The best wine for brunch crepes and waffles is Moscato d'Asti for anything sweet, a demi-sec sparkling wine such as Gruet's Demi Sec when maple syrup is involved, and a brut sparkling rosé or a Beaujolais-Villages when the crepe is savory. Berry compote takes an off-dry Riesling, and Nutella or chocolate crepes go with Banfi's Rosa Regale, a sweet sparkling red. The one rule underneath all of it is that the wine has to be at least as sweet as the food, or the wine will taste sour and thin.
We've built this page around that rule because it's the thing most brunch wine lists get wrong. A bone-dry Champagne is lovely with eggs and smoked salmon, and it falls apart the moment it meets a waffle drowned in syrup. Below you'll find what to pour with every common crepe filling, every waffle topping and every fruit compote, plus the bottles we'd actually buy and what they cost.
Why does the wine need to be sweeter than the brunch plate?
A wine needs to be at least as sweet as the dish because sugar in food makes the wine taste less sweet and more acidic than it really is. Put a dry brut next to maple syrup and the fruit in the wine disappears, so what's left is acid and bubbles, which reads as sharp and a little bitter. Pair that same plate with a Moscato d'Asti and the wine keeps its peach and orange-blossom flavor, because the syrup has nothing left to strip away.
A sweet brunch plate sits much closer to dessert than to lunch, and most of the bottles people reach for at 11 a.m. (Prosecco, Cava, Champagne, a mimosa base) are dry. Dry sparkling wine still has a place on the table, but it belongs next to the savory side of the menu, the eggs, the ham, the salmon and the cheese.
Acidity is the other half of the match. Fruit compote, lemon juice and berries are tart as well as sweet, so the wine needs enough acid to keep up, or it'll taste flabby next to them. Moscato d'Asti, Riesling, demi-sec sparkling and Brachetto all carry their sugar on a bright, high-acid frame, which keeps a sweet pairing from feeling sticky.
What wine goes with sweet crepes?
Moscato d'Asti is the best all-round wine for sweet crepes, because it's gently sweet, lightly fizzy and low in alcohol, and it matches lemon, sugar, fruit and whipped cream without overpowering a thin, delicate pancake. By law a Moscato d'Asti can't go above 5.5% alcohol, and most bottles sell for $10 to $20, according to Wikipedia's Moscato d'Asti entry. Saracco and Vietti's Cascinetta are two widely stocked bottles worth looking for.
Lemon and sugar crepes are the simplest kind and the place where Moscato d'Asti shines brightest, because the citrus in the wine echoes the lemon and its sweetness sits right alongside the sugar. An off-dry German Kabinett Riesling is the still-wine alternative if you'd rather skip the bubbles.
The sauce on crêpes Suzette is caramelized sugar and butter with orange or tangerine juice, zest and an orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier, flambéed at the table, as Wikipedia's entry on the dish describes it. That much orange and caramel calls for a sweeter, fuller wine than plain lemon crepes do, so we'd pour a demi-sec sparkling wine or an orange Muscat dessert wine and keep the Moscato d'Asti for the lighter plates.
Nutella, chocolate and banana crepes need a red with real sweetness, and Banfi's Rosa Regale is the easiest one to find. It's a Brachetto d'Acqui at 7% alcohol with 102 grams of residual sugar per liter, according to Banfi's own spec sheet, and the winery's online shop lists the 750 ml bottle at $19.99. Its raspberry and rose flavor behaves the way a spoonful of berries does next to the hazelnut. For more on matching wine to how dark the chocolate is, see our page on wine with chocolate.
Strawberry and other fruit-filled crepes with whipped cream sit right in Moscato d'Asti territory, and a sweet sparkling rosé also works well when the berries are red. Once the fruit is cooked into a sauce, the compote rules below apply instead.
In Brittany, where crêpes come from, the classic drink isn't wine at all but cider, and a sweet (doux) cider is a perfectly good choice for any sweet crepe if wine feels like too much before noon.
What wine goes with savory crepes?
Beaujolais-Villages is the best wine for savory crepes with ham and cheese, and a brut sparkling rosé is the best for smoked salmon. Savory crepes flip the sweetness rule around, since there's no sugar on the plate to strip the fruit from a dry wine, and this is where the brunch bubbles everyone reaches for finally make sense.
The French take on ham and Gruyère crepes is the buckwheat galette complète, with ham, Emmental or Gruyère and a fried egg on top. A light, fruity red such as a Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages, served with a slight chill, has enough acid for the cheese and soft enough tannins for the egg. A dry Breton or Normandy cider works here too, and it's what the crêperies themselves pour.
