Planning a Wine Dinner and Exploring Green Wine Pairings

As I started planning a wine dinner in collaboration with Stephen Uncorked, featuring AVIVO wines, I looked ahead at the calendar and thought it would be fun to really lean into the "green wine" theme this spring.

We needed a topic for our April Wine Pairing Weekend event, and a theme tied to Earth Month seemed like a natural fit. So we decided to focus on "Pairings with Green Wines." I took it a step further, incorporating a green wine focus into an upcoming April SCI fundraising event as well.

With two green wine events on the calendar, I started looking for wines that fit the theme and testing out different pairings along the way. It turned into a fun project-experimenting with dishes, trying different bottles, and keeping an eye out for wines I might feature at the SCI event in Cambridge.

Along the way, a couple of other things I had in the works ended up fitting the theme nicely. I interviewed Marissa Dineen for the first "Virtual Winery Visit" podcast and was reminded that Dineen Family Vineyards is certified sustainable.

Jodi and I also attended a wine dinner at a local restaurant, where the Italian winemaker shared that he has been making his Basile wines organically since day one. We were there simply to enjoy the meal and pairings-bonus that it became another example for today's topic!

Let’s get into our approach for the AVIVO wine dinner, which lies at the heart of our green wine story for the month.

Jump to:

• Tips for planning a wine pairing dinner
• AVIVO 3-Course Wine Pairing Dinner
• Italian wine dinner with organic wines
• More green wine pairings
• Wine Pairing Weekend Green Wine Articles

Tips for planning a wine pairing dinner

Most of the time at home I'm simply pairing a main course with a bottle of wine, but over the years I've also planned a number of multi-course wine dinners-both at home and with friends-which have given me a chance to experiment with how these pairings come together.

Before getting into the details of the AVIVO wine dinner, here are a few things I've found helpful when planning a multi-course wine pairing menu.

Theme
It helps to have a theme as a starting point. In this case, we had three wines from one producer focused on regenerative grape growing. A wine dinner might also have a regional theme-such as a Tuscan wine dinner we hosted for SCI-or focus on a particular grape, like a lineup of Cabernet Franc wines. Seasonal tasting menus can be a fun approach as well.

Logistics
If you're a home cook planning a multi-course dinner, there are practical constraints to consider that a professional kitchen doesn't deal with. For the AVIVO dinner, my sister Pam was hosting at her home, so I needed to think through what I could fully cook ahead of time and reheat, and what I could prep in advance and finish quickly on site.

Sequencing the wines
I generally plan to serve white wines before reds, and work from lighter to heavier styles. Occasionally, a wine has distinctive characteristics that make it better suited to a different spot in the lineup. Sparkling wine can be a great way to start the evening-Stephen brought a bottle to enjoy with appetizers before we sat down to dinner.

Choosing the pairings
Locking in one pairing you're especially excited about can help shape the rest of the menu. I knew I wanted to feature a hearty pasta dish to go with the AVIVO Sangiovese, which led me to plan lighter dishes for the earlier courses.

For each pairing, you're thinking about how the wine and food interact-whether the wine highlights certain flavors in the dish, or provides contrast. For instance, a wine with a touch of sweetness can balance a spicy dish. (What makes for a great pairing could easily be an article of its own-and probably will be at some point!)

Flow of the meal
It's helpful to think about how the courses work together over the course of the meal. I like to start on the lighter side so people are still ready to enjoy the later courses. It's also nice to build in some variety so each course feels distinct.

With these wine dinner tips in mind, here's the three-course AVIVO wine dinner we put together.

AVIVO 3-Course Wine Pairing Dinner

Let's dive into the wine dinner we put together, and hopefully give you a bit of inspiration to try some green wine pairings of your own.

The seeds of the wine dinner were planted when Stephen Nasiatka, a.k.a. StephenUncorked, mentioned that he had some samples of AVIVO wines that would be fun to try with different pairings. That set us on the path of planning a three-course wine pairing dinner for eight people. If Stephen’s name sounds familiar, that may be because he was a Cooking Chat podcast guest this fall.

He also arranged for us to have a conversation with winery founder Ridgely Evers, a successful entrepreneur whose background includes launching QuickBooks and producing California olive oil that successfully competed with top Italian extra virgin olive oils.

