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General Rules – Plant Food and Wine Menu
The selection of plant food and wine menu is delicate but exciting. As in meat and fish dishes, it all depends on the dominant vegetable on your plate and many other nuances. From light summer salads to rich eggplant stews.
Green salads are best paired with fresh white wines like Sauvignon Blanc. For dense vegetables, such as eggplant, you need medium red ones. Beans love serious wines – Ribera del Duero and Brunello.
Start from the method of preparation: for vegetables without heat treatment, take non-white whites (Pinot Grigio, Gruner Veltliner), for grilled dishes – California Chardonnay from whites, and Rioja from red, to fried vegetables – red up to Zinfandel, for tempura – Rieslings with residual sugar and Gewürz.
The sauce decides what should be in the glass. For creamy ideal pairs will be the base Chablis and Viognier, for tomato ones – Chianti and Valpolicella.
If vegetables serve as a side dish, first of all, pay attention to the main component of the plate.
Rosé and orange wines are among the most versatile and gastronomic wines. They are suitable for vegetables in 9 cases out of 10.
Plant food and wine menu will help you sort out the shelves which wines to take to help with vegetable dishes.
The main enemy of wine in salads is vinegar. Therefore, it is better to avoid it in gas stations or replace it with lemon juice. Salads with added fruits are friendly to wine: figs, apples, pears, and apricots.
For simple green salads, where kale, iceberg, corn, arugula, or spinach are mixed, you need to choose lightweight white wines without aging in oak. It is important not to crush the dish with rich wine. Ideally, the scent should echo the “green” tones. Simple Sauvignons from France, particularly from the Loire, and New Zealand, and Chile, is an excellent choice. Austrian crisp Gruner Veltliner and frivolous Pinot Grigio from northern Italy will also come in handy.
A harmonious pair of Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, red onions, and feta – the mineral sonorous Assyrtiko. Besides him – the same Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo from Rueda.
Tomatoes
In a combination of plant food and wine menu with raw tomatoes, tomatoes are more likely to be white and rosé wines. Dishes such as vegetable stews, pasta, or baked dishes – red. In any case, a tangible sourness requires wines with a particular acidity.
For Caprese, starters with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and pesto, choose refreshing white and rosé wines. Wildly successful in this case are the southern Italian wines: Greco di Tufo and Falanga. White Sancerre and Côte de Gascony are also suitable.
For gazpacho and other cold tomato soups, take albariño, Pinot Grigio, and Provencal rose. If we are talking about pasta with tomato sauce, feel free to take acidic white or red: Gavi, verdict, Chianti, Valpolicella.
Baked tomatoes and stews with tomato sauce are good in the company of Côtes du Rhône, reds from Languedoc, and Montepulciano d’abruzzo.
Eggplant
Vegetable and plant wine menu with cold eggplant appetizers – rolls or salads – rosé wines from the south of France, Spain, and Italy are harmonious. Moreover, both aerial versions from Provence and more expressive ones, for example, from Tuscany based on Sangiovese.
Suppose the eggplants are baked with tomatoes and mozzarella, as in Italian parmigiana di eggplants. According to the territorial principle, take the red wines of the south of Italy – according to the territorial code, they will be a great company. Primitive, Negroamaro, Nero D’avola – all options are good. Such a rich dish will be combined with Chianti or other wines based on Sangiovese.
Elegant reds from Etna based on Nerello Mascalese are ideal for pasta with eggplant (all norm). But sweet crispy aubergines with herbs and other Asian-style versions call for Alsatian Pinot Gris, Gewurtz, and Muscat.
Zucchini
For zucchini, plant food and wine menu work well with crunchy whites like sauvignon blanc and dry riesling. In addition, the Italian Greco di Tufo, Falangina, Pecorino, Vermentino, and Grillo are always appropriate.
For fried zucchini pancakes with sour cream or yogurt, try the white wines of Greece, Assyrtiko, and Moskhofilero, or sparkling – the driest Prosecco is also suitable.
Under ratatouille, casserole with zucchini, eggplant, and peppers in herbs, feel free to take a not too dense red: Côte du Rhône, Valpolicella, Bardolino.
Potatoes
Sparkling wines made according to the classics go well with salty potato dishes, be it Spanish tortilla, potato pancakes, or dauphine gratin (with a lot of cream and cheese). Champagne, Creman, Cava – all versions with lees aging. Of the quiet ones, preference should be given to Chardonnay, Godello from Galicia. If potatoes act as a side dish, choose the wine based on its “partner.”
Pumpkin
The sweetness in the pumpkin dictates its terms, so the wines must be fragrant, with sweet fruits in the bouquet. Semi-dry wines are also a good option.
Gewurztraminer and nutmeg get along with thick pumpkin soup, viognier with pumpkin risotto, and Gavi with gnocchi or ravioli.
Beans
The beans are dense in structure and high in protein. Therefore, it is better to choose red wines for plant food dishes and a wine list of beans and peas.
A combination of peasant potent red and cassoulet, a hearty bean and meat stew, a classic southern French dish, immediately comes to mind. The wines of Languedoc and the South-West (Cahors, Marsillacs) are the best match for legumes.
Cabbage
Slightly sweet coleslaw salad is friendly with sparkling ones, especially Prosecco, Brussels sprouts, especially in a creamy sauce, with any Chardonnay.
Sauerkraut, which traditionally goes with pork sausage in Germany, goes well with Riesling from Alsace or the northern regions of Germany.
Recently, cauliflower for the plant food and wine menu has been increasingly appearing solo, as an independent dish, and not just as a side dish. Cauliflower steak, for example, is a frequent guest on restaurant menus. Oily white Côtes du Rons and Viogniers, including those from the New World, are ideal for a fried vegetable with butter. White Rioja with oak will also be a good help. Cauliflower cream soups need a lighter companion – Chenin Blanc, Gavi, Chablis, or Pinot Blanc.
Beet
Beets are among those vegetables that go better with red wines than with white ones due to their dense texture and sweetish taste.
The vinaigrette can be accompanied by light red wines: Austrian Blaufrankisch, Spanish Mencia, or Beaujolais.
Baked or boiled beets in a company with soft cheese, including goat cheese, will be successful in the company of Loire Cabernet Franc without oak.
Asparagus
The green and white shoots of this tender vegetable need crisp white wines.
Stir-fried green asparagus with garlic and olive oil is pleasant to wash down with an Austrian Gruner or a rich Burgundy Chardonnay like Chablis or Pouilly-Fuisset. If you are planning hollandaise sauce with the asparagus, use the Alsatian Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc. White asparagus also harmonizes with Sylvaner from Franconia.
Creamy, delicate risotto with asparagus of asking white wines – Burgundy or Piedmont chardonnay, Gavi. You should be careful with an omelet – eggs are not the most wine-friendly product. Still, if you need to choose an accompaniment to an omelet with asparagus. Plant food and wine menu take sparkling or Pinot blanc.
Artichokes
The active substance contained in artichoke makes any wine next to it sweeter and more boring. That is why dishes with this vegetable flower need white vibrating wines – with high acidity and without aging in oak.
It is best to choose varieties with similar green tones in the aroma: Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner. An even more exciting accompaniment to artichoke dishes will be dry Fino sherries.
If you are not familiar with the classification of wines, you do not need to memorize the name of the wines. Follow the tips for the taste of the wine: acidity, body, color, and residual sugar. All of this can be read on the labels of the wine bottle.
