When Ramon Manglano gets ready to pick a wine for a specific meal, he looks for the heavy parts of the dish. “First, I identify if there is any dairy or meat in the dish, which brings a lot of heavier, fattier properties,” he explains. When it comes to vegan foods, on the other hand, he says that they “are often not that rich in texture or style so I approach those dishes in that style.”

When cooking vegan food, “the wine pairing must be focused on the cooking technique because that ultimately influences how one pairs it,” Manglano explains, adding, “mushrooms, for example, can be paired with white and red variety, but with steam style vs. a roasted or crispy style would veer towards a lighter white, whereas a red white for crispy.” He’s also got a word of advice for those of us who eat a lot of asparagus. “Another tip is that if a vegan dish contains asparagus, it can be extremely not wine-friendly based on asparagus’ literal composition,” Manglano explains. So, there may be more to finding the perfect wine for your delicious plant-based meals than meets the eye. But, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an ideal meal and wine pairing out there that’s free from animal byproducts and full of flavor.