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Dining should be an experience even if you've taken the sustainable plunge into vegetarianism. I'm a big fan of turning off the TV and sitting at the dining room table for meals. Adding wine pairings is a great way to up the pleasure quotient of your vegetarian cooking. When you go out to eat it's great to have an idea of what foods best highlight the flavors in all your meals so that they can shine. It's great to have a waiter or a waitress that knows but if you have no such luck then you won't have to choose blindly. Here are some of my favorite wine pairings with vegetarian meals and flavors. Choose wines that are for the most part more mature. This way they won't have so many tannins. Tannins have a strong flavor and have a tendency to overwhelm many vegetarian dishes. But there are no always-true rules with wine. At the end of the day, drink what you like (and is sustainable).
Pair Great Sustainable Wines With Vegetarian Dishes
1. Lighter, Citrus, Lemon Dishes
These sorts of dishes call for a lighter, crisper white wine to balance out the flavors on the tongue. You want the wine to be crisp without too much acidity. These are common summer time flavors. Try a dry riesling, pinot gris, or Italian pinot grigio.
2. Almond, Walnut, Heavier Sauces
Heavier veg fare calls for a thick, rich, creamy wine. Pair these dishes with a rich chardonnay because the big flavor can hold up to creamier sauces and doesn't get overshadowed.
3. Italian Dishes
Pinot noir and gamay go really well with Italian pizzas and pastas. The richer cheeses and pastas meld well with these fruity softer wines. In contrast, a cabernet or a shiraz would hide the flavor of the dish.
4. Onions and Peppers
If onions and peppers are a main ingredient in your dish consider pairing with a pinot blanc. Pinot blancs are a good match because they are not drowned out by the onions and peppers and at the same time they aren't so sweet that they send the sweetness of the onions and peppers out of balance.
5. Roasted Vegetables
Especially during the fall, roasted vegetables of some sort often become a staple meal for vegetarians. Consider pairing your heavier root vegetables with a tempranillo. The smokiness of the wine is a good balance to the smokiness of the roasted vegetables. Especially roasted potatoes.
When you're shopping for all of the wine above look for sustainable versions. Planet Green's guide to sustainable wines offers tons of tips on how to get started.
More on Wines:
Daily DIY Project: Box Spring Wine Storage
Are You a Green Oenophile? (QUIZ)
Do the New Organic Wine Labeling Laws Mean You Can Sip With Ease?
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