Pairings | Picpoul de Pinet

6 things you need to think about when pairing wine and vegetarian food

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 11 2021 at 07:40

If you think it’s difficult to pair wine and vegetarian food, think again. It’s no trickier than it is for those who eat meat or fish.

True, vegetarian dishes tend to include more ingredients than a simple steak or piece of fish but if you focus on the style of the dish and the way it’s cooked it’s not hard to come up with a delicious wine match.

Here are six things to think about:

How the food is cooked

Is the dish a light dish like a salad or a hot dish like a casserole. The former will call for a lighter wine (generally a crisp dry white or rosé) than the latter which is more likely to go with a medium to full-bodied red. Fried foods like fritters always pair well with sparkling wine.

Which wine pairs best with salad

Does one vegetable e.g. mushrooms or asparagus dominate?

If so match that ingredient. Mushroom dishes for example generally work well with pinot noir, butternut squash with a rich white like a chardonnay and asparagus - contrary to the general wisdom - with all kinds of different wines.

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