gardening tips grow a garden that pairs with wine

Grow A Wine Lover’s Garden

/ DIY, Gardening and Plants, Outdoor Plants, Spring, Wine, Beer, and Spirits / By

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 rainbow-colored produce for picking and pairing with delicious vinos at our fingertips. 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?

easy to grow fruit plants and vegetables plants

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

planting herbs in your garden that pair well with wine

growing fresh herbs in your garden

Some popular, fragrant, and easy-growing herbs that you already know make great partners for delicious wines. Basil, mint, thyme, and rosemary need not much more than full sun and water to grow very quickly and take over! Whether you are growing these herbs in containers or in the ground, they will pair well with white and red wines. You can incorporate basil to freshen up a salad. Or use when serving 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?

grow a wine lover's garden with fresh fruits and vegetables

White wines such as Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc as well was both white or red Zinfandels marry well with light herby dishes that incorporate basil. Consider especially white wines with ‘green’ notes such as a Spanish Albariño or a Vinho Verde.

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

Planting Vegetables In Your Garden That Pair Well With Wine

growing fresh cucumbers plants in your garden

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 wonderful ingredients to grow. They will inspire the light and fresh recipes we look forward to enjoying in the spring and throughout the summer.

growing green peas to pair with wine in your garden

Make refreshing salads with cucumbers or crush cucumbers into garden-fresh cocktails. I love to top off these drinks with sparkling white wines.

For example, you can easily take this fresh cucumber basil gimlet and top it with your favorite prosecco. This will make it pop with a deluxe finish for a simple garden cocktail.

growing summer squash and zucchini plants in your garden to pair with wine

Zucchini, summer squashes, and vine tomatoes are also perfect and super 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 it with your favorite wines or roast these in a spring veggie ratatouille-style casserole like this one. Think light-bodied Italian variety white wines such as Soave or Pinot Grigio.

Related: A Super Simple Way To Start Juicy Golden Cherry Tomatoes From Seed

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

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, consider easy-drinking light red wines. You’ll have plenty of fresh tomatoes coming to pair with a nice pour of Italian Montepulciano or French Beaujolais. They make delicious backgrounds for all those wonderful fresh garden-inspired dishes you’ll cook over the spring and summer.

Planting Fruits In Your Garden That Pair Well With Wine

growing strawberries to pair with wine in your garden

Juicy ripe berries are often a top choice for gardeners. They produce fruit easily and can regrow as perennials producing 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?

growing berries in your garden to pair with wines

The simplest and easiest fruits to keep flowing in the garden are fresh ripe berries. 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.

easy fruits from the garden to grow and pair with wine

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 Merlot pair well with dark berries.

growing fresh cherry fruits in your garden to pair with wine

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.

enjoying all the flavors from your wine lover’s garden

easy to grow cucumbers zucchini peas and berries in a garden to pair with wines

When something is paired right, it often feels like you’re drinking an extension of the very fruit or food itself. It’s the greatest, tasty 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.

easy herbs vegetables and fruits to pair with wine from your garden

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!

Your tongue will have that ‘aaaaaah….’ moment, letting you know that it’s delicious! These quick little ideas for pairing delicious wines with your favorite garden fruits and vegetables are a fun place to start… So get inspired this gardening season and enjoy tasting all that hard work with your favorite glass of wine when you grow your very own wine lover’s garden.

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