Smoked duck breast

Smoked duck breast

Assuming thin slices of smoked duck breast served cold, with a fruit element such as orange, cherry or plum, and salad leaves.

Smoked duck is rich, savoury and smoky, with a rim of fat and often a sweet, fruity garnish. It wants a red of medium body with ripe cherry fruit for the garnish, fresh acidity for the fat and soft tannin, since smoke and heavy tannin together turn bitter. Big, oaky reds and delicate whites both miss.

Pairs Perfectly. Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand. Dark cherry, plum and a savoury edge on soft tannin, ripe enough for a fruit garnish and fresh enough for the fat.

Pairs Well. Beaujolais-Villages, France. Gamay with bright red berry and almost no tannin, juicy and fresh against smoke, and priced for any night of the week.

Pairs Well. Nerello Mascalese from Etna, Italy. Red cherry, herbs and a smoky, volcanic edge with high acidity, very good with smoked meat.

Worth Seeking Out

Poulsard from the Jura, France. Pale, delicate and high in acidity with red berry and a savoury finish, a light red made for smoked meats.

Avoid

Big, oaky, tannic reds and delicate whites. Heavy tannin and smoke turn bitter together, and light whites are lost.

Failing That

A Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Côtes du Rhône, France.

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