Yes, wine can work beautifully with vegetarian fare

Roughly a year ago, my daughter convinced us to go vegetarian one day a week. There's plenty of good reasons to do so. It saves natural resources, decreases waste, reduces your contribution to global warming, and it's good for your health. The other fun part is to discover new vegetarian recipes and experiment with all sorts of ways to accomodate tofu, vegetables, legumes, and spices.

So last Thursday (that's our vegetarian day of the week), I decided to make pasta with goat cheese, lemon, and asparagus, a recipe that looked fresh and seasonal. As for the wine that could go well with the dish, I really got inspired to choose the 2002 Vouvray Sec Domaine de la Fontainerie Cuvée C, which was slowly aging in the cellar.


Pasta With Goat Cheese, Lemon, And Asparagus

Domaine de la Fontainerie has five hectares in production in the Vouvray appellation where the family has been growing Chenin Blanc since 1712. Catherine Dhoye-Deruet, who is now in charge of the family estate, would typically vinify her Vouvray dry and make off-dry and sweet Vouvray in exceptional vintages only. She believes in minimal intervention in the vineyard and harvests her grapes manually.

The wine had a deep golden color and a nose of ripe apple and pear. On the palate, it was dry, quite tight, with some acidity and a distinctive mineral character that was intensified by the creaminess of the goat cheese, the tanginess of the lemon, and the assertive flavor of the asparagus. I don't think anything fishy or meaty would have been any better with the wine.

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