Cauliflower Soup & Wine Pairing

Smooth and medium-bodied white wines, such as Chablis, Chenin Blanc, Soave, Pinot Gris, and Gavi have just the right amount of weight to pair up with a warm bowl of Cauliflower Soup.  While there are hundreds of variations of Cauliflower Soup, at its core, it’s often just roasted Cauliflower that has been pureed.  From this point, you can add water for a thin but creamy soup or thicken it up with butter, cream, or melted cheese if you want something richer.

Best Wine with Cauliflower Soup

I’m not fond of cold wine with hot soup.  The contrast in temperature hurts my teeth and makes them rattle.  Thus, I often serve my white wines closer to cellar temperature, which has the added benefit of allowing you to smell more of the wine’s flavours.  However, I would not recommend doing this at a party or banquet, as most people in North America prefer their wine to be ice cold.

Chablis & Cauliflower Soup Pairing

Chablis is an unoaked Chardonnay (or lightly oaked) from France that has a crisp apple bite, along with a smooth chalky minerality.  The chalky and flinty body of Chablis complements the creamy texture of the Cauliflower soup, while the notes of green apple, lemon, and pear serve up a refreshing contrast to the roasted cauliflower flavours.

Chenin Blanc & Cauliflower Soup Pairing

Chenin Blanc is a medium bodied white wine that offers refreshing flavours of melon, peach, pear, citrus, green apple and guava.  Chenin Blanc comes oaked, where it will have richer flavours of buttered popcorn and nutmeg.  Or you may find it unoaked, where it comes off as crisp and focuses more on notes of minerality and stone fruits.

High in acidity, Chenin Blanc is slightly sweet and has a hint of honey, making it the perfect white wine to drink with Cauliflower Soup in the fall.  In North America, Thanksgiving Buffets and fall weddings or banquets often feature sweeter dishes like maple syrup glazed carrots or roasted butternut squash sprinkled with brown sugar.  Thus, if you start off your dinner with a bowl of Cauliflower Soup, your glass of Chenin Blanc will carry through to other dishes that may follow.

My preference for Cauliflower Soup and Chenin Blanc would be for a lightly oaked and off-dry Vouvray from France. This style has less evidence of honey and a higher emphasis on minerality that blends nicely with the earthy flavours of the Cauliflower.  Furthermore, the slight kiss of sweetness and the richer body helps to balance out the sharp Cauliflower flavours for soups that aren’t loaded with butter, cream or cheese.

Grüner Veltliner & Cauliflower Soup Pairing

Grüner Veltliner is a white wine that pairs with all sorts of difficult dishes.  Medium in weight, and high in acidity, Grüner Veltliner features citrus, spice, and vegetal notes which make it perfect for Cauliflower Soup.  The green notes of lentils, peas, cucumber, dill and herbs blend in perfectly with Cauliflower flavours.  Minerality and stone flavours whirl around in each and every glass of Grüner Veltliner and these notes complement the earthiness of the soup.

In contrast, with Grüner Veltliner, you’ll find an amazing White Pepper aroma that adds an extra kick of flavour to each sip of Cauliflower Soup.  Furthermore, expect lots of green apple, apricot, lime, lychee, mango, peach, and pear flavours to keep your mouth refreshed throughout the meal.

Soave & Cauliflower Soup Pairing

Soave is a dry, light-bodied Italian white wine from Italy that has an oily-like richness that matches up nicely with a  creamy bowl of  Cauliflower Soup.  Soave isn’t a bossy white wine, and instead, it sits back in confidence and impresses you with its smooth flavours of almonds, herbs, lemon, minerals, pear, and green apple.  If Cauliflower Soup is just one part of a meal, be sure to check out my blog on Soave and Food Pairings for more recommendations.

Gavi & Cauliflower Soup Pairing

Gavi is an aromatic Italian white wine with notes of lemon, grass, minerals, green apple,  grapefruit, herbs and peaches with a nutty almond finish. The mineral and citrus notes are the perfect ying and yang to the creamy but earthy roasted Cauliflower flavours in your soup.  With this pairing, the lighter notes of citrus and fruit provide a refreshing contrast, while the minerality and nutty notes find themselves right at home with the flavours of soup.