Fresh Summer Recipes: How to Pair Peaches with Wine

You all know how much I love food and wine pairing, and these summer recipes are some I look forward to year round! One of my favorite parts of food and wine pairing is using seasonal ingredients to create fun recipes! In the summer, the foods tends to be more light and fresh, so I find myself gravitating towards light and acidic wines to match.

We recently went peach picking at Chiles Peach Orchard here in Central Virginia. Since I moved to the South, I have been dying to do this! In the midwest we have apple picking and some raspberries and strawberries, but no peaches! They are also one of my favorite fruits because there are endless dishes to create with them. Check some of my favorite peach recipes below!

Pairing Wine with Peaches

Peaches are loaded with tons of flavor and juiciness. All of these summer recipes in this post include delicious, plump peaches. Make sure they are always ripe! The sweeter and juicier, the better. I love pairing a peach dish with a lighter bodied wine that has high acidity and similar stone fruit notes. The acidity will help to match the juicy body of the peach, while the flavor will bring out the peach / stone fruit notes in the wine.

Petit Manseng

Petit Manseng is a fun white grape variety that’s primarily grown in the South West of France. In the Jurançon region, they create a style that is slightly sweet with rich stone fruit and citrus notes. In Virginia, this grape also grows particularly well! Many styles here are dry, or mimic the Jurançon style, producing a refreshing wine with subtle sweetness balanced by bright acidity. I love these wines for all of the complexities with notes of peaches, lemon, apricot, honey, and marmalade. This wine is perfect for pairing with food that has some heat or fruity notes. A dry or off dry style would be fabulous with all of these pairings!

Sauvignon Blanc

Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc is one I randomly came across in my local grocery store. I always love a Sauvy-b from New Zealand but I specifically picked this one up to go with these two recipes for two reasons. The first is I knew it would have high acidity and the second is for the notes and aromas of stone fruit (peaches!) and citrus. This wine would make a perfect summer food and wine pairing with a variety of dishes or any of these peach summer recipes.

This one retails for about $20.

Other Wines

All of these summer recipes are light and fresh, so there are endless wine pairing options to choose from. One of my recent favorites, Assyrtiko, would be fabulous. I also am obsessed with a variety of Italian white wines that would be great with these as well! You could even opt for a Provence rosé. The most important rule is drink what you like!

Tomato and Peach Burrata Salad

This is one of the easiest summer recipes but you can position it in a way that it looks super ~fancy~.

Ingredients:

• Two tomatoes
• Two peaches
• Burrata
• Basil
• White Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

I start by cutting the peaches and tomatoes in small slices that I can easily arrange on the plate, make sure they are all the same size! Place the burrata in the middle and position the slices of fruit on the plate around it, alternating peach and then tomato. I drizzle a little olive oil and a good amount of white balsamic vinegar. Finish with some S&P and garnish with basil.

Why this pairing works

This is the perfect summer food and wine pairing because the acidity of the tomato, peaches, and balsamic stands up perfectly to the acid in the Sauvignon Blanc. Burrata is also a fabulous cheese to pair with Sauvignon blanc because it is light and creamy, but not too over powering that the wine won’t be able to stand up to it. The basil adds a nice touch to match with the slight herbaceous notes in the wine.

Peach, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Crostini

This is one of my favorite summer appetizers! It’s super simple to assemble but it is packed with flavor.

Ingredients:

• French Baguette
• Goat Cheese
• Prosciutto
• 1-2 Peaches
• Basil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Garlic

Directions:

Start by cutting your baquette in small pieces. Brush the slices of bread with olive oil and top with a little minced garlic or garlic salt. Place in the oven on broil for 3-5 minutes.

While the bread is in the oven, cut peaches into small slices.

Once the bread is done in the oven, immediately spread goat cheese over each crostini. For easier spreading, leave your goat cheese on the counter for 10 minutes before so it can soften. After the goat cheese, top with small slices of prosciutto. Then top with peach slices. Finish with a quick glaze of balsamic vinegar over top and garnish with basil.

Why this Pairing Works

One of my favorite pairings is Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese. For this summer recipe, the acidity in the wine cuts through the cheese nicely, and goat cheese is often very light so they both compliment each other perfectly. In every bite you taste the juicy peach, and when you sip the wine, it brings out more of those peach flavors in the Sauvignon Blanc! Again, adding some basil creates a nice match of herbaceous notes in the wine and the food.

If you are interested in more summer food and wine pairings, check out my BBQ and Zinfandel recipe!

Let me know your favorite peach recipes in the comments and what wine you would pair with it! Cheers!

Peach, Arugula & Prosciutto Flatbread

This recipe is SO. GOOD. It’s also super simple. I like to buy the Pillsbury Pizza crust that’s premade in the little rolled up tin. Follow the instructions on the label, and then add your toppings! You can also leave out the crust and just make this as a salad with an Arugula base.

Ingredients

• Pillsbury Pizza Dough
• Olive oil
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Peaches
• Yellow onion, thinly slices
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Prosciutto

Toppings to Add on After Baking:

• Arugula
• Balsamic vinegar / Balsamic Glaze

Grilled Peach & Salmon Salad

For this recipe, you can play around with the dressing and base of your salad. Recently I’ve been loving grilled Romaine Caesar salads, so just adding grilled peaches to that recipe is super tasty! Another fun and light option is to make your own dressing with olive oil, white vinegar, and fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients

• Salmon; seasoned with S&P, olive oil, garlic, and lemon
• Lettuce; romaine, arugula, or mixed greens are all great options!
• Dressing; opt for Caesar or a homemade vinaigrette
• Peaches; make sure your peaches aren’t too squishy but definitely ripe. Simply cut them in half and stick on the grill for 5-10 minutes. They should be juicy and warm with a nice grill mark.
• Baguette; I love to make some crostini to serve on the side!

Nana’s Peach Cobbler

I don’t know if you all are anything like me, but when I think of making a dessert I’m always intimidated. That’s why I love something like a cobbler, because you don’t have to be too precise and can make it your own. This summer recipe was my Nana’s. She lived in South Carolina her whole life where they have some amazing peaches. I don’t have exact measurements or timing for this, as she always eyeballed it!

Ingredients

• Pie Crust
• Peaches
• Splenda
• Butter
• Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions

Chop up all of your peaches. The amount of peaches depends on the size of your dish! Add chopped peaches to a bowl and sprinkle in Splenda. Lay down your pie crust into your pan. Pour chopped peaches into the dish. Add in a few tablespoons of butter. Top with your second pie crust. Pop in the oven according to cooking time on the crust! Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream.