Vegetarian Meal

[Sutcliffe]

I am planning a vegetarian meal to cook when a dear friend of mine comes to visit in a few weeks. I was leaning towards a broccoli lasagna with garlic potato cakes. Now I personally know next to nothing about wine or vegetarian food, and I'm a pretty amateur cook at that. I am only a student so this is a relatively limited budget too. I am mainly looking for advice on a readily available wine that would go with this meal, but any dinner suggestions would be welcome too.

[mrdutton]

Maybe IK should take this one on for size!!

[Innkeeper]

Hi Sutcliffe, and welcome to the Wine Board. First of all, don't like the idea of the potatoes with the pasta. Even though there is broccoli in the pasta, vegetables and/or salad would be better.

Wish you had mentioned what kind of sauce would be in the lasagne. If it is a white sauce, go with the biggest Pinot Grigio you can find (at least 13% alcohol). A light Italian red such as Bardolino or Valpolicella would also work.

If you have a red sauce, go with one of the high acid Italian reds (to neutralize the tomatoes) such as Salice Salentino, Chianti, or Barbera d'Asti.

[Sutcliffe]

How silly of me, that is a bit excessively on the starch. I had the potato cakes recipe left over from before I found out my friend had recently become a vegetarian. I had planned a meat dish as the main course originally. Well, I will stick with the pasta and decide on another side. It is indeed a white sauce. However I was prefer to stay away from wines with particularly high alcohol contents. I do not believe this girl is much of a drinker. I would not want her to think I was trying to get her drunk!

[winoweenie]

Works for me. (giggle) LecherWeenie

[Thomas]

then go with a delicate Mosel Riesling, and keep the sauce from being too heavy.

[Innkeeper]

13% Alcohol is not going to get you much drunker than 12-12.5%. The lower levels are where the wimbier PGs reside. Alcohol level is just a convenient way to measure body. The wine that is 13% alcohol would hopefully be balanced, meaning that the full body would be accompanied with stronger fruit flavor, acidity, and other qualities that makes it more qualified to stand up to your lasagne than lighter wines.

[barnesy]

Yeah, but a delicate Mosel will be at around 7%-8% alcohol. Which is quite different than 13%.

Barnesy

[Innkeeper]

I have nothing against delicate wines in the proper setting. However, a delicate anything will be blown out of the water by any lasagne be it white, red, meaty, or vegetarian.

[Sutcliffe]

I must say I am learning quite a bit here. I appreciate it a great deal. I have come to realize as I have done more reading that 13% is not high at all for a wine. A Pinot Grigio was suggested elsewhere to me as well. I believe I will go with that.