Vignole and Friulano

As those of you who follow me on instagram (@food_writer) will know I’ve been in Venice for the past few days - and if I could would still be there!

We stayed in a wonderful Airbnb and made quite a lot of our own meals including this lovely spring vegetable stew called vignole from Russell Norman’s new book Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking.

In theory it should have been difficult to match as it included artichokes which are considered a wine-killer but as I’ve stated before I think the problem with wine and artichokes is overstated, particularly when they’re combined, as here, with more wine-friendly broad beans, peas and pancetta.

Matching wine and artichokes

Dry Italian white wines certainly work especially this appealing Isola Augusta Friulano* from Friuli Latisana - a sub-region of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region to the north-east of Venice.

Friulano, formerly known as Tokai Friulano, is a fresh, dry white, also known as sauvignonasse but it has a more floral, less citrussy character than sauvignon blanc. The kind of relatively neutral white wine that Italians do so well.

You can find the recipe for the vignole in the Guardian online but do buy the book which is charming.

* Not available in the UK or US, unfortunately.

Langoustine ravioli and Errazuriz Las Pizarras chardonnay

Last Thursday’s dinner to celebrate Decanter’s 2018 Man of the Year, Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errazuriz was a treat - a line-up of the winery’s very best wines. It was obviously sound thinking to pair two of his top reds, the Don Maximiliano Founder’s Reserve 2014 and Kai 2005 with fillet of beef but I thought the more intriguing match was the first course of langoustine ravioli with their 2015 Las Pizarras chardonnay.

The ravioli, which were stuffed with langoustine and served with a light creamy crab sauce, would have been a classic pairing for a white burgundy such as a Chassagne Montrachet but it was an equally good match with this finely textured, elegant, mineral chardonnay which comes from the cool climate Aconcagua Costa. You can buy it from The Vinorium for £51.25 a bottle, or from Hedonism for £58.80.

The only slightly jarring pairing for me, and I know it’s a practice that is widely followed in France, was to partner the best wines of the night - a still miraculously fresh Sena 1996 and the beautifully, mellow balanced Vinedo Chadwick 2000 - with the cheese course, a warm Reblochon croquette. I appreciate there’s a problem in that there are often too many fine reds to show off in a wine dinner but in my view you either need to put on two meat courses or use the plainest, least challenging cheeses for the cheese course. Cheese rarely does great reds any favours.

The Man of the Year award is important not only for Chadwick who richly deserves the accolade but for Chilean wine, the quality of which is appreciated by wine critics but not always by the wine-drinking public. You may regard Chile as a source of cheap and cheerful drinking but its top wines can now hold their own with the best in the world.

Spinach and ricotta gnudi and Pecorino

“Tender little dumplings, as fragile as a pasta filling” is how Diana Henry describes gnudi in her fabulous new book How to Eat a Peach. (The word, which is pronounced new-dee means naked)

They were the first course (after salami and radishes) of a wonderful menu at Sardine to celebrate the launch of the book which comes out this week - although you may be lucky enough to find a copy already in a book shop.

Given how light and airy they were it wouldn’t have been appropriate to pair them with too full-bodied a wine or too sweet a one which is where Italian whites come into their own, seamlessly fitting in with almost anything you throw at them in the first half of the meal. This one was a crisp, fresh organic pecorino - yes, same name as the cheese - called La Merlettaie from a producer, Ciu Ciu, in the Marche region and was a great match.

What I love about Diana’s books is the way she puts flavours together but here she’s taken that one stage further and constructed a series of menus that hang together perfectly too. (It’s a real art - not just about balancing tastes and textures but about practicability so that you’re not left with everything to do at the last moment.)

I made another recipe from the book this weekend - the rhubarb, marmalade and rosemary cake from the 'lunch to soothe' menu, which looked beautiful and was just delicious.

PS If you’re on our mailing list you’ll get a chance to win a copy this month!

2009 Pessac-Léognan and a cheeseburger

Although I’ve visited posh St James’s wine club 67 Pall Mall several times for tastings I hadn't ever had lunch there until last week. I don’t know quite what I expected - perhaps the sort of roast and overcooked veg you’d find in a gentleman’s club but certainly not a rare burger in an airy brioche bun with perfectly cooked onion rings on the side.

The burger had quite a bit in the way of toppings including bacon and cheese but the wine my host had picked with it, a gloriously velvety 2009 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, wasn’t thrown off its stride in the slightest.

It was a good ripe vintage of course but nevertheless a mature wine you might have thought wouldn’t stand up to a burger. I did avoid ketchup on the side though which is the real wine killer!

You can read more about the estate here.

See also:

Fine wine and fast food

Six of the best pairings for a burger