Ridge has a passion for making wines that help heal the earth. At this stage of his career, he is focused on demonstrating that you can make wines that are good for the planet at scale. “When you work with nature instead of against it, everything gets better-from the health of the soils and vines, to the flavors in your glass,” he explains on the AVIVO website.

A crucial aspect of implementing this philosophy at AVIVO is selecting grapes that grow readily in the local environment, not just what the market wants. The fruit is grown in Lodi, where they have found Mediterranean grape varieties such as Vermentino and Sangiovese can flourish without chemical intervention.

Talking with Ridge also helped give us some direction for our wine pairings. Neither Stephen nor I had tasted the wines prior to the dinner, so the conversation gave us a sense of their nuances, along with ideas for pairings he has enjoyed.

With three wines to try, and two bottles of each, we figured a group of 8 people would be a good number for a nice social evening while being manageable to cook for. As I referenced earlier, I developed a menu featuring a combination of item I could prep and cook ahead, and a few things that I could do easily when I got to my sister’s house. Let’s take a look at the meal we enjoyed with the AVIVO regenerative wine pairings.

Our menu

First Course: Pan-Seared Scallops with Vermentino

The minerality of the Vermentino quickly had me thinking about shellfish as a natural pairing. Stephen suggested scallops, which sounded perfect.

I tend to cook scallops when they are in season locally, but the frozen scallops I used here preserved that fresh, clean flavor very nicely.

I served the scallops with a bit of kale pesto and a simple mixed greens salad with vinaigrette. The pan-seared scallops were delicious with the Vermentino, with the flavors playing together just as anticipated.

The pesto, however, introduced some bitterness that didn't mesh as well with the wine. The pairing was noticeably better when focusing on the scallops and wine alone. Still, we were happy with this opening pairing. For similar preparation, check out my pan seared scallops with pesto.

Course 2: Chicken and Lentil Stew with Rosé

This course was the one most directly influenced by our conversation with Ridge. I had initially considered starting the meal with the rosé, paired with a lighter appetizer featuring prosciutto.

Ridge emphasized that the AVIVO rosé of Sangiovese is not a casual poolside sipper, but a wine with the depth and complexity to stand up to a serious food pairing.

With that in mind, I decided to remake the chicken and lentil stew I had been developing (stay tuned, recipe coming soon!). We were still in the throes of a snowy winter when planning the dinner, so a hearty second course felt like a natural fit. The stew brings together layered flavors, with fresh ginger and miso brightening savory chicken thighs and lentils. An added bonus was that I could make the stew ahead of time at home and keep it warm in a slow cooker until it was ready to serve.

The dry rosé lived up to that description, offering fresh strawberry notes along with complex layers of flavor. It was my favorite of the three AVIVO wines, and paired very well with the stew.

Course 3: Pork and Mushroom Bolognese with Sangiovese

I knew early on that I wanted to feature a hearty pasta course to pair with the AVIVO Sangiovese, which helped shape the rest of the menu. I went with a pork and mushroom Bolognese-a variation on some other Bolognese recipes I've made over the years.

The dish turned out to be a big hit. The richness of the pork, combined with the earthy depth from the mushrooms, made for a satisfying final course and a natural match for a red wine.

This dish builds on other bolognese variations I've made over the years, including a version that incorporates mushrooms along with lean meats for a lighter take on the classic-one that also pairs nicely with Tuscan reds. You can check out a similar approach in my healthy Bolognese sauce recipe.

The Sangiovese was a good quality example of the grape, with a bit more fruit-forward character than some Italian Chianti. That fruit played nicely with the savory elements of the sauce, while the structure of the wine helped balance the richness of the dish. It made for a fitting finish to the meal.

Italian wine dinner with organic wines

Around the time we were planning the AVIVO dinner, I signed up to attend a wine dinner at A Tavola (Winchester, MA) featuring wines from Basile Winery. It turned out to be a great complement to our home cooked dinner-another opportunity to explore "green" wines, this time through the lens of a professional kitchen.

