Nowadays we are conscious that for the good of the planet we will have to consume less and less animal protection protein.
However, a gourmet and greedy alternative exists just as tasty and which can be a source of protein: vegetables, raw, cooked, dietetic or gourmet, carpaccio style, winter or summer ones, vegetables offer flavors for all taste buds.
Contrary to a preconceived idea, wine goes perfectly well with vegetarian or vegan dishes (let’s remember that the vegetarian dish can contain eggs and milk whereas the vegan dish will not contain any ingredients oof animal origin.
At André Brunel’s estate our Châteauneuf-du-Pape has proved it could be a major asset to watch your vegetable dishes with a good bottle of wine.
Why does Châteauneuf-du-Pape match so well with vegetables?
Our Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvées « Les Cailloux » and « Centenaire » offer their delicacy of taste thanks to an extraordinary terroir, that is to say: the rolled pebbles of the estate and the prestigious grapes varieties blend.
- The red wines offer very fruity notes which allow the tannins to remain elegant and soft, as a result wines of great delicacy.
- The white cuvée offers a dry but fruity and floral wine with a great minerality which makes it particularly pleasant in summer.
These different characteristics (minerality and fruit noes) make it perfect with the vegetables taste because a delicate wind will go better than a sweet or tanning wine.
Ideas for original matchings between Châteaueuf-du-Pape and vegetarian or vegan dishes to make sure to realise a perfect dish
In summer, when the weather is very hot or in winter (with a dish of potatoes) to try to have a more dietetic food or because you receive vegan friends, the vegetable dish is more and more present in our diet; that’s why at André Brunel’s estate, we suggest ideas in order to allow you to realise a perfect dish which will satisfy perfectly hunger as well.
Raw and carpaccio vegetables
In a mixed salad very appreciated in summer or in a carpaccio of delicate vegetables the raw vegetable can match with provided you respect an important rule: do not make a too strong seasoning. Indeed, it’s very important to avoid a too spicy French dressing which will then compete with the taste of wine.
In order to have a salad which will perfectly match with the wine we advise to use milk-based sauces (vegetable ones for vegans such as soy or coconut).
A red wine is too strong to match with raw vegetables.
It’s better to serve a dry and powerful white wine, very mineral, such as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape but also wines from the Loire valley or from the Rhône area which are not liqueur-like.
Cooked vegetables
Matching wine with a vegetarian cooked dish will depend on the choice of the vegetables:
- The white Châteauneuf-du-Pape will perfectly go with tomatoes, asparagus, artichokes or eggplants. We recommend more especially this wine with “tian” (assorted baked vegetables) or stuffed vegetables (zucchini or eggplant), these recipes can be made without milk or with vegetable milk, carrots or beets will go better with sauvignon which is more aromatic, and we recommend a chardonnay or a chenin for beans.
- The advantage of the red Châteauneuf-du-Pape as far as cooked are concerned is that it can go well with a lot of them: tomatoes, eggplants, onions, beets, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, all of them will match with this wine. Light wine, it goes perfectly well with potatoes by counterbalancing the richness of this starch. So, it will go perfectly with a vegetarian “tartiflette” (a potato dish) or a vegetarian “raclette” (a cheese dish).
Vegetable ready-cooked dishes
All kinds of dishes are now available in vegetarian or vegan option:
- Vegetarian or vegan pizza: (thanks to vegetable cheese), we recommend a light mineral white wine (Côtes-du-Rhône, Viognier, or a southern grenache or also a light rosé). The delicacy of the wine will balance the multiple flavors of the pizza.
- Vegetarian or vegan burger: With a burger, you can choose a full-bodied red wine, even somewhat tannic to highlight the vegetable protein (soy, leguminous plants etc). Red wine matches quite well with fries which are generally served with the burger.
- Southern cooking: Mediterranean cooking, more especially the Greek one, was in antiquity, close to vegetarianism. Greeks ate mainly raw vegetables, olives and cheese. Besides, they had a great wine culture! That’s why vegetarian moussaka, tzatziki or baked vegetables were served with white or red southern wines, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, because of their lightness. Also, note that the favorite dish of French people, couscous, including many different vegetarian versions, goes quite well with a light red wine or a rosé.
For even more food and wine pairings :
Published : 2022-03-01