Wine and food pairing ⅩⅩⅩⅡ:salads

Richer whites, like most Chardonnays and Pinot Blanc, go well with lighter meats like pork (as well as chicken and veal). A rich White Burgundy (Chardonnay) makes a natural match, or an Alsatian Riesling or Gewurztraminer; but a light red like Beaujolais or even a lighter-styled Pinot Noir is also fine.

Additions from readers: asalads

Vinegar is the natural enemy of wine, so it's wise to push back your wine glass when you're digging into the salad bowl, unless you've selected a salad topped with chicken or seafood or dressed with something less acidic than vinegar. A Caesar salad, for instance, is far more amiable to wine than a tart vinaigrette. Salade Niçoise? Try a dry Provence rosé!
Appetizers, on the other hand, may run the entire gamut. Consider the primary ingredient of the appetizers and apply the general principles that you'd use with an entree: Sauvignon blanc with shrimp cocktail, for example, or Pinot Noir with smoked salmon or rumaki (chicken livers and water chestnuts wrapped with bacon).

Or go the festive route and accompany your starter course with Champagne!

Additions from readers:

Salads dressed with olive oil and a little lemon juice will not destroy most dry white wines, though the pairing will never be one to write home about. If you want to serve a salad with a red wine, substitute the same wine for the vinegar in the dressing. If serving a salad alongside a meat dish such as roast fowl or lamb, dress it with some of the sauce or the degreased pan and cutting juices. --Craig Schweickert

I'd only open a chard with a pork dish if I used it in cooking or an Alsatian/German white for dishes from those regions or certain fusion dishes. Pork in any form usually has me reaching for a medium-to-full bodied red, such as a Pomerol, St-Émilion, sangiovese or zinfandel (especially the last when prunes are involved). --Craig Schweickert