I’ve really gotten into Burgundy wines recently. They’re enjoyable, super-versatile wines that pair with a variety of different foods, without being dependant on red meats or dishes with a high animal fat content – which makes them the perfect wines to pair with vegan food. Refreshing and crisp, but possessing more body than a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, they make the ideal wine and food pairing for pasta, heartier salads, and mild creamy sauces. For a good introductory example of this medium-bodied, fruit-driven French wine, vegan wine lovers will be delighted to learn that Marks and Spencer’s Bourgogne White Burgundy is suitable for vegans.
Marks and Spencer’s White Burgundy Review
M&S Chardonnay Wine Facts
Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Price: around £9.00
Labelled Vegan Wine: Yes
UncorkedVegan Rating: 6/10
Labelled Vegan Wine from Marks and Spencer
Delicate on the nose, the M&S white wine offers notes of peach, apricot and florals. It’s fresh; offering a short-medium finish and pronounced flavours of white peach, undercut with tangy lemon. Overall, it’s good, if a little lacking in depth – I think without the short period of oak-aging that part of the wine receives, it might be a little watery.
That said, it responds beautifully to food. Creamy vegan pasta and Chardonnay is a fabulous vegan-friendly food pairing and I highly recommend it. I use nutritional yeast to thicken sauce and make it creamier and a little cheesy, which needs a wine with some body to it. Likewise I like to add black pepper, wholegrain mustard to bring out substance, and fresh lemon to compliment the wine’s acidity.
Here’s two tried-and-tested good food pairings for medium white wines to get you started!
Food Pairing Ideas for Chardonnay
Vegan Scallop Pasta with Creamy Cashew Sauce
Alfredo sauce – as they call it in the USA – is closest in similarity to UK carbonara sauce. Making a creamy dairy-free alternative to Alfredo or carbonara is actually surprisingly easy; requiring just cashews, nutritional yeast, and a few other simple ingredients. I based my vegan pasta dish on the Minimalist Baker’s recipe. Creamy vegan pasta sauce with King Oyster mushroom scallops is a delicious food pairing for white wines such as Bourgogne Blanc because it meets all the go-to criteria of classic Burgundy food pairings: rich sauces, meaty fish, and middle-weight pastas. Because it contains no heavy cream or dairy butter, this lighter alternative to cream-based sauce manages to offer the same comforting flavours of a traditional Alfredo sauce, but arguably presents a way better food and wine pairing.
Chardonnay and Risotto Pairing
Classic Vegan Risotto
Recently, I experimented with a risotto and Chablis pairing (read the review) which was another success in food-matching Burgundian wines. A classic-style risotto with mushrooms, peas and fresh basil complemented the lighter, zippier nature of Chablis Burgundy – and it’s a really easy midweek vegan dinner idea, too.
If you try these delicious wine and food pairing ideas for white Burgundy, let me know in the comments!
Jess.
The Uncorked Vegan 