For smoked salmon and crème fraîche crepes, Gruet's NV Brut Rosé from New Mexico is made from 100% Pinot Noir with 1% residual sugar, and the winery sells it for $17 in its own online shop. The red-fruit edge of a rosé handles the smoke and oil in the fish better than a plain white sparkling wine does. If you're not sure what brut actually means on a label, our explainer on what brut means on sparkling wine labels walks through the sweetness scale from brut nature up to doux.
With mushroom, spinach and cream crepes, an unoaked Chardonnay such as a Mâcon-Villages from southern Burgundy matches the cream without adding oak on top of butter, and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc is the better pick when spinach, goat cheese or herbs lead the filling.
If your brunch also includes eggs Benedict, hollandaise or a quiche, those dishes have their own rules, and we cover them on our page about the best wine for eggs Benedict. The short version is that dry sparkling wine is the right call there.
What wine goes with waffles and maple syrup?
A demi-sec sparkling wine is the best match for waffles with maple syrup, and Gruet's NV Demi Sec "Sweet Jolie" is a good, affordable bottle to try. The winery lists it at 2.5% residual sugar and 12% alcohol, made from 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, for $17 in its online shop. That's sweet enough to stand up to syrup and still dry enough to cut through the butter, and it's the bottle we'd buy for a waffle brunch before any brut.
Maple syrup is one of the sweetest things you'll ever put on a brunch plate, so the wine has to go further up the sweetness scale than it would for fresh fruit. Plain waffles with a little butter and powdered sugar are gentler and work with Moscato d'Asti. A waffle soaked in syrup with a side of bacon needs the demi-sec, or something richer still.
That richer option is Madeira, which sounds odd at brunch until you taste it. Amanda Davenport, beverage director at the Denver brunch spot Noisette, told Tasting Table that because pancakes and waffles can run sweet, "a fun, off-the-path pairing could be a Madeira", and she pointed to its nutty, salty and sweet flavor. A medium-dry Rainwater Madeira such as Broadbent's is the place to start, poured in a small glass, since its toffee and caramel notes behave almost like a second syrup.
Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream go back to the sweet-crepe logic: Moscato d'Asti or a sweet sparkling rosé. Waffles with chocolate chips or a chocolate drizzle want Rosa Regale for the same reason Nutella crepes do.
What wine goes with chicken and waffles?
A demi-sec sparkling wine or an off-dry Riesling is the best wine for chicken and waffles, because the dish is salty, fatty and sweet at once and only an off-dry wine can handle all three. A dry brut is great with fried chicken on its own, but the syrup on the waffle will flatten it, so the deciding question is how much syrup you pour.
If the plate is mostly chicken with a light drizzle of hot honey, a brut Cava or Crémant works beautifully, since the bubbles and acid scrub the fat from the crust. If it's a full stack soaked in maple syrup, go to Gruet's Demi Sec or a Riesling labeled Kabinett or "off-dry". Chateau Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley Riesling is an off-dry, supermarket-friendly bottle that handles both the chicken and the sweetness, and it's easy to find almost anywhere in the US. For the chicken half of the plate on its own, including spicy Nashville-style versions, see our page on the best wine with fried chicken.
Which wine goes with fruit compote?
Off-dry Riesling is the best wine for most fruit compotes, because it brings both the sweetness and the acidity a cooked fruit sauce has. Compote is fruit cooked down with sugar and usually lemon, which makes it sweeter and tarter than fresh fruit, so the wine has to match on both counts. The color of the fruit is the easiest guide to the rest.
| Compote | Best wine | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Strawberry or mixed berry | Sweet sparkling rosé or Moscato d'Asti | Red fruit echoes the compote and the sweetness keeps up with it |
| Raspberry or cranberry | Off-dry Riesling | High acid matches the tartness, the sugar softens it |
| Blueberry with lemon | Moscato d'Asti | Citrus and gentle fizz keep a dense compote bright |
| Peach or apricot | Off-dry Riesling or demi-sec sparkling | Stone fruit flavors are already in both wines |
| Apple or pear | Demi-sec sparkling or sweet cider | Baked-apple notes suit a richer, rounder wine |
| Cherry or blackberry | Rosa Regale or a sweet Lambrusco | Dark berries need a red, and the red needs sugar |
The dark-fruit row is the only place a red belongs on a sweet brunch plate. A dry red with cherry compote tastes harsh, but a Lambrusco labeled amabile (semi-sweet) or dolce (sweet) has enough sugar and fizz to sit next to it comfortably. Riunite Lambrusco is the cheapest and most widely stocked example, and it's sweet. If you want the dry kind for a savory plate instead, look for secco on the label, and our guide to Lambrusco wine explains how to tell the styles apart.
