Last night we had my brother and BIL over for dinner. I promised them an all-white meal. Literally: when they arrived, Barry White was playing in the background.
With sourdough crostini topped with lemon-ricotta and artichoke tapenade:
NV Salmon (that's the producer name) sparkler, 100% pinot meunier. Not a white grape, but definitely a white wine. Good choice.
With a salad of pencil-thin asparagus topped with a creamy tarragon-cumin-white pepper dressing:
My last 2015 Greywacke Wild . The wine has aged remarkably well and will continue to cellar well, no rush. With the food, not a perfect match since the asparagus-ish flavors have aged out, but nonetheless something to marvel at and a treat for my New Zealand-fanatic brother.
With a very large seared scallop on a mound of white grits with a spicy sauce made of ground chicken andouille sausage and smoked paprika:
2019 Envinate Benje Blanco Ycoden Daute Isora Listan Blanco, Palomino Fino
Loved this. Rich ginger ale color. Light SO2 on the nose blows off fairly quickly. Takes a few minutes to get used to THAT color and THOSE flavors on such a young wine, but once you're into it there are notes of toasted nori, hazelnut and dried pears. I'm not doing it justice, but it was absolutely sensational paired with scallops on a smoked paprika sauce and grits. One of those wine-food matches you'll remember forever.
With chicken and new potatoes braised in a fennel and white vermouth sauce:
2018 Arbe Garbe Russian River Valley White Blend
Purchased recently after reading some of Tom Hill's tantalizing notes. Very pale, almost no color. Predominantly malvasia with a spicy tropical flower nose and notes of ginger ale, lemon oil, clove and anise seed on the palate. A worrisome hint of sweetness on the midpalate ultimately finishes dry. All by itself would not be my favorite thing (like gewurz), but the matchup with the heavy fennel flavors in the dish was magical. Oh, and my brother declared it the best white wine he's had in many a moon, so for those inclined this way it really works. I'm just not one of them.