Caesar Salad & Wine Pairing

Crisp white wines with a hint of citrus pair best with Caesar Salad, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Albariño, Pinot Grigio, and Chablis. For red wine and Caesar Salad pairings, Beaujolais and Pinot Noir are good red wine choices, however, they won’t be as refreshing as a zippy, crisp white wine.

Caesar Salad ranges from super creamy to a lighter vinaigrette style dressing. All the pairings below will fair well with either style of Caesar Salad as all of these wines have plenty of acidity to handle the vinegar, or cut through the cream.  All of these pairings will also be excellent with Chicken Caesar Salad as well.

Best Wine with Caesar Salad

Sauvignon Blanc & Caesar Salad Pairing

A Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect white wine to pair with a Caesar Salad. The Sauvignon Blanc’s acidity acts like a squeeze of lemon, highlighting all of the great components of a Caesar Salad, such as the dressing, romaine lettuce, anchovies,  egg, Parmesan cheese, bacon, and croutons. The wine’s acidity cuts through the thick and creamy sauce, making each bite taste lighter.

Sauvignon Blanc also has a green grass and herbal flavour that complements the garlic and romaine lettuce used to create your Caesar salad.  These green notes of Sauvignon Blanc are why I give this wine pairing with Caesar Salad an additional half star.

With Caesar Salad, I often go for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, such as Kim Crawford or Oyster Bay, since I enjoy the juicy and tangy citrus flavours inherent in these wonderful wines. That is my personal preference, as this is the first wine style I ever fell in love with, and during the past three decades, the wine has been consistently steely and yummy.

Riesling & Caesar Salad Pairing

A dry Riesling is crisp white wine featuring notes of lime, green apple, apricot, honey, minerals and peach.  The refreshing fruit flavours amplify all the Caesar salad flavours ensuring you taste everything, no matter how deep you are into the meal.  That’s because Riesling is high in acidity, so it scrubs the egg, parmesan cheese and oil fats off your cheeks, so every bite of Caesar Salad tastes as fresh as the first bite.

When each bite tastes fresh, you are satisfied much earlier, and happier with your meal.  Otherwise, when your taste buds get bogged down, you continue to shovel food into your mouth, hoping to recreate that initial bite.  But since you never can, you just end up overeating.

Dry Riesling means the wine does not taste sweet, where Off-Dry Riesling means the wine has a kiss of sweetness.  Whatever style you choose is up to you as it will depend on your preference.  For Caesar Salad, I prefer the dry style of Riesling.  If you are new to wine, you do not want to pair up a Sweet Riesling with Caesar Salad, as this style of wine is meant more for dessert.  Sweet Riesling is a style of wine that many people new to wine might start off with as it is sweet, and unfortunately, they also tend to overconsume it and get sick off of it.  This has given Riesling a stigma as a sweet wine, however, you’ll find plenty of dry versions on shelves that are not sweet at all, nor should it trigger any nausea from your flashbacks of chugging wine out of a red solo cup in the woods and passing out in a ditch as a teen.

Wine enthusiasts rave about German Riesling, and for good reason, these are some of the best Rieslings money can buy.  However, if you live in North America, be sure to try Riesling out from the Niagara region, New York, or Washington State.  Many wineries are putting out delicious dry to off-dry Rieslings that are comparable to Germany, which you are guaranteed to love.

Chardonnay & Chicken Caesar Salad Pairing

For a creamy Chicken Caesar Salad loaded with bacon, I’m quite fond of an oaked Chardonnay. The full-body roundness of Chardonnay complements the richness of the Caesar dressing, meanwhile, there’s enough acidity in the Chardonnay to cut through the creaminess of the dressing.

Chardonnay features lean flavours of apple, pear, mango and pineapple, which help bring out all the ingredients blended into your creamy Caesar dressing.  Meanwhile, you’ll also find notes of butter, toast, smoke, vanilla and yeast, which complement the croutons, bacon, grilled chicken and Parmesan cheese.

If the Chicken Caesar Salad is done more in a vinaigrette style, go for an un-oaked Chardonnay or Chablis.  Chardonnay has a higher acidity with no oak ageing, which is important as it won’t clash with the vinaigrette.  You’ll also get lovely notes of chalk, citrus, flint and lemon that are divine with the chicken and Caesar dressing.

Albariño & Caesar Salad Pairing

Albariño is a Spanish white wine that is somewhat of a cross between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Riesling.  With high acidity, Albariño has those refreshing grapefruit, lemon and lime flavours of a Sauvignon Blanc, along with its grass and herbal charm.  And similar to a Riesling, you’ll find notes of peach, pear, stone and mineral.

The green notes are lovely with the romaine lettuce and garlic bite of your dressing.  Meanwhile, the notes of fruit provide a refreshing contrast against the salty anchovies, bacon and creamy fats of the egg, olive oil and parmesan cheese used to make the dressing.

Albariño is also inexpensive, offering great value for its low price.

Beaujolais Red Wine and Caesar Salad

If you exclusively drink red wine, a Beaujolais-Villages is a good choice with Caesar Salad. Beaujolais is a light red wine that is ideal for midday consumption (due to its lower alcohol content).  Light and  fruity, Beaujolais-Villages features fresh flavours of cherry, strawberry and raspberry that offer up plenty of refreshing flavours.  Meanwhile, Beaujolais-Villages also offers up hints of earth, smoke and black pepper which get along with the bacon in your Caesar salad.

I wouldn’t say Beaujolais is a great pairing with Caesar Salad, and I’d always suggest going for a white wine.  However, some folks only drink red wine, and if that’s you, Beaujolais-Villages is light enough so it won’t crush those amazing Caesar Salad flavours.