The Absolute Best Types Of Wine To Pair With Avocados

If you're among the Americans who have tripled their avocado consumption since the early 2000s (per U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service), then you are probably regularly incorporating the creamy fruit into your meals. There are countless ways to serve it, and no shortage of TikTok avocado hacks sweeping the nation. With so many recipes to inspire your cooking, it's likely that one of the many ways you'll enjoy avocados includes a glass of wine.

Traditional wine and food pairing guidelines tend to stick to basic combinations like red or white meat, tomato sauce, and cheese. And while avocados don't have the type of flavor profile that might overwhelm your palate, they can easily be enhanced with the right wine. No matter the avocado dish you're serving, there is a wine that will take it to the next level. With their richly creamy texture and mild yet fruity and nutty flavor, avocados are an excellent starting point for your next favorite food and wine pairing.

Pairing cold-smoked salmon with avocado combines the best of both worlds. The silky-smooth textures are perfectly complementary, and the flavors provide contrast. The salty smokiness is tamed by the subdued taste of avocado, yet neither is masked by the other. This match is incredibly versatile and can range from smashed avocado on toast layered with smoked salmon to an elegant tartar-like presentation. You might even get inspired to try your hand at a smoked salmon sushi recipe.

Regardless of the specifics, if you're pouring yourself a glass of wine, you'll want something that cuts through the buttery texture of the two components. Chardonnay is undoubtedly a chameleon grape, and its characteristics vary from equally buttery and rich styles to crisp minerally versions. Our top choice here would be an unoaked chardonnay, which highlights the grape's fresh fruitiness.

Although it's not the only region specializing in this style, Chablis in Northern France has developed a reputation for its high-acid profile, salinity, and citrusy floral aromas (via Wine Folly). A timeless pairing with seafood, pick up a bottle the next time you're preparing a smoked salmon and avocado dish.

Given its decadent texture and fatty profile (the good kind, per Harvard Health), opting for tangy ingredients to go with avocado is a great way to lighten it up. The next time you're trying to whip together a salad dish when fresh produce is low, skip the limp greens and pick up some citrus fruits.

Oranges (navel, blood, cara cara, etc.), grapefruits, and mandarins are great options. Simply peel them and mix the wedges together with sliced avocado. Whisk lemon or lime juice with a touch of sweetness (sugar, maple syrup, or honey all work) and you've got a dressing for this quick side dish. To turn it into a full meal, mix in a can of white beans or chickpeas, or serve it with grilled chicken or fish.

With all the tart and zesty flavors, your wine pairing will have to be similarly zippy to stand out as well. Sauvignon blanc is often described as herbaceous, high-acid, and brimming with tropical fruits (via Wine Enthusiast). The zingy combination of flavors is nicely rounded by the fruitiness and makes it an excellent pairing with an avocado citrus salad. Sauvignon blanc wines from New Zealand tend to have a grassier profile, which would work especially well if you toss some fresh herbs into the dish too. Meanwhile, if you want to highlight the citrus notes, pick up a bottle of Sancerre from the Loire Valley in France.

It may feel overdone, but there's a reason why avocado and egg toast is such a popular — and effortless — dish to whip up. Aside from the fact that it is considered to be an incredibly nutritious breakfast combination, the room for experimentation is ample, with recipes like avocado toast with a poached egg and asparagus or a simple avocado egg salad among our favorites. We won't judge if you're looking for a breakfast (or brunch) wine to go with this wholesome pairing, but it's an equally uncomplicated and customizable dinner that will keep you satiated.

Egg-based dishes might not be the first food you think of serving when you're cracking open a bottle of wine, but the right combination will make you a convert. (Hopefully, you'll start eating more eggs for dinner instead of drinking more wine at breakfast.) If you haven't tried Austria's star grape grüner veltliner before, let this be the sign you need.

Lighter-bodied high-acid styles are tinged with the grape's iconic notes of white pepper, citrus, and stone fruits (via Wine Folly). Famously known for complementing foods that are tricky to accompany (asparagus being one of them), a chilled glass of grüner will make your avocado egg toast dinner taste like a symphony of flavors — even if you load it up with some spicy arugula.

