Four Fall Harvest Salads Made to Pair with Cabernet Sauvignon

With the brisk winds of fall come the long-awaited harvest of earthy vegetables and bright greens, and one of the best ways to capture this bounty is with enticing fall harvest salad recipes. This is also the time that the king of reds, cabernet sauvignon, resumes its rule over the table. Traditionally, cabernet salad pairings might seem difficult due to the wine’s rich complexity. However, the secret lies within matching the savory earthiness of the fall harvest to the heartiness of the wine, all while balancing the acidity of a vinaigrette and adding flavors that complement the oak aging of the wine. To celebrate the flavors of this exquisite time of year, try these cabernet-friendly fall harvest salads from Jordan Winery.

Cabernet-Friendly Fall Harvest Salads

Yellow Wax Beans Salad with Grilled Fennel and Grilled Onions

In this garden-inspired fall salad, yellow wax beans are the star but the accompanying ingredients build the wine pairing bridge. The distinctively rich, almost smoky flavor of Kalamata olives makes them a perfect foil for the king of red wine, known for its tannins and oak aging. Charring the onions and the addition of naturally-tannic hazelnuts also bring the dish together as a cohesive whole.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Shallot, Black Walnut and Greens

This delectable fall harvest salad starts with roasting sweet earthy beets on a bed of salt to create perfectly tender jewels. Savory roasted shallot petals follow and together they lay on a bed of peppery and bitter fall greens blanketed in a beautifully balanced sherry-shallot vinaigrette. Garnished with toasted black pepper walnuts and pomegranate seeds, this salad will be the star of the table. A young Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon would highlight the light sweetness of the beets and shallots, and the baked shallots and nuts complement the toasted oak nuances in the wine. All of these unique elements together make it a favorite Jordan Winery recipe.

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Sunchoke Salad with Miso Vinaigrette

Perfectly tender grilled sunchokes and acorn squash in this fall salad carry a flame-kissed smokiness that is an ideal pairing for Jordan Cabernet. Grilled vegetables, herbaceous shiso leaves, silky miso vinaigrette and Osaka finishing salt combine for a superb balance of tempting flavors. The light smoky notes, umami of the vinaigrette and bitterness of the shiso leaves complement both the dried herb and oak notes in Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Roasted Squash Salad with Eggplant and Freekeh

A recipe to balance the seasons, this early fall harvest salad combines roasted patty pan squash, Japanese eggplant, and nutty whole-grain freekeh with an intriguing mint, basil and walnut pesto. The earthy notes of the vegetables highlight the elegant French oak aging of the 2012 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon while the dark fruit flavors stand up to the bold pesto. This fall salad recipe is delicious on its own or can be served with ahi tuna, grilled chicken or steak.

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Looking for other pairing ideas? Here are 10 other cabernet sauvignon food pairings to explore.