As some of us start of the New Year with resolutions to focus on healthier, lighter foods, have you started to wonder what the best wine is to pair with this lighter fare? We all love a good Cabernet Sauvignon with Steak, but what is the best wine to pair with trickier foods like salad or green veggies? Let's dive in to some fit friendly wine and food pairings below!
Remember this general rule - You want your wine and food to complement each other, and never one to overwhelm the other.
When this comes to light foods like salads, shrimp, leafy greens, veggies, you pretty much will always want to pair with a lighter fresher wine. Highly tannic reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Nebbiolo are usually going to nixed from a pairing since the bitter tannin will react very harshly with the bitterness of the greens and cause an unpleasant sensation in your mouth.
You want a wine that will balance out the bitterness, so look for a wine with high acidity (that mouth-watering feeling) that can act as a nice palate cleanser in between bites.
Check out some favorite healthy recipes and pairings of mine:
Quinoa Salad and Chenin Blanc
This is one of my favorite quinoa salad recipes, add feta on top for an extra flair!
Since quinoa and garbanzo beans both have some weight and boldness to them, I would love to pair this salad with a lovely dry Chenin Blanc. This Hartford Court Chenin Blanc from Santa Barbara has bright minerality with lemon peel, mint and sage notes that will complement the dressing and mint mixed through the salad. It has a lovely savory and complex finish that will nicely balance the bolder quinoa and garbanzo.
Asparagus with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Asparagus is famous for being one of the hardest to pair foods with wine. This is because of it's very intense green notes and an acidity that makes most wine taste metallic and harsh.
This is a delicious Asparagus salad recipe with radish, mint, feta, sweet peas, fresh herbs and pine nuts.
For this tricky wine pairing, I've picked this Kim Crawford New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are known for their especially grassy and grapefruit aromas that can complement the green notes of the asparagus.
This wine has beautiful citrus and crushed herbs aromas that will match wonderfully with the lemon, mint and basil in the salad, with a zinging acidity that can go head to head with the strong acidity within asparagus.
Grilled Chicken Kabob & Veggies with Oregon Pinot Noir
Although we are still in the midst of winter, there's nothing like firing up the grill on a cold night and making some yummy chicken kabobs with some grilled Veggies!
This recipe adds some tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions for some zingy flavor.
For my red wine loving fans out there, I wanted to give an option for you as well!
Gran Moraine Pinot Noir from Oregon is one of my favorite wines out there. It's lovely earth tones, spruce, and tobacco notes will match perfectly with the mushrooms, peppers and smoky grilled flavors on the kabobs. It's light enough to not overpower the chicken, but has enough complexity to blend well with the grilled textures of the kabob.
Hope you try out and enjoy some of these pairings!
If you can't find the exact wine always feel free to try a wine from the same region and varietal for a similar experience.
Please share any of your favorite healthy recipes and pairings below!
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