A glass of wine with your salad.
The easy salad recipes found at Killersalad.com have shown that salads are no longer a plate full of green leaves that act as a palate cleanser, salads are now the main event at meal times, full of flavour and body, just like a good wine. So for those of you who like a glass of wine with your meals I’ve prepared an easy wine guide to help you choose the right wine to accompany your killer salad.
The major factor to consider when pairing wines with salads is acidity, mainly the acidity of the salad dressing, too much acidity can make the crispest wine taste flat and dull. The best way to deal with this is to cut down on the amount of vinegar used in your salad dressings. Try using Balsamic Vinegar or Rice Wine, both are mellow and work very well in salad dressings and still pack enough punch to create a tangy dressing. You could also try using other tart ingredients to replace the vinegar completely, such as fruit juices, lemon juice, apple juice or lime juice are excellent alternatives. For example you could try a Lemon Viniagrette.
It’s a good idea to always include some bridge ingredients. Bridge ingredients will complement the flavours of the wine, for example adding a few fresh berries to a salad will go well with the ripe berry flavour of a Beaujolais. Toasted nuts will complement an oakier wine.
Salads which include herbs work well with the herbal notes of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
If you are including roasted vegetables try wines like Zinfandel or barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc, the deep rich flavours of these wines work well with roasted vegetables. Roasting concentrates the flavours of the vegetables, bringing out their sweetness and leaving them in a mellow state.
Grilled vegetables with their toasty woody flavour work better with an oakier wine such as barrel-fermented Chardonnay.
The earthy flavours of Mushrooms work well with a Pinot Noir.
Fruits such as apple, pear, melon, and even tropical fruit are common in Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon or Gewurztraminer. Berries, mentioned earlier, work well with wines such as Beaujolais and Pinot Noir. Dried fruits such as figs, cranberries, and apricots will compliment wines with bright fruit notes, such as Grenache or Gamay.
Cheese and wine is a very well known and successful pairing, the proteins in the cheese tame the tannins and acidity in wine producing a smooth combination. If you are using a salty cheese like blue Cheese or Feta, match it will a slightly sweet wine such as an off-dry Riesling. Dry cheeses, like Parmesan or Asiago, have toasty, buttery flavors, and work very well barrel-fermented and aged Chardonnays.
Meats, Seafood, and Poultry are foods that can tame tannins and acids in the same way cheese does, and their fuller flavors and textures make a salad bolder and more substantial. Try grilling these ingredients and going for an oakier wine.
These are just a few tips for pairing wines with salads, but there are no hard and fast rules, experiment, have fun and most of all enjoy your salads and wine!!
