What Wine with Cheeseburgers?

Wednesday, September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day. 

There are deals on cheeseburgers (with restrictions) at McDonald's, Burger King, Wendys, and hopefully at a decent local burger joint near you. BTW Sept 15th was National Double Cheeseburger Day and we missed it. Doh!

Of course, this leads to the question, what wine should I have with my cheeseburger? 

image from hamburger-me.com

The disclaimers: Not all burgers are equal. Raw onion, spicy BBQ sauce, and sharp cheeses with alter the taste and likely the wine choice.

Most red wines will work just fine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache, and Pinot Noir. Cab, Merlot, or Syrah if the beefiness shows through. Syrah if it's smokey from the grill, Zinfandel if it's a little spicy, Grenache or Pinot for a basic burger without the sauce, onions, or strong cheese. 

If there's a lot of cheese, and it's on the creamier side you want good fruit and acidity in your wine, so go with a young Cabernet or Sangiovese.

If you like your burger with raw onions or strong-flavored pickles, it's tough to find a wine. Best choice is probably a big Zinfandel. I vote for sauteing or caramelizing the onions to calm down the sharp flavor.

Zinfandel is probably the best all around wine for a beef burger. Look for one that's easy on the wallet for under $20, such as: 

• Almost any Zin from Lodi
• Seghesio Sonoma appellation Zin
• St. Francis Winery Old Vine Zin
• Alexander Valley Sin Zin

For the chicken, turkey or fish burger, a lighter red such as Pinot Noir or your favorite dry white. Experiment!