Pairing Wine with Vegetables

Chardonnay with Broccoli
A lemon-based, New World Chardonnay with no oak is best for broccoli. Californian style, fuller-bodied Chardonnay in particular is food-friendly and complements broccoli’s distinct flavour very well. Broccoli also becomes more wine-friendly when it’s cooked, so the two work in harmony.

Sauvignon Blanc with Spinach
This is one of those great pairings where the wine and food accentuate each other’s flavours. Sauvignon Blanc displays vegetal and herbaceous notes of green bell pepper and asparagus that work wonderfully with spinach.

Sancerre with Runner Beans
A Loire Valley Sancerre is great for green vegetables with a more delicate taste, such as runner beans. It has an array of aromas and tasting notes including grass, thyme and chive, along with more complex flavours of flint and straw. The two together create a nice blend of earthy green herb and vegetable flavours.

Viognier with Parsnip
Parsnips go wonderfully with a subtly sweet white like Viognier. It has cooking spice aromas of nutmeg and clove, and also displays flavours of honeysuckle and tangerine – all of which works beautifully alongside the sweet and nutty taste of parsnips.

White Bordeaux with Carrots
Carrots are a complex mix of earthy and sweet flavours (getting sweeter as they’re cooked). A White Bordeaux wine works well with them, as it tends to be a blend of two different white grape varieties that mirror the flavour profile of carrots – a herbaceous and grassy Sauvignon Blanc that brings the savoury nuances, and a honeyed Chenin Blanc. Perfect!

Beaujolais with Onions
A zippy, fruity red vino like Beaujolais is great with onions, especially if those onions are caramelised. If you’re cooking a classic French onion soup then this is an unbeatable pairing – the high acidity and cranberry flavours of the wine really complement the onions.

Oaked Chardonnay with Butternut Squash
Butternut Squash is a creamy marrow with a naturally sweet flavour. It pairs wonderfully with a buttery white wine such as oaked Chardonnay. Ageing Chardonnay in oak barrels creates a rich texture and adds notes of butterscotch and vanilla, which marries up very nicely with the soft and smooth texture and sweet taste of butternut squash.

Dry Riesling with Courgettes
Courgettes are best with crisp unoaked white wines. One of the best being a dry Riesling. The citrus notes and crisp, refreshing acidity are great with courgettes, as it’s a vegetable that likes tangy, zesty flavours.

Viognier with Pumpkin
The autumnal taste of a pumpkin goes perfectly with a Viognier. It’s an aromatic white with aromas of sweet cooking spices like vanilla, clove and nutmeg, along with a honeysuckle flavour too. It goes perfectly with pretty much any pumpkin dish, especially if it’s seasoned with similar spices to those found in the Viognier.

Aglianico with Lentils
Lentils are fairly mild in flavour, but have a slight peppery nuance to them, making red wine the logical match. Try a red that’s big on savoury and peppery notes, like Aglianico, as it will mirror the lentils. The mushy texture you often get with lentils also works really nicely with the smoothness and full body of this wine.

Sauvignon Blanc with Peas
Aromatic whites are a great match for green vegetables like peas due to their herbaceous and vegetal flavours. Sauvignon Blanc has notes of grass and green bell pepper, which blends very well with peas.

Zinfandel with Beans
Beans have a meatiness in their texture that’s great with red vino. Flavoursome, fruity reds like Zinfandel are a good match for a dish with lots of beans such as a veggie chili con carne. It’s a fruity yet high acidity wine, and it’s good to have an acidic wine to cut through the starchy texture of the beans. In terms of flavours, the plummy and blueberry flavours of Zinfandel are followed by notes of black pepper and spice with a smoky finish, all of which is great with the flavours found in chili.

Oak-Aged Chardonnay with White Button Mushrooms
Classic button mushrooms are mild in flavour and big in texture. Their creamy texture and delicate flavours are a great match with a white wine that won’t overpower it, like Chardonnay. Oak-aged Chardonnay develops a buttery nuance, which goes very well with button mushrooms cooked in a butter sauce.

Pinot Noir with Dried Chanterelle Mushrooms
Mushrooms tend to be even more flavourful when dried out. Chanterelle mushrooms have an earthy, woody taste with an apricot-like edge (all of which becomes more pronounced when dried), and they pair wonderfully with the earthy tones of a classic French Pinot Noir. When grown in a cooler region Pinot Noir has more savoury nuances, and when aged it even develops its own mushroom flavours!

Albarino with Tomatoes
Tomatoes have that great balance of high acidity and sweetness. Cooking tomatoes will actually soften their natural acidity, making them generally easier to pair with vino (it’s the acidity that makes them tricky). But a wine that works well with fresh tomatoes is Albarino. It’s fruity and dry with high acidity, enough to match the characteristics of a tomato.

Zinfandel with Aubergine
Creamy aubergine is unusual in that is has a tannin-like quality in its skins, a slight bitterness and meaty texture. It pairs beautifully with a smooth and juicy, fruit-driven red such as Zinfandel, that blends well with the tannic feel and texture of aubergine. Zinfandel can also sometimes display smoky notes of tobacco, which works nicely with the earthiness of this vegetable.

Pinot Grigio with Avocado
Avocado is packed with fat (the good kind!) and has that deliciously creamy texture. Its flavour is delicate though, so a white wine is the best match. Try a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc – these zesty whites are known for having high acidity that will cut through the fattiness of the fruit and create a lovely balance on your palate. They both have notes of lime too, which we all know goes wonderfully with mashed avocado.