Inspiralized wine pairings

Pairing Wines with Your Spiralized Veggies by Uproot Wines

The wine is flowing in celebration of the jolliest time of year. Parties are being thrown,...

Inspiralized wine pairings

The wine is flowing in celebration of the jolliest time of year. Parties are being thrown, glitter’s being dusted about, mistletoe’s being strung, trees are being lit, cookies are being iced, and vegetables are being Inspiralized.

Since spiralized pasta isn’t very Google-able at this time (one day it will be!) there aren’t any resources on, well, what wines to pair with spiralized dishes.

Luckily, that all changed when I came home and opened an envelope from Uproot Wines, containing the kindest note.

I mean this note, alongside a pretty wine journal…

Uproot Wine

…which later followed with this gorgeous bottle of their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc (how’d they know that was my favorite white?)

Inspiralized wine pairings

Well, any supporter of Inspiralized is a friend of mine, so I of course reached out to “Jay & Greg” at Uproot and was happily met by a sweet e-mail response. I’ve been meaning to do a post on wine pairings, so I knew I had found a hip, positive brand to lead the feature!

Today, Jay answers my questions and offers tricks on pairing wines with various types of spiralized veggies, using Uproot wines as examples. Happy sipping!

Uproot Wines and Inspiralized Brings: Pairing Wine with Spiralized Veggies
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1. What type of wines pair best with a simple bowl of zucchini noodles?
The grassy notes of our 2011 Sauvignon Blanc would complement the zucchini extremely well. Dry whites like Pinot Grigio or Albarino would also pair nicely with the zucchini.

2. What type of wines pair best with zucchini noodles with meat?
For beef and heavier sauces I would recommend our 2011 Cabernet. Merlot, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon also go well with heavier meats and sauces. With lighter meats like chicken, pork, or lamb try our 2012 Grenache as well as Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, and Syrah.

3. What type of wines pair best with zucchini noodles with seafood?
Look for bright, crisp, and refreshing wines to pair with light, flaky fish. I often pair our 2012 Grenache Blanc with fish like sea bass or tilapia. Albarino, white Bordeauxs, and sparkling wine/champagne are also a good match. For heavy fish like salmon and tuna, I would go with a heavier Chardonnay, Soave (which I’m a huge fan of right now), and lighter reds like our 2012 Grenache.

4. What type of wines pair best with sweet potato noodle dishes?
A dry or sweet Riesling (whichever you prefer) pairs well with any dish that is both salty and sweet. Lighter style reds and our 2012Grenache would also complement the sweet potato noodles nicely.

5. What type of wines pair best with beet noodle dishes?
This is a tough one as I’m not the biggest beet fan in the world. But I haven’t tried Ali’s Inspiralized beets yet, so there’s still hope. Our Grenache or Grenache Blanc would complement the beets well or try them with Syrah, old world Cabernet Sauvignon, or Tempranillo.

6. What type of wines pair best with cucumber noodle dishes?
Cucumber is so mild in flavor that any of our wines will go well with it. This dish really depends on what type of sauce you’re placing on the noodles. Pairing is all about balancing the components in the wine versus those in the food. Focus on the wines sweetness and fruit, acid, and tanninlevels and try to balance them against the foods ingredients, method of cooking, and overall perception (sweet, spicy, salty).

7. What type of wines pair best with Asian zucchini noodle dishes?
If you like your Asian zucchini spicy (like me) I’d recommend a fruitier, fresh wine like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, or Uproot’s 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. Italian varietals like Barbera and Sangiovese also pair well with spicier dishes. A sweeter, citrus-based Asian zucchini dish pairs better with Chardonnay, Semillon, or Uproot’s 2012 Grenache.

8. How can you decide which wine to go along with your spiralized veggie pasta dish?
The three most important things to keep in mind when pairing wines with inspiralized veggie pastas are: what is the vegetable, what is the protein, and what is the sauce.  As a good rule of thumb, choose your wines based on how spicy, sweet, and salty your sauce is. Next choose a wine that complements the protein followed by the type of veggie noodle being used in the dish. But really its great wine and delicious food, how can you go wrong!

A big thanks goes out to Jay from Uproot Wines – not only for supporting Inspiralized in its start up phases, but for  offering such fantastic advice for us Inspiralized wine lovers!

Who’s thirsty?

with love, Ali

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  • Where did you get those owls.... I love them.