How to Pair Natural Wine and Summer Vegetables
Get that summertime gladness with Tenderly’s guide to pairing vegan wines with delicious veg
Natural wine defies definition. While some claim that it doesn’t give drinkers hangovers, there are no guarantees about a category that does not have an official, regulated definition. In truth, natural wines are defined more by how they differ from conventional wines than any fixed selection of characteristics. While the stereotype is that they’re all funky and effervescent, they can run the gamut of flavors, depending on the process and terroir.
And while there is no official description, there are guidelines. “Natural wine applies to wine made with minimal intervention in both the vineyard and the vinification,” says Layla Schlack, a senior editor at Wine Enthusiast. “It may or may not mean organic or biodynamic, and it may or may not have added sulfites. It won’t have other additives, like acid or MegaPurple, and it’s often unfiltered and unfined.”
Unfiltered and unfined wines are the general standard by which vegan wines are judged, which is why natural wines and vegetables are a perfect pairing. While there’s usually no way of telling whether most conventionally produced wines have been filtered through egg white or fish bladder for their transparency, one…
