10 top wine matches for a vegetarian (or vegan) Christmas

It’s a sign of the times that when I first wrote this post over 10 years ago I said “Vegetarians often get overlooked at this time of year” That’s obviously no longer the case but veggie - and vegan - options are now so numerous and so diverse it can be tricky to work out which wine would work best with them.

For a start it depends whether they’re hot like a Vegetarian Wellington or a whole. baked cauliflower or celeriac or cold like a crunchy salad. 

It also depends on the flavours - whether they’re classically Christmassy or zingy and spicy. The kind of food you want to wake up your palate just after Christmas.

I’ve picked 10 recipes from popular cookery writers including Felicity Cloake, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Diana Henry and Meera Sodha. 

Hopefully they’ll provide inspiration for Christmas eating as well as drinking ...

Felicity Cloake’s Vegetarian Wellington

The centre of this recipe is a glazed butternut squash surrounded by a mushroom-type stuffing. I’d probably go for a fruity pinot noir from, say, Chile or New Zealand’s Central Otago or a full-bodied chardonnay.

Thomasina Miers baked cauliflower with roast almond and prune mole

Mexican mole is dark and spicy so even though cauliflower is quite a mild-tasting vegetable this is a powerfully flavoured dish with which I’d probably drink a grenache or garnacha or a grenache/syrah/mourvedre (GSM) blend.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Vegan Tart

There’s not much in the title to tell you what’s in it but the flavours are quite simple and creamy, designed to fit in, I think, with Christmas sides like the chestnut and prune stuffing for which he also gives a recipe. On its own it’s the sort of dish I’d serve with a Chablis or a chenin blanc with the stuffing a rioja or a Côtes du Rhône.

Diana Henry’s Pumpkin, Chestnut and Stilton tart

You’ll have to get behind the paywall to access this but I think you’re allowed 3 free visits a month. (I’m not a Telegraph reader but I DO love Diana’s recipes). On its own I’d probably go for a rich chardonnay or a rich southern Rhône red like a Vacqueyras or Séguret - probably the latter if you make her potatoes with smoked butter and mushrooms on the side. A southern Italian red like a nero d’avola would also be good.

Melissa Clark’s Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole

I’m thinking pinot noir with this or a barolo if you feel like pushing the boat out. Again behind a paywall but it’s worth paying for the New York Times excellent food content.

Anna Jones celebration celeriac and sweet garlic pie

Anna Jones says of this pie, which you’ll also find in her ‘Modern Cooks’ Year’ “It’s everything I want in a pie: a cheddar and winter herb flaky pastry; a creamy filling, sweet with balsamic garlic and roasted celeriac; and a crisp, grated celeriac roof.” I

’m actually thinking of a good artisan cider with this but a merlot would be delicious too.

Sophie Godwin’s vegan Christmas wreath

A light, pretty centrepiece for the Christmas table that includes pops of cranberry and sour cherries as well as spinach and tofu. I’d probably go for a gamay but you could drink an Italian white like a gavi too.

Meera Sodha’s Sprout Nasi Goreng

This is the perfect recipe for after Christmas when you’re taste buds are feeling a bit jaded and you’re craving spicy food. It comes from Meera Sodha’s brilliant book East. With chillies, garlic and sesame it definitely needs an aromatic white like an Australian riesling

and two veggie stalwarts ...

Nut roast
You probably already have your favourite nut roast recipe and I’ve already posted some suggestions for wine pairings but if you’re making it for the first time you might want to trawl through these 10 nut roast recipes that won’t let you down from the Guardian

The trimmings without the turkey
Personally I tend to head for the southern Rhône with my Christmas dinner and would whether it was veggie or not. You need a big rich exuberant red so shiraz would also work well as would a malbec.

Top photo of a roast cauliflower is by Magdanatka at shutterstock.com though not of the recipes in the post

How Thanksgiving sides can inspire your wine pairing

Although we all talk turkey at Thanksgiving, in fact it’s the sides that tend to steal the show.

Finding a wine that can cope with them all is never easy but you may just find your favourite side or dressing can inspire your choice.

Sweet sides

Sweet potatoes with their maple syrup glaze or a marshmallow topped casserole like this one are likely to be the sweetest element of the meal - and a tricky one to match with wine.

Given the savoury elements of the meal a sweet wine is probably overkill for most but try a refreshing spätlése or other medium-dry riesling or a rich chardonnay.

Grenache is a grape with a lot of natural sweetness if you want to serve a red wine or, if you have a sweet tooth, go for one of the new wave of sweeter reds like Apothic.

Corn is another sweet-tasting vegetable that goes particularly well with chardonnay or try a rich young viognier like Laurent Miquel’s Verité from Languedoc in southern France

Creamy sides

Lots of Thanksgiving sides have creamy sauces which should again incline you towards chardonnay - a grape variety that simply loves cream. If you’re planning an oyster casserole, Chablis would be a great pairing.