As long as your avocados aren't overly ripe and mushy, they can easily be cubed and tossed into a number of dishes. If you're looking for a flavorful condiment to take a basic grilled protein up a few notches, then an avocado mango salsa will do the trick. The sweet tropical fruit and silky texture are the perfect way to enhance a creamy avocado. Cube them both and toss in some fresh herbs like cilantro, finely chopped red onion for a sharper bite, and a squeeze of lemon juice for a bright touch. Whether you're grilling a whole snapper, steak, or chicken breast, this sweet and sour salsa is the perfect complement.

Our favorite way to enjoy this tropical salsa is with grilled white fish served with a crisp and zesty glass of white wine. Greek assyrtiko certainly fits the profile, and as a native to the island of Santorini, this grape is no stranger to fish (via Wines of Greece). While the flavors vary depending on the growing region, these high-acid wines display fresh citrus flavors, stony mineral notes, floral aromas, and occasionally, spicy and salty elements (via Decanter). You'll love the pairing with sweet mango and creamy avocado, as every aspect of taste is enhanced to perfection.

If you've followed the average avocado trajectory, chances are it all began with guacamole. The mashed-up and endlessly customizable recipe stems from the ideal combination of avocados with acid and salt. What's not to love about food made to be scooped up with tortilla chips? While you can get pretty wild and experimental with endless add-ins, our favorite classic rendition is a quick and easy guacamole recipe made with avocados, limes, salt, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro.

If you're planning to dish out some guacamole at the next party you're hosting and are looking for a drink pairing that isn't a margarita, Vinho Verde should be your move. These light and bright wines come from the Minho region in Northern Portugal (via MasterClass). Although the name means green wine, expect the color to be pale straw, and don't be surprised if you notice a hint of sparkle in your glass.

Vinho Verde is usually made from a blend of grapes, producing a low-alcohol wine that is the perfect party sipper. Its light and refreshing nature make it a great match for salty snacks, and its zingy acidity will clear your palate between bites. Even better, it's generally very affordable, so you can amp up your hosting game by having a selection of bottles for your guests to try.

Given the vast number of ways you can personalize your bowl of guac, we can't leave out the fieriest: spicy chili-ridden guacamole. Whether you add Thai chilis to the mix, mince up some fresh jalapeños, or splash in a generous portion of hot sauce, the result is sure to be hot. If you're used to eating spicy foods, then you've probably noticed that some drinks will aggravate the effect (or enhance it, depending on your level of masochism). While there are some tried and true methods to counter heat (via Psychology Today), you might not want to chug a glass of milk with your chips and dip.

Too many people discard sweet wines without experiencing them with spicy foods. Sommelier Bert Blaize explains that wines with perceptible residual sugar are especially well-suited for subduing fiery heat (via Club Oenologique). He also highlights the role of acidity in promoting salivation, which alleviates the sensation for your taste buds.

German riesling is a high-acid grape that can be made in a range of styles, from extra dry to incredibly sweet. For your spicy guacamole, a slightly off-dry version will do just fine, infusing your palate with some sweetness while maintaining a zippy profile to wash down the chips and guacamole. German wine labels are notoriously hard to decipher, but they often have indications such as halb-trocken or feinherb to describe an off-dry wine (via Wine Folly).

Serving avocado with salad greens is one of the simplest ways to invigorate a dish that sometimes gets forgotten. If you're not the type of person who revels in whipping up creative salad bowls on a regular basis, the mere addition of avocado will make it that much more delicious. Whether you're using classic lettuces like romaine, red-leaf, or Boston, or have a bag of mixed greens showcasing arugula, spinach, and kale, avocado will fit right in. Slices or cubes add a textural component to the dish, but if you're working with overly ripe fruit, your best bet is to blend it into a rich, creamy dressing. Our Green Goddess Dressing recipe combines avocado with plenty of fresh herbs, lemon, vinegar, olive oil, and alliums.

The verdicchio grape from central Italy gets its name from the color green (verde), and perhaps that's part of the reason why we think it would pair wonderfully with this green dish. With high-acid and noticeable freshness, wines made with verdicchio display a range of flavors. Citrus, pear, peaches, and floral notes are all possible, and almond aromas are quintessential to these wines (via Wine-Searcher). Thanks to the pleasant balance of acidity and fruit, this wine would fare well with salad dressing and complement the vegetal flavors of an avocado salad.

