Artichokes and Trebbiano

Artichokes are a notoriously tricky match with wine but don’t have to be an insuperable one as last week’s artichoke dinner at Bocca di Lupo proved.

Chef Jacob Kenedy created an amazing menu in which artichokes appeared in all kinds of guises including an American sweet artichoke pie with which he matched a moscato. (If you can’t imagine that it was surprisingly like a pumpkin pie)

The two courses that were paired with trebbiano were a fantastic salad of shaved artichokes with parmesan, anchovy and lemon (the latter ingredients definitely contributing to the match with the 2020 Trebbiano ‘Bio’ from Cantine Tolio and a creamy artichoke risotto with lemon, parsley and parmesan with a 2015 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo from Valentini, both from the Abruzzo. Again the lemon and parmesan were key elements in the success of the pairing, rather bearing out the conclusions I came to in this earlier post.

Pairing wine and artichokes

There was also an initial wine, a crisp 2020 Capolemole Bianco from Marco Carpineti made from a grape variety called Bellone which went brilliantly with the fried artichokes and sweetbreads (an artichokey riff on fritto misto) and grilled spiedini (skewers) of artichokes and langoustines. The only dish that caused it any problems were the fried artichoke alla Giudia (fried artichokes Roman style) which made the wine taste a touch sweet - the usual problem with artichokes which Jacob miraculously avoided with everything else. But not by any means a clash.

Bocca di Lupo is at 12 Archer Street, Soho, London W1D 7BB. I ate there as a guest of the restaurant

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.

Artichoke barigoule and grüner veltliner

So maybe Austria’s signature grape grüner veltliner is the perfect pairing for tricky-to-match artichokes?

I’ve suggested it as a good option before in this post on matching wine and artichokes and last week’s experience of trying the two together at Bristol restaurant No Man’s Grace has confirmed my view.

The occasion was the fourth dinner in a series organised by local cookbook club Eat Your Words where Bristol chefs cook a menu from one of their favourite cookbooks. John Watson of No Man’s Grace was ambitiously tackling The French Laundry Cookbook and opted to serve the very French barigoule - a dish of braised artichokes with onions, carrots and fennel - with a crisp 2014 Austrian grüner veltliner from Hopler (available at James Nicholson) which really stood up to it surprisingly well.

The restaurant is also noted for its desserts and served two as part of the dinner: a strawberry shortbread with a 2011 I Capetelli, a late harvest Garganega from Soave producer Anselmi (winedirect.co.uk) and a divinely light lemon sabayon pine nut tart with honeyed mascarpone with a 2013 Late Harvest Tokaji Katinka from Patricius (Hic wine merchants). Both were great matches but I actually preferred the fresher, sharper Capetelli with the tart.

Mackerel and artichokes with Mademoiselle rosé

As I’ve been down in the Languedoc for the past week most of my food and wine combinations have been classic. Picpoul and oysters (always great), a rich grenache/syrah/mourvedre blend called Cascaillou* with a beef daube (spot on) and my wine of the week, Mas des Chimères Oeillade (a cinsault) with grilled lamb and herbs.

But the most intriguing pairing was, on the face of it, the trickiest. What do you pair with mackerel, artichokes, brandade and aioli? Answer, it turns out, a dry rosé.

The dish was a somewhat fancy one from Le Bistrot d’Alex, the restaurant attached to the enterprising co-op at Florensac but tasted better than it perhaps sounds. A roughly crushed brandade (salt cod purée), served with grilled lisettes (baby mackerel) accompanied by grilled artichokes topped with aioli. The artichokes were the most dominant flavour which is always fine by me.

The wine, which is made by the co-op and sells for around 6€ is a remarkably good one despite the girly label and being called Mademoiselle. Well worth picking up a case if you’re in the area. My friends, who are taking a car back loaded up with 10!

* from Domaine La Croix Belle. Unfortunately they only make it in limited quantities - it doesn't even feature on their website.