Fruity sides

There’s usually a cranberry relish somewhere in the equation, sometimes with a hint of orange - so if that’s your favourite Thanksgiving flavour choose an equally bright fruity red.

A young zinfandel or merlot, a really fruity pinot noir or even what the Australians often drink with their Christmas dinner, a sparkling shiraz

Green sides

Maybe we’re becoming more health conscious but green vegetables such as green beans, collard greens, sprouts and kale seem to play a bigger role in the Thanksgiving feast these days. (OK, sometimes with cream!)

There are two grapes that have a touch of green about them themselves - carmenère from Chile and cabernet franc - even cabernet sauvignon can pick up on those dark leafy flavours.

Savoury sides

If you’ve a taste for the more savoury aspects of the Thanksgiving feast like the sausage stuffing or dressing think of pouring syrah or shiraz, maybe combined with grenache and mourvèdre as it is in the Rhône and southern France (in Chateauneuf-du-Pape for example). If there’s a mushroom element that’s another reason to reach for the pinot noir.

There are of course huge variations in sides as this marvellous feature from the New York Times, The United States of Thanksgiving, shows so do adapt these suggestions to your local specialities - maybe even picking a local wine, beer or cider if you have a producer near you.

Photo © Ezee pics studio - Fotolia.com

What to pair with Beaujolais Nouveau (updated)

With southern hemisphere wines from the 2024 vintage already hitting the shelves the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau has become less significant than it once used to be but it’s still a fun occasion to mark. 

So far as food is concerned I suggest you go for the obvious-but-none-the-worse-for-it pairing of charcuterie.

A selection of saucisson, paté, rillettes and perhaps some jambon de Bayonne or mountain ham with some cornichons (gherkins), fresh radishes, butter and a good crusty baguette or two followed by a nice mature but not overripe Camembert or Brie.

I’d also suggest you chill your ‘nouveau’ for 30 minutes in the fridge before you serve it.

If you’re veggie a selection of crudités - fresh crunchy vegetables such as radishes, carrots and fennel - and a young goats cheese would work. really well. 

If you’re feeling more adventurous you could try it with a Chinese takeaway avoiding stronger dishes such as crab or ribs in black bean sauce. I think it would go pretty well with sushi.

And if you’re anywhere warm enough to eat outside try it with a duck or chicken salad with some red fruits such as sun-dried cherries or pomegranate seeds. 

And given it coincides with Thanksgiving this year, maybe drink it with the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers!

For pairings for Beaujolais Villages and ‘cru’ Beaujolais see Top Food Matches for Beaujolais (and other Gamay)

Image by roksen_andre from Pixabay

The best wines to pair with squash and pumpkin

Nothing proclaims autumn more clearly than squash and pumpkin but what wine should you pair with them?

It depends whether the dish is savoury or sweet obviously but here are a few options that might help

Wines to pair with roast or baked squash

Butternut squash in particular comes in a lot of guises but is fundamentally sweet, especially when you roast it. In general I favour rich whites like oak-aged chardonnay, Rhône varietals such as viognier, roussanne and marsanne and old vine chenin blanc either on its own or in a South African Cape white blend.

If you want a red I’d go for a warming Côtes du Rhône or similar wine made from Rhône varietals like grenache, syrah and mourvèdre.

Beerwise I’d be thinking of a saison or amber ale as I’ve suggested with this fabulous baked squash recipe from Claire Thomson

Wines for pumpkin or squash ravioli

A popular dish in Italy often served with crisp-fried sage and brown butter. Again the wines above would do the trick, but you might want to make them Italian. I’m thinking a good Soave or a rich Sicilian white like a fiano though I’ve also paired a Douro white successfully with pumpkin ravioli. The same advice would apply to butternut squash lasagne and butternut squash risotto too. I’ve also had some success pairing pumpkin gnocchi with gewurztraminer so you could try that with pasta too.

Wine with pumpkin or butternut squash soup

Again I’d be looking out for those smoother richer whites - chenin blanc, viognier and chardonnay - but perhaps slightly lighter-bodied than you’d pick for a roast squash recipe. If it were a spicy soup like this pumpkin coconut and lentil soup I’d go for an more aromatic white wine like the ones below

Wines for butternut squash or pumpkin curry

Butternut squash can handle quite a bit of spice and works well in a curry, especially with coconut milk. I’d choose a pinot gris, riesling or a light, maybe Chilean, gewurztraminer. Or our friend viognier again.

Butternut squash salads

Butternut squash in salads tends to be less about the squash and more about other ingredients such as feta, pesto or pumpkin seeds. Go for a brighter, crisper white such as Italian Greco or a Falanghina.

The best wine pairings for pumpkin pie

As much about the spices that are used as the pumpkin. Personally I like a rich moscatel but consult this post for other options.

Photo by Tatiana Vorona at shutterstock.com