During farmstand season cue your wines to your vegetables: fresh produce and fresh wines

Lighten Up

Local farmstands are beginning to bring the bounty of the earth to our tables. I trust we are all going to be eating more fruits and vegetables in the coming months for health certainly but more for the sheer enjoyment of all those true, fresh tastes.

But what about the accompanying wines? We usually base our wine choice on the main course meat or fish but in summer that part of the meal may be incidental to the vegetables or it may disappear altogether. We’ll be eating more vegetarian meals either deliberately or accidentally. You may not think of it that way but a pasta dish with fresh tomatoes and basil or with zucchini accompanied by a green salad is decidedly vegetarian. Then there are separate vegetable courses. Truly fresh vegetables have bold, complex flavors. When local corn is at its peak, many of us have it as a single course, and big herb-flavored salads often follow a main course.

I was thinking about all this while driving home from EECO Farm recently with a load of spring vegetables next to me. I began to realize that many vegetable dishes have distinct flavors that pair naturally with certain wines. The sweetness of corn or peas or carrots, for example, could find a perfect match in a semi-dry riesling or a chenin blanc. Tomatoes, high in acid, should pair well a crisp sauvignon blanc or a Spanish albarino. Eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers in all their variations would go well with a soft, fruity merlot. Of course, some of our winter favorites—bold, tannic cabernet sauvignons, the heavier syrah and shiraz varietals, serious Bordeaux blends—might overwhelm summer vegetables.

You needn’t be terribly fussy. Vegetables are forgiving unlike some meat or fish dishes and will taste right with a number of wines. Besides, summer is too fleeting to make a big deal about wine or actually worry about rules. Keep your wines tender and sprightly, just as your vegetables should be. I recommend choosing young, simple wines, light and medium bodied although some full-bodied whites are good candidates. Look for freshness, up-front fruit, a degree of acidity, and a soft, lingering taste that parallels a summer afternoon. This, fortunately, allows for a large number of both reds and whites.

Gewürztraminer seems to me an excellent choice with most summer vegetables. Its spicy fragrance and floral perfumes and fairly full body would do credit to an array of farmstand produce and also to the delectable fresh herbs, the basil and thyme and rosemary, of warm weather meals. Several of the North Fork wineries including Corey Creek and Palmer make notable gewürztraminers.

Chardonnay, both steel fermented and oak fermented, is always a good option though I would avoid the heavily oaked styles. Peconic Bay and Laurel Lake always come through with good and affordable ones. Sauvignon blanc, crisp, young, with the aroma of grass, is a natural for fresh vegetables. I like the highly aromatic ones from New Zealand, as well as the more austere French ones. Long Island wineries are starting to do a credible job here too. Check out Palmer and Raphael.

The lesser-known gruner veltliner, an Austrian grape, would be an excellent choice. The aromas of citrus, apple, pepper and spice combine well with summer’s produce. Anton Bauer produces a lively one that is sold here on the East End. Or try a viognier, a heady and floral white that’s delicious.

Reds, such as pinot noir or a soft merlot, go especially well with grilled vegetables or terrines or pastas combined with vegetables and cheeses. They are a good match with mushrooms, certain root vegetables, and other earthy flavors. Bedell’s mellow and delightful blend, Main Road Red, is a good all around choice.

Definitely include rosé on your list. Choose bone dry to medium dry; look for bright fruit and a tangy quality. A good rose should always be young, accessible, and a bit sassy. Look for aromas of cherry, strawberry, lavender and rose petal. Avoid some of the flabby, mass produced imports. In fact, if you stick to Long Island rosés, you’ll never go wrong. Wolffer and Paumanok are noteworthy. Channing Daughters, in Bridgehampton, produces a line of what they call “fresh wines.” Immediate and exuberant, with sprightly flavors, any of these wines—and there are interesting and unusual choices—would be a perfect accompaniment for summer vegetable dishes.

I like drinking wines from all over the old world and new world, but I also like the idea of drinking youthful wines grown from local grapes, coming from the same earth as the vegetables waiting on our kitchen counters. The season is sunny and spirited. Your wines should be also.