I find wine pairings daunting, so I’m always grateful for tips. I often think about pairing my wine with my meat, but pairing based on the vegetable makes perfect sense. I thought these were so easy to remember that I had to share them. Bookmark this and refer to them next time you’re entertaining. –Dani Styles
As written by Ray Isle for Food & Wine Magazine.
Pairing red wine with vegetables can be tricky. Here, five fantastic combinations.
- Tomatoes, which are acidic, will taste better with a relatively acidic red, like a Sangiovese.
- Pair dark, leafy greens like spinach or chard with light reds such as Gamay; greens make full-bodied reds too astringent.
- Match mushrooms, lentils, miso and other earthy ingredients with an earthy red like Pinot Noir.
- Tannins intensify heat, so for dishes with hot chiles, pour soft, fruity reds like Zinfandel.
- Protein-rich vegetarian dishes (with cheese, for instance) often stand up to tannic reds like Syrah.