Making the compote yourself puts you in control: less sugar and more lemon drifts toward off-dry Riesling, while more sugar needs a demi-sec or a Moscato.
Should you pour mimosas, Bellinis or straight sparkling wine?
Straight Moscato d'Asti or a demi-sec sparkling wine is a better match for sweet crepes and waffles than a mimosa, and a mimosa is better kept for the savory side of the table. The orange juice in a mimosa adds acid, and when you mix it with a dry Cava or Prosecco the drink ends up tart and not very sweet, which is exactly the profile that clashes with syrup.
A Bellini, made with white peach purée and Prosecco, is softer and fruitier, and it's the one brunch cocktail that sits comfortably beside peach or apricot compote.
Our honest advice for a mixed brunch is to open two bottles. Put a dry brut or Cava out for mimosas, eggs and salmon, and a Moscato d'Asti or demi-sec for the crepes and waffles. Every plate on the table then gets the right wine.
How do you choose brunch wine at a restaurant?
At a restaurant, ask for Moscato d'Asti, a demi-sec sparkling wine or an off-dry Riesling if you're ordering crepes or waffles, and a brut sparkling wine if you're ordering eggs or anything savory. Most brunch menus list several sparkling wines by the glass, and nearly all of them are brut, so it's worth asking the server whether there's anything a little sweeter behind the bar.
The phrase that gets the best help is specific. Try something like "I'm having the berry crepes and I'd like a glass that's slightly sweet so it doesn't turn sour next to the fruit." That gives the server the dish, the problem and the direction in one go.
What should you open for brunch this weekend?
For a sweet brunch of crepes, waffles and fruit, open a Moscato d'Asti first, keep Gruet's Demi Sec for anything with maple syrup, and add Rosa Regale if chocolate is on the menu. For savory crepes, a chilled Beaujolais-Villages or a brut sparkling rosé covers ham, cheese and salmon.
The general rule works for most people, but sweetness tolerance is personal, and some people love a dry brut with syrup anyway. If you'd like a pick built around your own taste and the exact plate you're serving, you can describe the menu to Sommy Chat, which remembers the wines you've rated and recommends from there.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best wine for brunch crepes and waffles?
The best wine for brunch crepes and waffles is Moscato d'Asti for fresh fruit and lemon-sugar crepes, a demi-sec sparkling wine for waffles with maple syrup, and a brut sparkling rosé or Beaujolais-Villages for savory crepes. The wine should always be at least as sweet as the plate.
What wine goes with crepes?
Sweet crepes go best with Moscato d'Asti, demi-sec sparkling wine or, for chocolate and Nutella fillings, a sweet sparkling red like Rosa Regale. Savory crepes with ham and cheese pair with a light red such as Beaujolais-Villages, and smoked salmon crepes with a brut sparkling rosé.
Is there such a thing as breakfast wine?
There isn't an official category, but light, low-alcohol, slightly sweet wines like Moscato d'Asti play that role well. Moscato d'Asti is capped at 5.5% alcohol, and Wikipedia's Moscato d'Asti entry notes it was traditionally made as a wine Piedmont's winemakers could drink at noontime meals.
Does Champagne go with waffles?
Dry Champagne goes with savory waffles, such as chicken and waffles with only a little honey, but it clashes with waffles covered in maple syrup. The syrup makes a brut taste sour, so choose a demi-sec Champagne or another demi-sec sparkling wine for sweet waffles.
What is a good wine for brunch if I don't like sweet wine?
If you don't like sweet wine, a good wine for brunch is a brut sparkling wine such as Cava or a brut rosé, paired with the savory dishes like eggs, ham or smoked salmon. With sweet dishes, an off-dry Riesling is the least sweet option that still works, since its acidity keeps it tasting fresh.
Can you serve red wine with crepes and waffles?
Yes, as long as the red matches the plate. A chilled Beaujolais works with ham and cheese crepes, and a sweet red like Rosa Regale or a Lambrusco amabile works with chocolate or dark berry toppings. A dry, tannic red like Cabernet Sauvignon will taste harsh with anything sweet.
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