Avocados probably don't find their way into too many soup recipes. Chilled soup, however, is another story. Although gazpacho and vichyssoise surely made it to diners before avocado made its way into a soup bowl, it's definitely not a dish to miss. Given the fruit's perfectly creamy consistency, it follows that it blends into a smooth puree that is the ideal base for tangy add-ins and fresh herbs. Our favorite chilled avocado soup recipe includes lemon and lime juice, cilantro, alliums, and — our secret weapon — watermelon! The watery fruit is ideal for adding sweetness and thinning out the soup's consistency.

This delightfully refreshing soup is ideal for summertime, which is why our favorite pairing is with Picpoul de Pinet. Described by Decanter as a wine that "embodies the summer drinking spirit," it's clearly a match meant to be. This alluringly thirst-quenching wine originates from the Languedoc region in Southern France. You might even feel like you're on the edge of the Mediterranean as you sip on citrus and green fruit flavors, highlighted by a salty quality that is a reminder of the vineyards' proximity to the sea.

If you're a seafood lover then chances are you are on board with ceviche. The Peruvian dish is made by marinating chunks of raw fish and shellfish in lime juice, ultimately altering the texture and color such that it appears cooked (via Taste Atlas). And in some respects, the protein is in fact chemically cooked in the process. Aside from tangy fresh fish, ceviche is a great meal because it can be customized with a wide range of ingredients. From the types of fish to your choice of add-ins like fresh herbs, fruit, vegetables, and crunchy contrasts, it's truly made for experimentation. Cubed avocado is an excellent option, as the smooth texture complements the fish's firm consistency. Not to mention, avocado and a citrus marinade are a no-fail combination.

To pair with this zesty seafood feast, Muscadet wines from the Loire Valley in France are a no-brainer. Made with the melon de Bourgogne grape, the adjacent Atlantic Sea shows its mark on this crisp wine (via Wine Enthusiast). Expect tart saline notes with a lightness that won't overpower your fresh ceviche.

To highlight these similar aromas in your meal, look for a standard Muscadet. However, if you want a slightly smoother yet equally refreshing wine, check for Muscadet sur lie on the label. These styles are made by keeping the wine in contact with the lees, aka dead yeast cells and sediment. While it sounds like exactly the type of particle you wouldn't want in your wine, they lend rich flavors and a creamy texture (via Vinepair).

If you've been wondering about the absence of crispy hot snacks, fried avocado wedges should solve the question. Beer-battered, deep-fried, and served with spicy aioli or your choice of dip, this has to be the easiest way to accidentally eat way too much avocado. Nonetheless, as long as it's not your main source of sustenance, a bit of grease now and then is welcome.

If you're used to washing down fried snacks with soda, let us introduce you to the adult version: cava. This crisp sparkling wine from Spain has vibrant acidity and plenty of bubbles. Basically, it's exactly what your mouth is craving in between bites of unctuous melt-in-your-mouth fried avocado wedges. Although it might seem like a splurge to be popping bubbles with this greasy dish, not only is the pairing meant to be, but it doesn't have to set you back much at all. According to Wine-Searcher, cava starts at $5 per bottle.

Avocados are just the right ingredient to turn any old grain bowl into a slightly decadent version of the plainer original. Thanks to its subtle nuttiness and mild flavor, the fruit works well with a number of grain bases like brown rice, freekeh, farro, and quinoa. The beauty of the preparation is that you can include any ingredients you want, which is essential for people who like to wing it in the kitchen.

Our California avocado grain bowl recipe incorporates red quinoa, zucchini, corn, arugula, radishes, and — arguably the star — avocado. Sliced, cubed, dolloped on as guacamole, or pureed into a creamy dressing, avocado takes a basic bowl to the next level.

While we've showcased several white wine options to pair with our favorite avocado recipes, red wine should not be avoided. With a mixed grain bowl, a wine made with the gamay grape from the Beaujolais region in France is our go-to. Beaujolais wines vary in style from very young and fruity (Beaujolais Nouveau) to more elegant renditions that display red and black fruit notes, with some floral and spicy aromas. Often served chilled, a simple grain bowl is quickly enhanced with this juicy pairing.

