Spring Dishes
WITH SPRING WINES.
ASPARAGUS.
Asparagus is a delicacy that screams spring! The shoots are young and tender and tasty with their earthy, nutty greenness & a little bitter undertone. So delicious.
We object that asparagus is tricky to pair with wine. You just need the right wine! Grüner Veltliner is a classic as are Sauvignon Blanc & minerally Pinot Grigio. The key is good acidity to balance your palate. Another option would be Riesling. It’s off-dry (= slightly sweet) in the middle with (again) a nice, acidulous finish. Enjoy with any meal where asparagus is the dominant flavor: asparagus risotto, asparagus over pasta with a little parmesan & asparagus quiche are a few ideas.
Insist on a red? Try Dolcetto. It’s light and earthy with a note of bitterness as well. Remember: Pair like with like. Similarities in a food and wine often make them a good match. Here’s our full list of Wine Pairing Tips> (Scroll to the bottom for a cheat sheet!)
BAKED HAM.
Oh the delight of a simple baked ham. So flavorful and easy to make with lots and lots of leftovers. (Oh, the beauty of a leftover ham sandwich on fresh bread, mayo, mustard and lettuce. Go to town!)
What to pair? Pink with pink: a fuller-bodied rosé with good acidity would be great! Or go for it with Crémant Rosé — even more acidity & festive! Fuller-bodied whites (also with good acidity — very important to cut the richness of the ham) would also be great: Château des Eyssard Bergerac Sec, a Bordeaux blend with Sauvignon, Sémillon & Muscadelle, would be ideal. Fuller-bodied and spicy with a nice, dry, acidic finish. Riesling would also be nice!
Prefer a red? It’s almost hard to miss — lighter & fruity with good acidity would work (think Chianti or Vernatsch from Alto Adige), medium-bodied with good earth & dry (think Zweigelt or a Rhône blend), or a fuller-bodied red with some oak (take your pick from WA State!) would pair nicely with this smoky, fatty meat.
ROMAN GNOCCHI.
Gnocchi alla Romana is a baked, savory cake made of semolina, egg, parmesan & butter. It’s akin (hope this isn’t heresy) to a little polenta patty. Chef Tracey (from our wine bar days) would often make Roman Gnocchi in spring. Pictured is Roman Gnocchi with mushrooms.
Wine pairings really depend on the sauce. In this case it’s mushrooms. Italian wines are made for this kind of food. They have flavor, good acidity, but are not overwhelming. You want to enhance the delicate flavors of the Roman gnocchi, not overwhelm it. Try: Barbera, a light fruity Chianti (Sangiovese), Cesanese (grown in vineyards around Rome; grapes pictured) & many more. Italian whites would pair well, too: Arneis, Verdicchio, Fiano & more.
LAMB.
A fresh lamb chop as spring peaks its head is a lovely thing. Above, the lamb is served with potatoes au gratin & zucchini with asparagus. Classic pairings are: Bordeaux (and Bordeaux blends — Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc — from around the world), Southern Rhône blends & Tempranillo (Rioja or Ribera del Duero). What you are looking for is a fuller-bodied wine with good tannins to cut the richness of the lamb and create balance on your palate while not overwhelming the rest of the meal.
FLAMMKUCHEN.
Flammkuchen is a thin-crust pizza from Alsace. We served it year round at the wine bar back in the day, changing the toppings to fit the season. But it’s especially good in spring! It’s light, flavorful, easy to share, and delicious with wine. Pictured is a seafood/pesto topping and a chorizo/red pepper topping. Pairings depend on the toppings.
For the seafood pizza, we’d go with Albariño, Falanghina, a Portuguese white blend…. any white that grows in vineyards along the ocean. For the red pepper/chorizo pizza, go with a lighter, herbal red. The cured meat flavors from the chorizo pair beautifully with Carignan, an herbal grape grown in Languedoc-Roussillon (southern France near the border to Spain) and around Barcelona (Spain). It’s usually blended with Garnacha/Grenache and Syrah. It would be magic!