The Best Type Of Wine To Pair With Butternut Squash Soup

Sweet, earthy butternut squash soup has a decadent feel that's fit for wine. The creamy soup features roasted squash and an array of spices, giving it a complex, caramelized flavor that shouldn't be overshadowed by the wrong drink. Butternut squash is already sweet, but roasting deepens its flavor, coaxing out the more honeyed aspects of the vegetable. Sipping on the wrong wine while eating the soup could distort its more delicate flavors, so we turned to Lexi Stephens, a WSET III wine educator, to help us with best choices. As the founder of Lexi's Wine List, Stephens knows just the wines to enhance butternut squash soup. "Something off-dry with a touch of sweetness, like a Vouvray or Riesling," Stephens says. "Sweetness in food can make wine taste more bitter, and the best way to combat this is to make sure the wine is sweeter than the food."

Rieslings have notes of honeyed fruits like apples, peaches, apricots, and pears, giving them a fresh yet sweet taste that pairs well with butternut squash soup. The wine has an acidity that helps to balance the richness of the soup, and you can also opt for a sparkling version of the wine to cut through its creamy feel. Vouvray has similar floral notes of apple, pear, and honeysuckle. While it also comes in sparkling form, its still varieties tend to be sweeter.

Thanks to their sweet, acidic flair, both of Stephens's picks work well for sipping alongside spicy soup. A chilled glass of Vouvray or Riesling are perfect for a bowl of Thai-style butternut squash soup. The dish pairs roasted butternut squash with ginger, turmeric, serrano chili, and lemongrass, giving it a fiery, aromatic profile. Both Vouvray and Riesling feature ginger in their notes, drawing out the earthy heat of the soup.

To emphasize the notes of the wine a little more, whip up some fall vegetable soup. In this recipe, butternut squash is simmered with potatoes and leeks, lessening its sweetness and allowing the wine to show off its fruity profile. The starchy potatoes and silky leeks still give the soup a velvety mouthfeel but with a heartier taste. With its creamy earthiness and nutty taste, fall vegetable soup is a delicious recipe to pair with Riesling or Vouvray.

If you don't want to add in extra veggies, you can simply spruce up your butternut squash with a few herbs. A dash of sage, thyme, and rosemary bring an earthiness to the dish that matches its depth while balancing out the saccharine flavor. The herbs are fresh and woodsy, perfect for floral, fruity white wines.