Duck Confit pairing

Have you ever tried pairing duck confit with a sweet white wine?

I bet that would be great. Maybe something from the Southwest of France (Jurancon, Monbazillac) or the Midi, since that’s confit country.

I’ve had it with off-dry Riesling: Alsatian and Kabinett and Spatlese from Germany. The acidity of a good Riesling does well to cut through the richness of the duck and the sweetness marries well with the flavors in my opinion.

Great pairing!

Not yet!

What’s the confit being served with?

White beans and blood sausage

I prefer duck with left bank Bordeaux, es0ecially Graves, St Julien, or St Estephe.

Chips…

Madiran.

sort of a deconstructed cassoulet?

Hmmm. The blood sausage is throwing me a bit there, let’s see what the experts say. Taking a wild guess if you want sweet, would port be off base? Otherwise richer Alsace but really I’d be into reds I think. Cru Beaujolais from a river year.

Obviously, reds are what you’d expect. I take it from Jim’s (OP) post that he’s trying to think outside the box, so suggesting reds is really kind of ignoring what he asked for.

If the choice is a sweet white, I’d lean toward something with good acid and/or bitterness from botrytis – something to counter the richness of the food.

Pradikatswein Spatlese

Nobody has recommended chinon??? Gasp

I bet a demi-sec Vouvray would be nice. Also, off-dry bubbles might work.

We have lots of confit because my wife is from Les Landes where most of it comes from. I must say that the idea of a sweet white rather threw me, especially since the confit is backed up with a boudin!
But many enjoy the latter with apple, so why not?
I suppose it also depends on how you cook the confit - crispy or soft skin - and whether you eat the skin or not.
I would certainly be most at ease with a Madiran or a Cahors, but the safest option would be to experiment with two or three different choices: one of the two above, plus a demi-sec Vouvray, as Nate suggests, and something similar from Alsace.

For me, the classic pairing with any kind of duck is red Burgundy.

For a sweet white with duck confit, go with something with enough age that the wine has started to darken, like a 1996 or earlier Baumard Quarts de Chaume. There will be additional richness to harmonize with the deep savory qualities of the confit.

This is good advice. I’d like some sherry here too