Basile is located in southern Tuscany, not far from the coast, and has been committed to organic farming from the very beginning. Owner and winemaker Giovan Battista Basile was on hand, sharing insights on each wine as it was poured. As with our AVIVO experience, having direct access to the person behind the wines added an extra layer of appreciation to the pairings.

One detail that caught my attention: the first course paired Vermentino with scallops-just as we had done at home. Of course, the preparation was quite different. Chef Joe served a scallop crudo with preserved lemon and peppers, leaning into brightness and texture, while our version featured pan-seared scallops. Still, the shared instinct reinforced how naturally Vermentino's minerality works with shellfish.

Throughout the meal, Chef Joe followed a thoughtful progression from lighter to more robust dishes, mirroring the approach I tend to take when planning wine dinners at home. The courses also reflected a strong sense of seasonality, with ingredients like winter vegetables and hearty preparations that felt right for the time of year. I've come to appreciate Chef Joe's approach to cooking over time, including from having him as a guest on the Cooking Chat podcast, and it was nice to see that philosophy play out in this setting.

A couple of pairings stood out in particular. A Sangiovese-Merlot blend served with crispy mushroom arancini highlighted how earthy flavors can work very nicely with a medium-bodied red. Later, a Sangiovese paired with braised venison and parmesan tortellini showed the classic ability of Tuscan reds to complement rich, savory dishes.

All in all, the dinner offered a great reminder that whether you are cooking at home or dining out, similar principles apply for planning a wine dinner. Thoughtful sequencing and seasonal ingredients, selected to match characteristics of the wine, make it all come together.

While enjoying the wines at both this dinner and our AVIVO pairing at home, I wasn't thinking in the moment about whether they were organic or regenerative. What stood out first was the quality of the fruit and how well the wines were made. But stepping back, there's a clear connection. Producers like Basile and AVIVO, with their focus on organic and regenerative practices, are deeply invested in the health of their vineyards over the long term. That attention shows up in the glass-and makes these "green wines" not just an appealing concept, but excellent choices for pairing with food.

More green wine pairings

We've also been focusing lately on wines from Dineen Family Vineyards, which produces sustainably certified wines in Washington's Yakima Valley. They were the focus of the first episode in our Virtual Winery Visit podcast series.

In the related post, I highlight a range of Dineen pairings, so here I'll just spotlight a few recent pairing wins.

Dineen Syrah with Denver Chuck Steak

This was a natural pairing for a hearty cut like Denver chuck steak, with bold flavors on the plate and in the glass. The Syrah showed plum fruit, white pepper along with some floral elements. This flavor profile worked well with the steak and the homemade BBQ sauce. Recipe coming soon!

Dineen Roussanne with Ground Turkey and Cabbage Stir-Fry

A versatile white with floral notes and a fuller texture, Dineen's Roussanne paired well with a ground turkey and cabbage stir-fry, complementing the savory flavors and subtle sweetness from the cabbage and miso.

Those pairings highlight how well these sustainably made wines can work across a range of dishes. I also had a chance to explore a different style of "green" wine with a pét-nat that paired nicely with chili.

Silver Thread Pét-Nat with Chili

I also had a chance to explore a different style of "green" wine with a Silver Thread pét-nat that paired nicely with chili. This particular bottling, made with native fermentation and no added sulfites, had bright notes of strawberry along with gentle bubbles and fresh, lively texture.

Those qualities worked well with the dish, as the light bubbles and acidity helped cut through the spicy notes of the chili. Check out my wine with chili guide for more pairing ideas for your next pot of chili!

Silver Thread is a Finger Lakes producer from which I’ve also enjoyed their Riesling. They practice a holistic, regenerative style of farming called biointensive viticulture. The winery is also 100% solar powered – definitely a nice “green wine” touch!

Wine Pairing Weekend Green Wine Articles

Be sure to check out all these articles on our Green Wine pairings theme!

• • Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles is sharing “Dinner Pairings with Wines that Can Help Save the Planet“

• • Wendy from A Day on the Life on the Farm is writing about “Algerian Chicken paired with Organic Wines from South Africa“

• • Camilla from Culinary Cam shares “Ranch Wine: Bonterra Reimagines California Wine for Casual Sipping“

• • Martin from ENOFYLZ is talking about “Vale do Bomfim Wines: Sustainable Pairings for the Spring Table“