I was teaching a wine class on Italy the other day and after the class one of the students pulled me aside and asked me a question on pairing wine with food. In the class I spoke at length about the importance of wine as part of the meal at the Italian table. Typically, a question on pairing wine and food would not have been so challenging, but this student was a vegetarian, vegan at that. The first thing I had to consider was the wine itself, since most wines are fined and filtered to remove cloudiness and particulates, and the fining process uses egg whites: a vegan no-no. So just finding wines that fell into the vegan category turned out to be much more difficult than matching the wines with the meal. Of course, another challenge was finding vegan wines that were available in the market, i.e. wines that ABC carry. So this is what I have come up with:

 For a sparkling wine, which always makes a great starter to a meal, you can try Piper-Heidsieck, Moet & Chandon Champagne or J Sparkling Wine. Serve this with a fresh fruit like strawberries drizzled with Balsamic vinegar, walnuts and freshly ground pepper.

 As a wine option to serve with this Spinach Salad try Snoqualmie or Sineann Riesling:

•  1 Lb. baby spinach


• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts


• ½ cup raisins

Dressing:

• 2 tbls. Olive oil


• 2 tbls. Red wine vinegar


• 2 tbls. Maple syrup


• 4 tbls. Apple juice


• ½ tsp. ground black pepper

  For dinner, a red wine to serve with Eggplant "Parmesan" would be a Tuscan wine from Querciabella or a Spanish Rioja. The Reserva from Marques de Caceres would be a good choice.

 Sauce:

• Olive oil, as needed


• 1 onion chopped


• 1 bell pepper


• ½ lb. mushrooms sliced


• 1 clove garlic minced


• 14 ounce can chopped tomatoes


• 14 ounce can tomato sauce


• Oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste

 Eggplant:

• 1 eggplant sliced ½ inch thick


• soy milk as needed


• flour as needed


• Oregano, salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste


• Bread crumbs as needed


• Vegan parmesan or mozzarella – optional

 Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil. Add in mushrooms and garlic, cook till done. Add in tomatoes, herbs and simmer while you prepare eggplant.

 Mix together flour, garlic salt, oregano and pepper for dredging. Dip both sides of eggplant in soy milk. Dredge in flour mixture, repeat. Then dip into the milk and dredge in the breadcrumbs. Fry both sides in a pre-heated, oiled skillet then remove to paper towels to drain.

 Put two to three pieces per serving on a plate, cover with sauce, sprinkle with vegan cheese if desired.

 These are all fairly easy recipes and the wines to go with them are delicious. If you have any other good food & wine pairings that would fit the vegan diet, please post them on this blog for our readers that are on the lookout for some fresh ideas.

 Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, N. Florida