If you aren't too keen on raw fish (and even if you are), avocado rolls are the obvious sushi to order. There's something especially satisfying about the combined textures of creamy avocado, sticky rice, and seaweed. Plus, soy sauce provides the ideal salty kick to amplify the avocado's nutty flavors. If you're feeling it, a dab of wasabi and some pickled ginger complete this classic roll. While solo avocado is an easy favorite, the fruit works well with tuna, crab, salmon, and other typical ingredients.

Avocado sushi rolls can be accompanied by a number of wines, yet rosé from Provence is our top choice. As the heart of rosé production worldwide, these wines are nothing to scoff at. Given the wide range of grapes allowed in the blend, the hue and taste can vary just as much. The Vins de Provence website lists six categories of flavors: citrus and exotic fruit, yellow and white fruit, fruit and candy, berry, spices and aromatics, and floral notes.

Thanks to the array of possibilities, Provençal rosé is an excellent food wine. It's the perfect complement to avocado rolls, no matter whether you eat them plain, with fish, soy sauce, wasabi, or pickled ginger. The fruity aromas highlight the natural flavor of avocado, while the vibrant acidity makes this mouthwatering wine suited for cleansing your palate between bites.

Although avocados are most commonly eaten raw, roasting them in the oven brings out more of their nutty characteristics. Plus, it opens up the possibilities for introducing a number of ingredients. For a truly decadent dish, melting cheese over avocado halves really takes the fruit to another level. You could treat it like a nacho boat and add peppers, and tomatoes to the hollow. Meanwhile, for a nutritious protein boost, scoop out some of the flesh and carefully crack an egg into your avocado half. Bake it until the whites are set, serve it with toast, and you've got yourself an updated version of the popular dish.

Given the pleasant nutty aromas that come through with this method of preparation, we recommend a skin-contact white wine to pair. Commonly called orange wine, the beverage is made by leaving white grape juice in contact with the grape skins, imbuing color, flavor, and tannins to the wine.

Somewhere in between orange and rosé lies ramato, which Italian wine ambassador Kirk Peterson describes as "a historical style of producing Pinot Grigio in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region of Italy," (via Decanter). These copper-colored wines exhibit flavors of orchard fruit, flowers, and minerality. The added texture from the skin contact is the perfect contrast to the rich creamy consistency of baked avocado.

With their lightly sweet flavors and contrasting textures, avocado and shrimp make an excellent pair. You could serve them as a salad or ceviche, but our favorite way to combine the two is by making a shrimp boat. Thanks to the shape of an avocado, it quickly becomes a vessel to hold tasty contents when you slice it in half.

Tiny shrimp work best here, but a few larger ones stacked on top would be equally delicious. Whether you pickle, poach, grill, or fry your shrimp, the result is a protein-dense delight. Depending on the flavor profile, you could add ingredients like chopped green onions, fresh herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and even tropical fruit.

With this tasty avocado shrimp boat, we're drinking pét-nat (aka pétillant naturel). This ancient style of sparkling wine is produced with the appropriately named ancestral method (via Food & Wine). This process skips a secondary fermentation during which most bubbles develop, and instead, entails sealing wine in the bottle before the first fermentation is finished. With sugar still remaining in the juice, the wine continues to ferment in the bottle, trapping excess carbon dioxide as bubbles. For the ultimate pairing, we'd pick a rosé pét-nat made with Pinot Noir, the ideal balance of fruit and structure.

You might not think of avocados when you're whipping up dessert, but once again, the fruit's creamy consistency makes it the ultimate base. From pies and puddings to cakes and mousses, the options are vast. Particularly for people who don't eat dairy, avocados are an excellent substitution for heavy cream and butter. Our vegan avocado mousse recipe highlights these features by combining avocado with cocoa powder, sweeteners, orange juice, and a few additional baking basics. If you didn't know it was vegan, you would never guess!

With this rich dessert, our top wine pick is Moscato d'Asti, an off-dry slightly fizzy wine. The muscat blanc grape comes in plenty of styles and is in fact one of the most ancient grapes around (via Wine Folly). The sweet aromatics display flavors of orange blossom, pear, and honeysuckle, which are a wonderful complement to a dense chocolatey dessert. Although these wines are undeniably sweet, a pleasant level of acidity and subtle bubbles keep them mouthwateringly fresh.