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.

Burrata and watermelon with Montej rosé

It’s not often that you come across a wine match that’s as successful as it’s unexpected but sommelier Ruth Spivey’s pairing of a fruity Monferrato chiaretto rosato (aka rosé) from Piedmont with a dish of burrata, pressed watermelon and pickled fennel at Arbutus the other night was spot on - and all the more impressive given that she hadn’t had a chance to taste the combination beforehand.

I’ve written about the evening - the first in a series of ‘wine wars’ where leading london sommeliers are invited to pit their wits against the restaurant’s co-owner and wine buyer Will Smith - in the wine pros section but I’ve tasted nothing better all week. The rosé perfectly echoed the fresh fruity flavour of the watermelon. It was like having liquid watermelon on the side!

I can’t find it listed by any UK retail stockist but it’s apparently imported by fortyfive10.com.

Grey mullet, fennel and muscadet

This isn’t the first time I’ve made muscadet my match of the week but it’s a wine that’s great value, constantly improving in quality and unbelievably versatile with food.

This time it was a sure fire hit at a restaurant called Le Servan I’ll be reviewing shortly with a lovely dish of raw grey mullet with sorrel cream. fennel and a touch of fresh coriander. The dryness of the wine chimed in perfectly with the raw fish and slight sourness of the sorrel, not detracting in any way from the clean, sharp flavours.

The wine was a Clos les Montys 2013 from Domaine de la Chauvinière which was only 11%, I seem to remember, and selling for just 4€ a glass. It proves yet again you don’t have to have a wine with a high level of alcohol to carry flavour.

Interestingly the producer’s website suggests that it’s a good wine for laying down but then I have had interesting encounters with aged muscadet before (see here and here).

I reckon we’ll be seeing more of Muscadet on wine lists in 2015.

New season's olive oil and vino novo

Last week I went on a flying visit to Tuscany to take part in the olive oil harvest and had the rare treat of being able to sample oil that has just been pressed. As you can see from the picture, it’s an incredible colour - literally deep olive green and has the most fantastic grassy flavour.

The family who make the oil - the LoFranco family of Fattoria La Vialla - throw a weekly feast for the visiting pickers during which the oil is liberally poured on everything from toasted bread to pasta to grilled meat (rabbit with fennel in this instance).

To go with it they pour a wine called Vino Novo, the wine from the new harvest which is only drunk during this period. Unlike Beaujolais Nouveau it’s not subject to carbonic maceration but simply siphoned direct from the tank. It was made from Merlot and wasn’t much more than 12% I would guess - deliciously light and gulpable with a bright fruit character that balanced beautifully with the slight bitterness of the oil. I can’t think of another wine that would have suited it better.