Bill St. John - How to Pair Wine: An Experts Guide, Featuring Recipes, Tips, and Insights for Home Dining

Some foods are Just Say No with wine. Dont drink wine with them, goes the thinking; theyll ruin the wine. One such food is the artichoke. This tasty thistle contains an organic acid, cynarin, that stimulates the sweetness receptors in our taste buds. Cynarin makes everything, even water, taste sweeter. As a consequence, eating artichoke may make some wines say, an American chardonnay with even a bit of residual sugar taste ever so sweet, even cloying. And cynarin is hell with the tannins of red wine; it exaggerates them. One way around cynarin with wine? Very dry white wine, very low in alcohol.

• 2011 Aveleda Vinho Verde Casal Garcia, Portugal; $9$10
• NV Domaine de Montbourgeau Cremant du Jura, France; $25

The key elements in these white wines are low alcohol, dryness and subdued flavors. Alcohol in the Vinho Verde registers at 10 percent; for the sparkling wine, 12 percent. Alcohol in wine-and-food combos is like push technology over the Internet; alcohol slams whatever is in a food right smack in your face. Food has a lot of salt? High-alcohol wines cause it to taste even saltier. You dont want alcohol to push more cynarin at you when eating artichokes.

Also, while both wines are terrifically zesty and fresh, theyre quiet of flavor, a blessing with artichokes because the cynarin elevates the flavors in both wines; theyre much fruitier, more full bodied, richer and rounder than when the wines stand alone. And that cynarin makes things taste sweet isnt an issue with these wines. They are both as dry as a lick on stone. They can use a sugar boost and they get it with the artichoke.

Asparagus can be a Just Say No food; dont drink wine with asparagus, goes the thinking, it messes with wine. This ubiquitous vegetable is difficult two ways: its natively bitter, first of all, and very high in the chemicals phosphorous and the sulphurous compound mercaptan, neither a friend to wine. We whammy wine even more by often serving asparagus topped with poached egg at breakfast, or with the egg and butter sauce hollandaise. Eggs or fat do not spoil wine, they just coat the palate so resolutely that they prevent wine from being tasted.

• 2010 Gimenez Mendez Red Blend Puzzle, Canelones, Uruguay, $12

Everyone matches the grassy character of sauvignon blanc with asparagus which is, after all, little more than grown-up grass willy-nilly whether the sauvignon blanc sports healthy acidity or moderate alcohol. These are actually more important elements to consider when pairing wine with a bitter green slathered in fat. Frankly, red wines with slight tannin work better (bitter on bitter, tannin on fat).

This red from Uruguay has a great sense of humor and uses 15 (yes, 15) veg-friendly grape varieties, red and white both, in its aromatic, softly textured, chill-able blend. Or use a wine like it; there are hundreds of red wines that are high in acid, low of alcohol and slightly fruity such as pinot noir, Italian barbera, reds made from gamay (from America or Beaujolais), lighter-bodied sangiovese and many Rioja reds.

This dish sounds so delicious in and of itself that wine seems superfluous. The very preparation layers on flavors. So, lets treat wine as a sort of sauce, bathing and washing the grilled vegetables so that, like a cherry atop a sundae, it adds merely its extra specialness. Red, white or sparkling nearly any wine works because little in the preparation interferes (unless your hand is heavy with the salt). About all what you will want to ensure is that the wine refreshes; no leaden, over-oaked teeth-stainers at this grill. Such a wine would be an elephant sitting on your chest.

Prepare a grill for high heat. Place 2 small eggplants, cut in 1-inch chunks; 2 zucchini, thinly sliced; 2 red onions, thinly sliced; and 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered, in a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Place vegetables on a large piece of foil with edges folded up. Grill, covered, 20 minutes. Add 2 tomatoes, chopped; grill, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Carefully remove vegetables from grill. Add 1/4 cup pitted olives; season with salt and pepper. Serve with grilled naan or other bread, topped with shaved Parmesan. Makes: 4 servings

• Juve y Camps Brut Rose, Catalonia, Spain: Mostly pinot noir, but of the earthy, heady red-wine sort, bubbles roiling on top; serve superchilled in regular wine glasses, always with food. $17$20
• 2011 Quivira Sauvignon Blanc Fig Tree Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley: About as good a sauvignon blanc as you could have from this state and vintage; intense in flavor and aroma (citrus) but nimble, with jazzy acidity. $20$22
• 2010 Aberrant Cellars Pinot Noir Confero, Willamette Valley: Gorgeous cherry-red color, limpid and bright; aromas of red fruits underlain with scents of the wet stone of a spring-side; lively acidity and fresh for all its mouth-filling flavor. $35

What makes vegetable dishes difficult to pair with wine is exactly what makes them vegetable dishes: no meat protein or animal fat. Those elements are made for most wines, especially bigger reds with their all-present tannins or oaky, fruity whites. If youre eating vegetable dishes, chances are youre the conscientious or reflective sort and good for you. So take the modest way with wine. The very best wines for vegetables are unassuming, laid-back whites and reds with elegance and finesse. They are, in a real way, like the food they match, food that lived a placid, humble life.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add 3 chard stems, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; and 1/2 onion, diced. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes; lower heat to medium. Stir in 1/4 cup white wine and 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend; cook, 1 minute. Add 3 cups diced vegetables (zucchini, tomato, mushrooms); cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add 1 bunch chard leaves, chopped; cook, stirring, until wilted and warmed. Spread 2 tablespoons hummus over 4 flatbreads. Top with the veggie mixture and shredded white cheddar cheese. Roll up; slice in half. Makes: 4 servings