You be the Sommelier
The market is really getting good now. Peas are in full swing, and yellow and zucchini squash are here too. The other night I made a quick, easy, healthy, and delicious pasta dish. The idea was to take fresh sweet shell peas, toss with finely chopped mint, enrich with a bit of ricotta, and turn this into a "sauce" for rigatoni. And since the yellow squash looked so enticing, I added it too.
Okay, that's the dish, rigatoni with peas, yellow squash, ricotta, and mint. You be the sommelier - what wine would you serve with this? C'mon, don't be shy. Doesn't matter if you're a professional sommelier or a home cook like me. This dish hits the table and you can open anything you like - what would it be?
I'll tell you what I came up with and whether or not it worked well at the end of the comments.
19 comments:
Well, this is a fun game. This simple, fresh dish could be paired with any number of complex, medium-weight whites that have some herb characteristics and a bit of age, so a Huet sec, a Knoll grüner, a roussanne from Renaissance, or even a wine with modest skin contact like the Coenobium are among the seemingly infinite choices. But my first thought was for i Clivi's 1999 Galea, so that's what I'm running with. Looking forward to seeing what you actually drank.
Huet Vouvray Petillant?
Bera Arcese Bianco?
I might open Sekt, a Loire white, or a not-too-hoppy Pale Ale.
nice sounding dish...
This amateur might try a Beaujolais with that. But if the mint didn't jive with it, maybe a riesling.
I'm thinking a nice Italian white, a Soave or maybe even better, a light, crisp southern white, like a Falanghina. The bright acidity & citrus of the Falanghina, with those faint almond notes, would pair beautifully with the sweetness of the peas & the creamy ricotta. That's not maybe so pie-in-the-sky, but it'd be a nice pairing...
Maybe it's because I'm craving it badly, but Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon Blanc. I had the wine with mint, ricotta and the shredded squash pasta the way you posted the recipe last summer. The mint/SB worked for me. If not that then perhaps some sort of dry/off dry Chenin.
I'll go with Kevin and the CRB SB 2009 or the Francois Pinon 2008 Vouvray Cuvee Tradition. Then again the Baudry Rose 2009 is also fantastic - if you can still find it..
2006 Movia Sauvignon Blanc - imagine if wine tasted like mint instead of grapefruits or whatever. Your dish is perhaps the best match for this wine.
I like the Clos Roche Blanche suggestion. Perhaps also the Pinon Silex Noir. This weekend I drank a fantastic Austrian Zweigelt (blanking on the producer) that could work if you want to attempt a red.
Ulivi Gavi with just a few years
Neil,
You have an amusingly astute readership.
Tocai.
Chignin Bergeron from Savoie . . . just enough richness and livliness to do somersaults with the peas and waltz with the ricotta. Isn't summer grand!
I might go with a Chidaine Montlouis Methode Traditionelle Brut. I think the ricotta touch and the crispness of peas would be fun and workable with this flinty herbal sparkler. The mintiness is a wildcats for me on this , think it ccould work.
A pasta dish with ricotta, so my mind goes on auto-pilot straight to Italy. A Franciacorta would be nice and probably work just fine. The mint, at least for me is the tricky component, but I think I would go with a floral and fruit driven nose followed by medium acidity, fruit forward flavors and a tiny, tiny bit of spritz. A wine I had a couple nights ago, I think, would fit this bill. The 2008 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis would pair quite nicely with this dish. At least that might be my first attempt.
Sounds like a perfect occasion for Sigalas Santorini. Or maybe La Sibilla falanghina.
Does Ramonet make a Bourgogne?
Wow, I love it - thanks for all of these great ideas. That sounds trite but I really mean it - these are thoughtful and interesting wine pairing ideas. All of them would be great, and the ones that really speak to me upon reading are the Gruner, (it would be great with the peas and ricotta), and the Italian suggestions, particularly the Giacosa Roero Arneis, which I know to be a lovely wine, and the 99 i Clivi which i think is a great wine and a brilliant pairing. Interesting too that so many people suggested a sparkling wine, something I wouldn't have thought of, but now sounds so obvious and great.
I actually drank the 2008 Reinhard & Beate Knebel Riesling Von den Terrassen trocken ($20, Mosel Wine Merchant). It worked perfectly in that it was very fresh and bright, but in its character reflected the delicacy of the peas and ricotta.
I'll not have to make this dish again and try some of these other ideas. Thanks again...
White Chinon Blanc. Very earthy, citrus and slight sweetness!
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