Veggies & Wine
by Michael Sherwood
Gettin' Healthy with Savory Vegetable Dishes and Northwest Wine
Okay, so you've gone green and are living life some flavor of vegetarian. Or you overdid it during the holidays or on that vacation to France or you've been traveling on business, eating rich foods too often, and it's time to eat healthy and feel better. A healthy diet full of vegetables means you're stuck pairing white wines with spinach and celery sticks... right. Wrong.
The basics of food and wine pairing also apply to vegetarian cuisine - lighter wines for more subtly flavored dishes and heavier, more intense wines with richly flavored, heartier dishes. The goal is to find complementary flavors. Pairing food and wine is always about synergy - neither component should overpower the other. Here are a few pairing ideas to consider.
Cut, Contrast, Compliment:
Opposites attract, therefore a relatively sweet wine often goes with sour or acidic food. Subdued, complex older wines deserve simple foods made with fresh ingredients, not heavy sauces. Sometimes you want to cut through denser flavors with a high acid wine. For a contrasting flavor, try a Sauvignon blanc or a Rosé with a Mexican or Southwest dish that has corn and green chilies. With earthy mushrooms, try a complementing earthy Pinot noir.
Highly seasoned vegetable dishes:
Spicy and salty flavors are often paired with fruity, low tannin, lower alcohol-content wines. Sparkling wine and salty foods are great together. Big garlic and tomato based dishes might call for a Syrah or a Cabernet Sauvignon or a mellow Merlot. Smoky foods such as grilled veggies or Portabella mushrooms do well with a Pinot noir or a silky red that isn't too tannic.
Rich vegetable dishes:
Rich foods often work well with full-bodied Chardonnay, Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel or Syrah. Rich cream sauces call for maybe a Pinot gris or a Sauvignon blanc to cut through the richness but then, a rich Chardonnay can be a good complement to. So much for rules and guidelines.
Sweet vegetable dishes:
The sweetness of the dish should be less than the sweetness of the wine. This is easily accomplished by adding citrus juice or vinegar to the dish. The dessert wine should always be sweeter than the dessert or that Boccone Dolce will taste almost sour in contrast.
High acid vegetable dishes:
Highly acidic foods such as tomatoes, citrus fruits and goat cheese usually go best with acidic wines such as a Sauvignon Blanc. But then, I always pair my pasta with tomato based sauces with any number of different red wines. Clearly, rules are made to be broken. Let the spices and flavors be your guide.
Wine as a Condiment
Think of the wine as a condiment. The key to any food and wine pairing begins with the preparation and spices in the food itself. If it's an earthy, nutty dish, Pinot Noir could be great. If it's lighter, with more green vegetables, then you might be better off with a white like Chardonnay or a Pinot Gris. Vegetable quiches call for a lighter Chardonnay, a Riesling or even a Sauvignon blanc. Onion and leek dishes go with Rieslings and Gewurztraminers. Grilled Mediterranean vegetables, depending on the spices could hold up against anything from a Cab to a Pinot noir to a Rosé. If you know your spices and sauces, you'll have a good roadmap on which wines to pair with them.
Linda Johnson Bell in her excellent book Pairing Wine and Food, has these suggestions for pairing wine and different vegetarian world cuisines:
Chinese:
Seasonings include ginger, garlic and soy sauce. Sauces include sweet-and-sour, peanut and ginger. These ingredients match the sweet and salty flavors – so a sweet, spicy, fruity white like a Riesling or Gewurztraminer or possibly a low tannin red wine such as one of the lighter styled Pinot Noir or even a Rosé would be good choices.
Japanese:
Bitter and vinegar ingredients are common, therefore, avoid acidic wines and utilize dry, fruity whites like a Riesling or a Gewürztraminer or even a Pacific Northwest sparkling wine. Heavier dishes like vegetable tempura may require fuller, fruity wines such as a Pinot noir or a Rosé.
Thai:
Aromatic and spicy flavors are common. These combine well with a crisp, dry, white like a Sauvignon Blanc or slightly sweet wine like a Riesling or even a dry Chardonnay.
Mexican:
Chile-dominated cuisine that can affect your palate can work well with a spicy wine like a Syrah or Zinfandel as long as the meal isn't to hot. Something crisp like Rosé may also work well if there is a bit of heat in the meal. Just remember, high tannin wines such as a Cabernet Sauvignon may clash with food that is hot and spicy, as in from jalapenos or cayenne.
Indian:
Common ingredients include curry, coconut, cumin, creamy or milk based sauces. Hands down, Riesling is the best wine with Indian food. Dry or off-dry, it all works. The fruitiness and acids in Riesling cut through and complement the exotic flavors of this cuisine.
Middle Eastern:
Figs, raisins, prunes, preserved lemons, nuts and cumin, cinnamon are common ingredients. These would match well with the soft fruity red like a Pinot noir or a variety of dry to fruity whites from Riesling to Chardonnay to Pinot gris. Big Moroccan spices can handle some of big reds. Couscous dishes would pair well with lighter reds and fruity whites depending on the spices used.
Italian:
Tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, basil, fennel, parsley pastas, fresh vegetables are all hallmarks of Italian cooking. Let your palate guide you. Light vegetable dishes lightly seasoned will go with Pinot gris or lighter bodied red wine like a Dolcetto or a Rosé. The same pairing goes for pastas with white sauces. Pasta with red sauces can carry big reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot to a Zinfandel. Don't be afraid to try a sparkling wine either. Sparkling wines are among the best food wines available and they make every meal a celebration.
Wine and Food Pairings - Vegetable Recipes
| Recipes | Wine Pairings |
| Black Bean Cakes & Lime Mayo | Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel Mystic Merlot Sineann "The Pines" Zinfandel |
| Matsutake Mushroom Baked on Cedar Plank | Pinot noir, Pinot gris |
| Porcini Mushrooms: Three Ways | Pinot noir, Viognier, Pinot gris |
| Goat Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Soufflés | Rose, Sauvignon Blanc |
| Navratan Korma | Riesling |
| Butternut Squash, Rosemary and Blue Cheese Risotto | Pinot noir, Pinot gris |
| Curried Coconut Beggars' Purses | Riesling, Pinot gris |
| Miso Glazed Tofu with Cabbage and Peppers | |
| Miso and Citrus Glazed Japanese Eggplant | Zinfandel, Syrah, Dolcetto |
| Vegan Pasta Bolognese | |
| Portobello Mushroom Roulade With Potato Cakes and Mushroom Demi-Glace | BIG red blend |
| Vegan Moussaka | |
| Vegan Jambalaya | |
| Old Fashioned Chili, Vegan Style | |
| Texas Veggie Kebabs | |
| Dragon's Breath Barbeque Sauce | |
| Roasted Tomato Onion Relish | |
| Tomato and Onion Tart | |
| Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce | |
| Portobello Burgers with Roasted Pepper Paste and Smoked Mozzarella | |
| Green Beans and Arugula | |
| Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Creme Fraiche | |
| Roasted Bosc Pear with Pomegranate Glaze |
