VEGGIES |
General InformationWhen pairing a wine with vegetables, simple rules can be applied. For richer flavoured vegetable dishes, pair up with richer flavoured wines. For lighter flavoured vegetable dishes, match a lighter wine. You can also look to wines with vegetal qualities that compliment the vegetable dishes. For herbaceous vegetable dishes look to wines containing herbaceous and floral notes. For earthy tasting vegetable dishes, look to an earthy accented wine. You can also choose to contrast these earthy flavours with a fruity wine.
You should always consider the cooking method of the dish, where simpler methods such as steaming or boiling will call for a more delicate and simple wine, while charred, grilled, or marinated dishes will need more bold wine's to match their flavours. When considering sauces and marinade, look to more acidic wines for more acidic sauces. Turn to wines that have the alcohol and acidity as well as the tannins to stand up to the fats of a creamy sauce. If the sauce is zesty, look to citrus flavoured wines. For spicier dishes look to sweeter wines or light red/white spicy wines that might compliment the spices. For smoky flavours turn to a light red oaked and containing smoky aromas and flavours. In Depth PairingFor earthy flavoured vegetable dishes containing the likes of potato, mushrooms always look to a Pinot Noir. Pinot Noirs hailing from Europe contain more earth-like flavours which will compliment the dish, while the fruitier contrast of Pinot Noirs from other regions of the world make a great pairing.
For dishes prominent in onion (onion soup or tarts) look to Beaujolais, Alsace or Pinot Gris which can stand up to the pungency and spice of the onion. For raw tomato dishes like Gaspacho and Tomato Salad, turn to the crisp and refreshing acidity of Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, a dry Riesling or a rose. You can also liven those acidic wines up with a sparking wine such as Caba, Brut Prosecco or Vinho Verde. These dry acidic wines and sparking wines also stand up to the richness of vegetables in a cream based white sauce. For cooked tomato based dishes, turn to more acidic white or red wines. These include Sauvignon Blanc, light bodied Beaujolais, Rioja and Valpolicella. Chianti Classico, Barbera and Barolo from Italy all contain tomato and cherry fruits with herbal notes of oregano and basil which pair up nicely with a tomato based sauce. North American Zinfandel, and Merlot and Carmenère from Chile all contain the acidity as well as a fresh spice to accompany the flavors of tomatoes. Green vegetables and night shade vegetables pair well with a mature and fuller white wine such as a full bodied Chardonnay. Sauvignon Blanc can go well with cucumber or celery based dishes, dill accented dishes and regular garden salads. A dry Rose will pair well with a salad of herbs and lettuce or more pungent and bitter greens. If these green and night shade vegetables should be grilled try a Beaujolais, Rioja, Dolcetto or Pinot Noir For stronger flavored and meaty lentil and bean dishes turn to a medium to full red with bolder flavour and firm tannins. A Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chianti all fit the bill. For dishes accented by citrus and herbs, try a dry Riesling, Chenin Blanc, or Sauvignon Blanc, Corn based meals, such as polenta, should always be paired with an oak-aged Chardonnay or White Burgundy. These wines can compliment the creaminess of corn with their buttery textures |
References include:
Food and Wine Pairing @ foodandwinepairing.com
Steven Koplin @ salon.com
Andrea Immer @ vegetablegardener.com