Pate game

Game pâté — typically a blend of venison, pheasant, pigeon, or hare with pork fat, juniper, and sometimes port or sloe gin — is the most intensely flavoured of the pâté family. The fat comes primarily from the pork binder, but the dominant character is the dark, mineral, gamey depth of the wild meat and the aromatic complexity of the juniper and spirits. Coarse or smooth, the intensity is higher than any other pâté style and demands a wine with the confidence to match it. The sweet starter sequencing note applies where a red main follows.

Pairs Perfectly

Banyuls, Roussillon, France — naturally sweet, Grenache-based, slightly oxidative, dark fruit and chocolate. The oxidative dark fruit character of Banyuls mirrors the juniper and port in the pâté directly, the sweetness cuts the pork fat, and the Grenache depth engages the gamey mineral intensity at the same register. One of the most analytically precise matches for game pâté in any style.

Pairs Well

Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy — dried fruit concentration, full body, high alcohol, bitter chocolate finish. Where a dry red is preferred, the appassimento concentration and bitter finish of Amarone matches the game intensity and the body handles the fat. The bitter chocolate note mirrors the juniper complexity.

Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive, Alsace, France — substantial sweetness, rose and spice, full body. The spice character engages the juniper in the pâté and the sweetness cuts the pork fat — a white alternative to Banyuls at the same level of aromatic intensity.

Avoid

Delicate whites and light reds — game pâté overwhelms anything without the intensity to match it. Lean mineral whites disappear entirely.

Failing That

A Maury, Roussillon, France.

If All Else Fails

A Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina.

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