10 Green Food & Drink Matches for St. Patrick’s Day at NatalieMacLean.com
You don’t need the luck o’ the Irish to find great green food and drink pairings this St. Patrick’s Day, according to Natalie MacLean, who offers a new Drinks Matcher widget. “Just look for complementary flavors and textures.”
“Green food and green wine go together, so veggies dance with wines that have herbal, grassy aromas, such as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc,” Natalie adds. “In fact, if there were an award for Veggie Wine of the Century, it would go to this one. Not only does it have complementary aromas of asparagus and canned peas, but it also has bright citrus notes that complement most vegetables.”
While white wines often work better than red wines with vegetables, light reds like Pinot Noir and Gamay also work because they have soft tannins, juicy berry flavors and good acidity. Big reds like Shiraz and Cabemet Sauvignon can end up fighting with veggies, because their robust tannins clash with the natural compounds and flavors in vegetables.
Natalie’s top 10 green food and wine matches:
1. Field greens salad and Sauvignon Blanc
2. Avocado and Pinot Grigio
3. Asparagus and Grüner Veltliner
4. Green peas and Pinot Blanc
5. Zucchini and Chenin Blanc
6. Artichoke and Verdicchio
7. Green tomatoes and Pinot Noir
8. Broccoli and Riesling
9. Bell pepper and Gamay
10. Green melon and Moscato d’Asti
Natalie’s free Drinks Matcher widget can be downloaded in just a few clicks to any computer desktop, web site, blog or social media page like Facebook, MySpace or iGoogle from www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher. The Drinks Matcher doesn’t just focus on green foods. The interactive tool has thousands of wines to pair with any dish: meat, pasta, seafood, vegetarian fare, pizza, eggs, cheese and dessert.
You simply choose the food or wine from a drop-down menu to get the pairing suggestions. There are also lots of recipes for those planning an Irish-themed meal. The matcher is updated regularly with new dishes and wines from the 100,000-plus readers who subscribe to Natalie’s free e-newsletter, which offers tips on how to buy, cellar and serve wine.
In Red, White and Drunk All Over, Natalie discusses how to match food and wine in greater depth, including wines for a multi-course dinner. There’s also a chapter with advice on pairing wine with five challenging foods: chocolate, cheese, spicy dishes, vegetables and fast food. Got a dish or a wine to stump Natalie? Just e-mail her via her web site and she’ll suggest a match for you.
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