What wine goes with vegetables?
Pair with a dish
For the greens — a bright white or a light red
Red
- Grenache a warm red, soft and generous
- Cabernet Franc a leafy red, lighter than its cousinChinon a Chinon, leafy and lightly chilled
- Carmenere a red with a green, peppery edge
- Barbera a bright red, low on tannin
- Gamay a light, juicy red, lightly chilledBeaujolais a Beaujolais, lightly chilled
- Zweigelt a soft, juicy red
- Cinsault a light, fragrant red
- Okuzgozu a bright, soft Anatolian red
- Kalecik Karasi a light, fragrant red, lightly chilled
White
a dry white, served cold
- Sauvignon Blanc a crisp, green-edged whiteSancerre a Sancerre, flinty and dry · Marlborough a Marlborough Sauvignon, loud and green
- Pinot Grigio a light, clean white
- Albarino a white with salt in itRías Baixas an Albariño with the Atlantic in it
- Gruner Veltliner a peppery, dry white
- Verdejo a crisp, herbal white
- Assyrtiko a dry white, taut and salineSantorini a Santorini white, volcanic and saline
- Garganega a gentle, dry white
- Vermentino a coastal, herby white
- Trebbiano a simple, neutral white
- Silvaner a quiet, earthy white
- Godello a textured, mineral white
- Torrontes a floral, dry white
- Muscat a dry, floral white
- Fiano a textured southern white
- Greco a firm, mineral white
- Malvasia an aromatic white, dry or not
- Emir a crisp Cappadocian white
- Narince a round, gentle white
- Vinho Verde a Vinho Verde, light and spritzy
Rosé
a dry rosé, cold and easy
- Provence a pale Provence rosé, cold
Fortified
- Palomino a dry sherry, served cold
Why these wines work with vegetables
Vegetables are harder to match than meat because they vary so much: bitter greens, sweet roots, earthy mushrooms, tangy tomatoes. The common thread is freshness, which is why the pick is a bright white or a light red.
With asparagus, peas and green vegetables
Green vegetables, asparagus, peas, courgettes and soft herbs above all, share flavour compounds with Sauvignon Blanc, and a Sancerre or a Marlborough Sauvignon picks up those green notes rather than clashing with them. Grüner Veltliner, with its white-pepper edge, is one of the few wines that handles asparagus and artichoke gracefully.
With salads
Salads dressed with vinaigrette need high acidity in the wine, or the dressing will make it taste flat; Albariño, Assyrtiko, Verdejo and Vinho Verde are all sharp enough.
With roasted vegetables and mushrooms
Roasted and grilled vegetables develop sweetness and char, and they welcome a light red: a Beaujolais, a Chinon with its leafy edge, Barbera or Cinsault, served a little cool. Mushrooms, lentils and earthier dishes can take a warmer Grenache. A dry Provence rosé suits a table of mezze, ratatouille or grilled peppers. Vegetable dishes heavy with cheese or cream follow the cheese or the cream rather than the vegetable. What rarely works is heavy tannin or heavy oak; with no protein or fat to soften them, both taste coarse.
This is the same filter Cellar Book’s Tonight screen uses to pick from what you already own.
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