Chenin Blanc and Vouvray
Chenin Blanc or Vouvray (France), is an aromatic floral wine made from bone-dry to sweet styles. The richer off-dry Vouvray and Chenin Blanc is your best bet because it can stand up to creamy soups' richness. The dryer style wine has substantial acidity and can balance the heavy cream and elevate the soup's flavors.
Rosé
There are many different Rosé wine styles, and you can find one that can complement or contrast the squash soup. Here are some suggestions in our article, Summer Rosé Wine Challenge.
The general rule is off-dry Rosé for sweet and spicy soups and dry Rosé for non-sweet squash soups. Some of our favorite American dry Rosé wines come from Oregon and Washington.
Fruity Reds
Fruity light to medium-bodied low tannin red wines is another excellent option. Red wines pair best with non or lightly sweet squash soups made with beef-based stock or heavy cream.
You can try them with younger Pinot Noir from California, Oregon, or Burgundy. Look for the bottles from the riper years with 13.5% alcohol and above. For California, it's going to be pretty much every year. For Oregon, the warmer vintage Pinots are from 2014 through 2016 vintages and some 2017. For Burgundy, 2018, 2017, and 2015 had riper grapes and fruitier wines.
The French Gamay and Beaujolais (the youngest Gamay wines) pair well too. It's red berry fruity nature can make squash soup tastes sweeter and deepen the flavor. Beaujolaise - the younger version of Gamay-based wines works exceptionally well. After all, it's a super young wine released without ageing on the third Thursday of every November. It meant to be drunk by springtime, which coincides with the squash cycle. Looks like nature giving us a tip on how to live with the seasons, isn't it?
Another excellent option is delightful wines made with St. Laurent and Zweigelt, native Austrian grape varietals. These are light-hearted wines with a red berry fruit character. They are not sweet wines, but thanks to low tannin and fruit-forward character pair well with touch sweet squash soups.
What wines to avoid?
The big, bold reds are likely to clash with squash soup. In turn, squash soup can make those wines taste harsh and even bitter. So keep your Cabs for the steak.
Bone-dry white wines can make squash soup tastes super sweet, and soup can make these wines taste sour in return.
Pairing Squash Soup Step by Step
We must say it's super easy. First, don't be intimidated by all the information we shared with you.
Squash Soup, while a process, is among the easiest soups to make. Start with picking the squash you want to use. When your soup is done, taste it for sweetness. Now you're ready for a quick run to a wine shop.
Depending on the size of the squash, you might have enough soup for two-three meals. It means you can experiment with different wines.
We would pick wines with different levels of sweetness. Remember, German and Austrian Rieslings have sweetness level on the back label. And maybe another bottle of something we haven't tried before. Zweigelt anyone?
If lost, ask for help. Good wine shops always have someone who can advise you on what to pick.
We would love to hear from you about your experiments with squash soup and wine pairing and excited to try your suggestions. Please leave comments under the post and reach out if you are struggling to pick the wine.
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