzel.

Best Red Wine To Drink With Schnitzel

Light red wines would pair nicely with schnitzels due to their high acidity, lighter body, low to medium tannins and a nice core of red fruit aromas. Being a lighter dish, we would not need a full bodied red wine with schnitzel and for this reason we would recommend looking at some thin skinned grape varieties which do not show lots of tannins.

Schiava from Germany

Being a dish of German origin, we would recommend having a wine produced from a grape grown in Germany, South Tyrol in Austria and also northern italy. In this case we will be having a German Schiava grown in Baden, on steep slopes. This grape variety produces wines with medium to high acidity, low to medium tannins, light to medium body and a core of red fruit aromas such as strawberry, red cherry, sour cherry and a bit of citrus fruit such as lemon.

Pinot Noir from France

A thin skinned grape variety originating in Burgundy, it produces wines with low to medium tannins, light to medium body and a high acidity level. You may choose to have a Burgundy Pinot Noir or go for an Alsatian one just to be a tad closer to Germany. It will be a great pairing for beef schnitzel.

Valpolicella Classico from Italy

This DOC produces wines out of several grape varieties and they are most often blended together. We have Corvina, Corvinone, Molinara, Rondinella, Croatia but they are all produced under the same name of Valpolicella. They are light bodied, easy drinking wines with a core of red fruit aromas and a stellar acidity, they will make a great pairing with schnitzel.

Best White Wine To Drink With Schnitzel

White wines would be more of a go to choice when it comes to schnitzel as many of them are made from white meat, breaded and fried, which just calls for freshness and a lighter body.

We will look at some traditional choices for pairings with schnitzel and also maybe recommend some out of the box ones. Our white recommendations will be dry, with medium to high acidity, lighter body and a core of citrus and green fruit aromas, complemented with a bit of bread and brioche aromas too.

Grüner Veltliner from Austria

For our first choice we have an Austrian grape variety, grown mostly in the country itself, west of Vienna. The most classic region for this grape variety is called Wachau but we also have Kamptal and Kremstal. The wine is usually dry but it can have a bit of sugar in it, high in acidity, medium body and lots of green, citrus and smoke aromas, with a characteristic white pepper aroma which gives it away immediately. It will work perfectly with schnitzel as it will cut through the fattines of the dish and it will cleanse your palate.

Melon B from France

This grape variety is characteristic to a specific appellation in the west of the Loire valley, right next to the Atlantic ocean. The wines have a stellar acidity, with a core of citrus and green fruit aromas. However, the specialty of the appellation called Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie is to have its wines aged on the fine lees for about six to nine months which gives the wines a bread, almost brioche kind of aroma and a better texture. This will pair perfectly with the breaded schnitzel.

Riesling from Australia

A traditionally German grape variety, it has settled well in Clare valley in Australia. IT produces wines similar in style to German Rieslings however they have less sugar and more pronounced petrol aromas. With a core of citrus fruit such as lime and lemon, and green fruit such as apple and pear these wines have a great freshness about them and they will make a bit of a drift from the traditional riesling pairing.

Wine With Different Types Of Schnitzel

No matter what type of schnitzel it is, the preparation of the dish is relatively the same. It’s a cutlet of meat that is breaded and fried. The meat can vary from veal, pork, chicken and more. Here are a few of the more popular types of schnitzel.

Wine With Wiener-Schnitzel

Official Wiener Schnitzel must be made with veal. Veal can be a very delicate meat and calls for a light red wine like a pinot noir.

Wine With Schweine-Schnitzel

Traditional German Schnitzel is made with pork. The added fat content on top of the fried breading calls for something with high acidity like a Schiava or Grüner Veltliner.

Wine With Puten-Schnitzel

This type of schnitzel uses turkey. Because turkey can be light and easily overpowered by a bolder wine, we recommend a light bodied wine that has high acidity to counteract the fried breading. A glass of dry riesling would be perfect with Putenschnitzel.

Wine With Hänchen-Schnitzel

This type of schnitzel is a breaded chicken breast (typically). Like turkey, chicken can easily be overpowered so choose a light bodied wine. Either a French Chenin Blanc or a Chilean Carménère would be perfect to drink with this dish.

Best Wine To Drink With Schnitzel

Since we have already mentioned that schnitzels tend to be made with white meats and most of them tend to be lighter we would recommend having white wines more than reds. The acidity, freshness and lighter body of white wines will pair better with this dish and will make your dining experience an out of this world experience.

We will start our list with white wines and follow with some red suggestions.