The Wine and Salad Problem

Filed in archive Food and Wine on August 3, 2006

Pairing a good wine with salads can be tricky, especially if you prefer to use vinegar-based salad dressings.

And these days, as most of us find we have to watch the wasitline, that often means just plain old vinegar on a pile of lettuce leaves.

But just because we are limited to our salad dressing selections doesn't mean there is no hope for picking a wine to handle the acidic flavor.

Here are some tips for pairing wine with salad from The Dallas Morning News:

With your vinaigrette-doused salad, serve high-acid sparkling wines, crisp, dry roses and white wines with little or no oak.

Here are some other tips, courtesy of Mr. Mackay and the Wine Market Council:

Add something salty (olives, anchovies, capers), some chopped nuts or a strong cheese to neutralize some of the vinegar's acidity.

Substitute fresh citrus juice or wine for part of the vinegar in the dressing.

With Caesar salad, try an Italian pinot grigio or a Portuguese vinho verde.

A nice, light pinot noir or Beaujolais makes a good pairing with the meats and cheeses of a Cobb salad.

With its sharp flavors, Greek salad calls for an assertive wine such as a Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.