Wine & Soup

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is food and wine pairing day. We've all heard that wine is difficult to pair with soup or salad. But I can't disagree more. As when pairing wine with any food, the wine should compliment the flavor and style of the soup. This is not difficult if we venture outside the realm of the most popular wines. Move away from Chardonnay or Merlot. It is fall and big pots of soup are once again the focus of a menu. Soup is prepared in a couple of basic styles – pureed soups with a generally smooth texture and blending of flavors, and chunky soups in which the ingredients remain separate and the flavors distinct. The elements which I look to when selecting a wine for soup are texture and the intensity of flavor. I want the texture and flavor of the wine to compliment the soup. For example: During the fall and winter we enjoy making butternut squash soups, it goes great with a spicy gewürztraminer or dry riesling. Almost everyone makes a least one pot of potato leek soup now and then, and the rich texture of the soup pairs well with a creamy rich barrel fermented Pinot Blanc. Try pea soup with Italian white wines like Soave or Vernaccia, seafood soup with a tomato base like cioppino are great with a dry rose or slightly chilled Beaujolais. If you enjoy Tomato Vegetable or Minestrone types of soups then a lighter style of Chianti or a dry, medium body white wine should pair well. Still uncertain? - then ask for advice from your local wine merchant. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.