Mediterranean Diet: Wine is Included

Many people who follow the Mediterranean Diet do not realize that wine in small to moderate amounts is also part of the mix.  This is fortunate because many of the Med Diet dishes pair really well with wine.

Consider the fruit and cheese combination.  Because the Mediterranean Diet requires a low consumption of dairy products, the cheese you pick should be one that is quite tasty in little bites.  A great choice for this, and a wine pairing superstar, is Gorgonzola.  Basically, it’s the Italian version of blue cheese, except more on the mellow side.

When it comes to fruit, the Mediterranean diet has few restrictions and one of the best fruits to have along with Gorgonzola cheese is pear.  Combining generous pear slices (and even some green grapes) with bits of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese on an appetizer plate makes the Med Diet hardly even seem like a diet.

Combine this cheese and fruit plate with a glass of Pinot Grigio and you have the perfect Med Diet appetizer.  Although an Italian Pinot Grigio seems like a logical choice, the sweetness of the pears makes a New World wine a better match.  This works best with moderately acidic wines that have a slight hint of pears or melons in their bouquet.  This is not hard to find in California’s Sonoma County vintners.

Give the Clos du Bois Pinot Grigio a try.  It also complements the food best if it is not super chilled, so take it out of the fridge and open the bottle about ½ hour before serving with the appetizer.  You can pick it up at most wine shops for under $15.

Note that Pinot Grigio wine’s subtle flavors will probably not follow through well with the main course.  So switch to another varietal after the appetizer and continue to enjoy the diet.

Written by Tom Peiffer, Phoenix Wine Shopping Examiner at Examiner.com

View more of Tom’s articles on Examiner.com by visiting his writer’s page.