What To Grow In A Wine Lover’s Garden

Get inspired to grow a garden filled with the fresh and simple ingredients that pair well with your favorite wines! Grow herbs and crisp green vegetables as well as ripe berries and fruits that play well with your favorite pours. Grab the wine opener and keep it handy! When we pop some corks and pour, we’ll have a blooming bounty of produce to pair with all that good grape juice. All we have to do is get inspired from the start and grow a wine lover’s garden.

What can I grow in a Wine Lover’s Garden that pairs well with wine?

Some of the things that pair well with wine might be items that you are already growing in your garden this season. Some may be plants that you have grown in the past. To start, fresh green herbs, fruits, and tender green vegetables are all wonderful items to grow in a wine lover’s garden. They can all be easily transformed into salads, entrees, appetizers, or desserts that you can enjoy with wine later on.

You Can Grow herbs that pair with wine

>> Plant easy-growing herbs:

• Basil, mint, thyme, and rosemary aren’t very fussy. These herbs grow swiftly and need nothing more than full sun and water to fill pots with their lush and fragrant display.
• Whether you are growing these herbs in containers or in the ground, they will pair well with white wines and red wines.
• You might use basil to freshen up a vibrant green salad. You might use basil as a flavor-enhancing ingredient in this basil chicken or this basil cashew pesto.

which wines pair well with my garden-fresh basil, mint, thyme, and rosemary?

>> Consider crisp White Wines:

• White wines such as Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc pair well with garden-fresh herbs.
• Both white or red Zinfandels marry well with light herby dishes that incorporate basil, for example.
• Consider especially white wines with ‘green’ notes such as a Spanish Albariño or a Vinho Verde.

>> Consider Red Wines and SParkling Wines:

• Light to medium-bodied red wines such as a Pinot Noir and Chianti pair well with mint.
• Some sweeter and fruitier white wines, such as Riesling, pair well with mint herbs too.
• Due to the refreshing cooling effects of mint, I often recommend enjoying it with fizzy bubbling wines such as Lambrusco or Brachetto d’Acqui.
• Sparkling white wines such as Prosecco or Blanc De Blancs marry wonderfully with refreshing mint, especially in the hot days of summer.

You can even turn any one of the sparkling white wines into a refreshing herbal spritzer cocktail and serve over ice.

You can grow Vegetables In Your Garden That Pair Well With Wine

>> Grow tender and crisp vegetables:

• Cool and crisp green vegetables such as cucumbers and peas make great partners with wine.
• Easy-to-grow varieties like snow peas and sugar snap peas make especially delicious ingredients to grow. They will inspire the light and fresh recipes we look forward to enjoying in the spring and throughout the summer.
• Make refreshing salads with cucumbers or crush cucumbers into garden-fresh cocktails, kinda like I did with this basil cucumber gimlet. I love topping off these drinks with sparkling white wines like Prosecco or Moscato.
• Consider growing zucchini, summer squash, or vine tomatoes as easy-growing vegetables that flourish in a wine lover’s garden.
• Sautée freshly-picked zucchini and summer squash in a pan with fresh garlic, pasta, and marinara. Pair this dish with your favorite wines or roast the vegetables in a flavorful ratatouille casserole.
• Think light-bodied Italian variety white wines such as Soave or Pinot Grigio when pairing with tender veggies like these.

Which wines pair well with my green garden-fresh vegetables?

>> Try Easy-Drinking french White Wines:

• French whites like Sancerre work nicely with fresh delicately-flavored veggies like these, too.
• Think Loire Valley whites like Sauvignon or Chenin Blanc.
• If you are serving any of your fresh veggies with tomatoey sauces or marinara, you might opt for light red wines. You’ll have plenty of fresh tomatoes coming to pair with a nice pour of Italian Montepulciano or French Beaujolais.
• These light reds make delicious backgrounds for all those wonderful fresh garden-inspired dishes you’ll cook over the spring and summer.

Plant Fruits That Pair Well With Wine

>> Plant Ripe Berries, Melons, and Stone Fruits:

• Juicy ripe berries are often a top choice for gardeners.
• They produce fruit easily and can regrow as perennials bringing in a sweet juicy bounty season after season.
• They go down like silk paired with red wine.
• Vine-ripe melons and smaller stone fruits make the sweetest, tastiest pairings with white wines as well.

which wines pair well with my green garden-fresh fruits?

>> Consider Champagnes or spanish reds:

• Red berries like raspberries and strawberries pair well with a nice glass of simple Champagne, but a few mouthwatering reds are my favorite way to sample them.
• Shiraz has hints of peppery, fruity spiciness that complement red berries as well as Spanish Tempranillo or even Rioja. Easily pair these wines with freshly picked strawberries dipped in chocolate and you’ve got instant heaven.

>> Consider sweet white wines or sweet reds:

• Strawberries have juicy ripe summer sweetness that speaks well with some sweet white wines.
• Try an Italian Moscato D’ Asti or fruit-forward California-style reds like Pinot Noir.
• Sweeter Italian wines like Brachetto d’Acqui pair well with red berries too.
• Dark blackberries steal the show with their rich sweet flavors. These pair well with jammy red wines that boast notes of other dark fruits such as currants and blueberries.
• Cabernet Sauvignon, French Cab Franc, and Merlots all pair well with dark berries.

>> Consider tawny ports and blushing rosés:

• If you’ll be picking fresh cherries out back, a deep sweet ruby or tawny port tastes like liquid cherries.
• If you have any variety of melons coming in, those make a mouthwatering combination with crisp and clean blush wines. A Provence Rosé or even a Californian Pinot Noir Rosé might pair wonderfully with ripe melon fruits.

The Perfect pairing is a divine moment between food and drink…

When food and wine are paired right, it often feels like the wine you’re drinking is an extension of the very fruit or food itself. The pairing experience makes for the greatest sensation when your brain and your senses make this connection. Everything clicks on the palate, and it becomes a divine moment between food and drink.

There are really so many ways you could go when pairing the fresh bounty of your garden with your favorite varietals and wines. Pairing wines with your favorite chocolates and desserts is a fun way to explore the sweeter side of pairings, too.

I always say let your senses be your finest guide… I believe there are no hard rules for pairing wines with our favorite meals and treats. Your mind and your heart simply know when something is a perfect match and everything clicks!

Use these quick little ideas for pairing delicious wines with your favorite garden fruits and veggies as you start your creative journey in the garden. These simple suggestions are a fun place to start. I welcome you to get inspired and get growing as you enjoy the tasty rewards of all that hard work when you pop, sip, and pick the perfect pairs for your wine lover’s garden.

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