Chablis and snails

I’m a great believer in eating and drinking like the locals when I’m on holiday so when we stopped overnight at Le Pot d’Etain in L’Isle sur Serein in Burgundy last week there was nothing for it but to order a starter of snails with the Chablis we were drinking.

I realise this won’t go down that well with some of you - snails apparently topping the list of least favourite foods according to a survey that's just been released - but I must confess I like them.

The taste of course you’re matching is not the snails themselves (though they have an earthy quality that demands a wine of some power and persistence) but the garlic and parsley-flavoured butter that anoints them.

That calls for a crisp dry white in my book and none better than Chablis though the 2007 1er Cru Les Forests (right) from Vincent Dauvissat was probably a rather better example than we needed though it did come into its own with our mains of stuffed rabbit and sea bream with Mediterranean vegetables as you can see on my Facebook page. A young Chablis (2010 at the time of writing) or even Petit Chablis from a good producer would have been fine.

Other options would be Muscadet, Picpoul de Pinet and - oddly - a fresh style of non-vintage champagne like Taittinger which I can remember once drinking with snails in Reims. As you do.

Incidentally the Pot d’Etain is well worth an overnight stay not only for its snails and spectacular wine list but its really excellent cheeseboard which I’ve posted about on my cheese blog here.

Carrot and basil-infused slugs and Saumur Blanc

For the first time my match of the week is not one I’ve experienced myself but was reported by Ron Zimmerman of The Herbfarm in Woodinville, Washington on Twitter (where he tweets as Herbguy - and I tweet as winematcher)

Apparently a customer asked him if he could serve up slugs and he obliged, first purging them on a diet of carrots and basil.

His asked on Twitter what the ideal wine pairing should be, saying he was thinking along the lines of Sauvignon Blanc. I frivolously suggested a strong rosé like Tavel or the Provençal anise-flavoured aperitif pastis (the better to mask the slug flavour, to be honest) but he ended up serving the Thierry Germain L’Insolite Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Blanc 2005.

In fact as you can see from Zimmerman’s Picasa album here the preparation and presentation was quite elaborate so I imagine he was looking more for a wine to pick up on his basil-grappa butter and tomato confit than his Spotted Leopard and European Red Slugs which apparently tasted somewhat like calamari. According to Zimmerman “the basil, with the touch of sweetness from the shallots and carrots, pushed the flavours into a nice range for the Saumur Blanc”.

If you’re of a squeamish disposition don’t let that put you off The Herbfarm - a restaurant about which I’ve heard good things. They apparently serve slug-free 9 course themed dinners paired with matching wines on a regular basis.

And if slugs are infesting your garden you now know what to do with them . . .