Vegan wine and food pairings
A wine and food pairing is a beautiful relationship that blossoms with every sip and spoonful. And with the amount of vegan food rising through the culinary ranks, it’s about time we matched each plant-based dish to its very own wine match made in heaven.
So what exactly makes a wine cruelty-free? Most winemakers use animal gelatin or proteins to filter out any unwanted protein from those juicy grapes. However, nowadays, many producers are switching to vegan options such as bentonite clay and activated charcoal to complete the clarification process.
The health, climate and ethical benefits of going vegan are sevenfold, and more people than ever before are embracing a plant-powered lifestyle - if only for a couple of days a week. That’s why Novel Wines aim to bring you one of the UK’s largest collections of premium vegan wines to choose from. Get some inspiration for your next plant-based meal and wine to go with it.
Tomato marinara
A staple of any vegan diet has got to be a lively tomato marinara. Once you’ve got it sussed, every pasta dish will become a family favourite. To balance the acidity of the tomato, it’s best to pair it with the likes of the Semeli Nemea Agiorgitiko Red Wine from Greece. We love the way the soft cherry palate and velvety tannin flavour offsets the rich tomato sauce. A perfect plant-based pairing.
Lentil dahl
Ah, the dahl - it’s got to be one of the most comforting vegan dishes on offer. With creamy lentils simmered slowly in coconut milk, this dish will warm you right up with fresh turmeric, cumin and coriander. Pair it with a lightly sweet, fresh white wine such as the vegan Sula Vineyards Chenin Blanc, or a red with plenty of tannins. This plant-powered winter warmer deserves a trusty Indian wine by its side, to bring out the chilli and lime garnish.
Vegan pesto
The beauty of a vegan pesto is that you can use pretty much any nut you like: almonds, brazils, cashews, pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans - all of them give it that special something. It’s easy to replace the cheese with nutritional yeast, and dairy-free creaminess satisfies those food cravings. If you’re serving vegan pesto with pasta, be sure to pair it with the Semeli Feast Moschofilero. This bottle is free of animal products, and its exotic flavour matches the fresh basil of a pesto.
Thai curry
We love this herbaceous curry from south-east Asia, and the way the spices balance the coconut milk. You can easily replace fish sauce with soy in this Thai crowd-pleaser; just be sure to pair it with a bottle of vegan Walter Glatzer Organic Gruner Veltliner Carnuntum DAC 2021. This Austrian beauty has notes of green pineapple and white peach and a great match for Thai green curry with tofu.
Middle Eastern Mezze
Middle Eastern cuisine caters perfectly to a vegan palate, with plenty of fresh herbs, hummus and falafel. We love the small mezze plates in Middle Eastern cooking, which is why we have chosen a vegan Chateau Ksara Blanc de Blancs 2018 wine from Lebanon to accompany them. It has an bags of citrus, pinapple and warm spice on the palate, that will go just beautifully with a plate of tabbouleh. Exotic and one hundred percent vegan.
Feeling inspired for your next plant-based meal? Don’t forget to let us know which of our vegan bottles you’ve tried!
