Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. I love asparagus grilled. I love it lightly sautéd and finished with a sprinkle of lemon pepper. I love it lightly sautéd and topped with gorgonzola crumbles. I love asparagus tips mixed in with lemon rice. I think you get the picture. It is a favorite spring treat for me.

Asparagus served at ANOTHER wine event

BUT, I don’t always love asparagus with my wine! Asparagus is such an elegant vegetable that it is often served by chefs at wine events. It does look gorgeous and asparagus can be a delicacy when attended to by a talented cook. All is well until you take that first sip of wine after the asparagus. Ewwww!

Wine + asparagus = ?

Asparagus makes wines taste “green” or vegetal.  Sometimes people will describe a wine as dank when paired with asparagus. Asparagus can turn a fruit forward fruit into something too nasty to name. Asparagus greatly exaggerates the oaky characteristics of a wine and wines with a high level of tannins can be ruined by a bite of asparagus. Joe Power of Another Wine Blog calls asparagus  kryptonite to oaked Chardonnays and big tannic red wines.

Wines that work

So what is a wine lover with a fondness for asparagus to do? Look for wines that inherently have some green notes like Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) or Sauvignon Blanc.  Those two wines are the most popular white wines to pair with asparagus but they are not your only options. How about a Grüner Vetliner? I haven’t tried it yet myself but Barry from Barry’s Wine Notes says that it is a winning wine to pair with white asparagus, Spargel Allemagne. Others advocate for pairing asparagus with a quality Grüner Vetliner, that some complexity to the wine is the key. A Riesling can also work with asparagus, the key is a crisp acidity and some nice citrus notes to the Riesling. One of my tasks this spring will be to try a Siegerrebe with asparagus. I will let you know how it goes.

Think green, think acid and think citrus when it comes to pairing a white wine with asparagus.What about red wines and asparagus? This is a much trickier pairing but not impossible, especially with grilled asparagus.

Philippe Jeanty, chef-owner of Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, California, in an interview with Sunset magazine recommends:

“Pinot Noir. The char character from the grilling works wonderfully with Pinot, which is both light-bodied and earthy.”

Some people advocate pairing a Beaujolais with asparagus. I am not the biggest Beaujolais fan so I am not the best judge on this pairing. It might work with the extremely low tannins of Beaujolais but I am thinking there is too much fruit to go with most asparagus dishes. What do you think?

Don’t forget the old adage of pairing, when in doubt think BUBBLES! A crisp sparkling wine that leans more toward the mineral notes versus fruit will pair with grilled asparagus as well as a creamy asparagus dish.

Cooking Techniques

Try grilling the asparagus to tone down some of that bitter grassy “green” flavor. Then serve the grilled asparagus with a creamy sauce or dip like Hollandaise.  I sautéed asparagus then made a creamy ham and asparagus casserole. The creamy cheese sauce mellowed the asparagus without killing the flavors that make the vegetable unique and made it much more food friendly. I enjoyed a light rosé with that springtime casserole even though rosé is usually considered a big no-no when pairing with asparagus.

Citrus is an important bridge for pairing for asparagus. Try lemon pepper and lemon butter to help you pair the asparagus with wines that can mirror those citrus notes. Fresh orange  pieces tossed into asparagus sautéed in lemon butter is as beautiful as it is delicious! It is also much more food friendly.

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