Welcome to part 6 of Wine with food: How to pair wine and food. So far we have often had a piece of meat or fish at the centre. But what do you do when there is no meat at all on the plate?
The good news is that vegetarian food and vegetables open the door to some of the freshest and most surprising wine combinations. You just have to learn to look somewhere other than at the protein. Let us take it slowly, one step at a time.
What you will learn
- Why you should choose wine based on the whole dish rather than the meat (which is missing here)
- How the vegetables and the way they are prepared steer your choice
- A few safe wines you can confidently put on the table with green food
Think about the dish, not the meat
When we pair wine and food, we often hang our choice on the protein. With vegetarian food that hook does not exist, and that is actually a freedom. Instead you look at the overall character of the dish: Is it light and fresh, or rich and warm? Is there a lot of acidity from lemon or vinegar? Is there oil, butter or cheese that rounds it all out?
Think of it as listening to a whole orchestra rather than only the soloist. What carries the flavour in a green dish is often the preparation and the spices more than the vegetable itself. A cauliflower can be crisp and raw in a salad or deeply caramelised in the oven. Those are two very different dishes, and they will each want their own wine.
The basic principle is the same as in the rest of the series: find the dominant character in the dish, and match the wine to it in weight and intensity.
Fresh vegetables and acidity
Let us start light. A crisp salad, fresh peas, raw vegetables, a green risotto with lemon. Dishes like these live on freshness, and there is often acidity at play from a dressing or a squeeze of lemon.
Here the rule is simple: acidity matches acidity. A fresh, crisp white wine without oak plays beautifully against a salad, while a soft, round wine can end up seeming flat and dull beside it. Think of how a drop of lemon over a dish can lift the whole thing. A wine with good acidity does the same in the glass.
Be a little careful with dressings that have a lot of vinegar. The more acidic the dish, the more acidity the wine needs to keep up. If the wine has too little, it ends up tasting thin. A little trick: a touch of fat or softness in the dish (a little oil, a little avocado) instantly makes it friendlier towards the wine.
Some vegetables are tricky friends. Asparges, spinach and artichoke have a natural bitterness and acidity that can challenge the wine. Here too a little fat helps, for example butter or a creamy sauce, building a bridge to the glass.
Baked, grilled and rich greens
Now we turn up the volume. When vegetables go into the oven, onto the grill or into a stew, something happens. They become sweet, deep and lightly smoky, and suddenly the dish takes up much more room on the plate. Then the wine has to take up more room too.
Baked root vegetables, grilled vegetables, mushrooms, a hearty lentil dish or a pot of beans call for wine with more body. Here a light to medium-bodied red wine can easily come into play, even though there is no meat anywhere near. Mushrooms, for example, have an earthy, deep tone, and that suits a red wine with the same earthy character very well. It is a good example of how like flavours often meet well: earthy food and earthy wine are on the same team.
If the dish is smoked or grilled, the wine may well have a bit of personality to stand up to it, either a rounder white wine with a little oak or a red wine with character. The rule of thumb: the warmer, darker and more intense the dish, the more body the wine may have.
A few safe choices
If you would like some reference points you can confidently turn to, here are some good guidelines.
For the fresh and green
A crisp, unoaked white wine with good acidity is your best friend with salads, raw vegetables and citrus-light dishes. It follows the freshness and cleanses the palate between each bite.
For the rich and warm
For baked, grilled or creamy green dishes you can go towards a rounder white wine or a light, fruity red wine. Mushrooms and earthy flavours are, as mentioned, an obvious partner for a red wine with earthy character.
A shortcut
Mousserende vin is surprisingly flexible with green food. The fresh acidity and the small bubbles act like a little refreshment between bites and suit everything from a light starter to a heartier vegetable dish.
In short
- With vegetarian food you choose wine based on the whole character of the dish, not on a protein.
- Fresh, acidic vegetable dishes call for crisp white wines with good acidity.
- Baked, grilled and rich dishes can be met by wines with more body, red wine included.
- Earthy flavours like mushrooms play nicely with earthy wines.
- A little fat or softness in the dish makes tricky vegetables friendlier towards the wine.
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink red wine with vegetarian food?
Yes, absolutely. It is about the weight of the dish, not about meat. With baked root vegetables, mushrooms and hearty bean dishes a light to medium-bodied red wine fits very well.
What do I do with asparges and artichoke, which are said to be difficult?
They have a natural bitterness and acidity that can be tricky. Prepare them with a little fat, for example butter or oil, and choose a fresh white wine with good acidity, and it all comes together nicely.
Ready for the next step?
Now you have a handle on the green, and it is time to spice things up. In the next part, Wine for spicy and Asian food, we look at how chilli, ginger and sweet, salty sauces change the picture, and which wines thrive with heat and spice.
If you want to practise, look for a fresh, unoaked white wine or a light red wine in the range, and try your way forward. And remember the simple guiding star throughout the series: the best combination is the wine you like with the food you fancy. Cheers.