Pairing with PERNOD?!?

I am looking to find a great match for a Pasta dish whose primary flavors are wild mushroom, cream, basil, roasted tomatoes and Pernod. The Pernod seems to kill everything I have tried, washing out the flavors of more delicate whites and earthy reds and accentuating what becomes an unpleasant Pernod aftertaste. The dish is fantastic without wine, so I hate to ditch it. Any thoughts? Dry or off-dry Riesling? Gewurz? Help?!?

If it's a white you want, how about a cold climate Sauvignon Blanc (perhaps Isabel or others from Marlborough area,; perhaps Russian River Valley) where the basil/licorice profile is each wine and food may be complementary ?

To me, this dish begs for a red - either Pinot noir from Russian River or a simple Chianti Classico.

prosecco?

Tee hee... how about retsina?

We have enjoyed a very similar dish several times at our favorite Portland, ME restaurant. One difference is that put lobster claw meat in it. We usually wash it down with a dark Maine brew.

Can't think of a wine match, but it sounds like an interesting dish. I take it the Pernod is a significant flavor element rather than just an accent?

If you need a still wine, I'd suggest trying a white Rhone blend, preferably something with Roussanne or Marsanne in it heavy up.

You also might try Cassis (the wine, not the syrup ).

Failing that, consider a Muscat. Dry, of course. Hard to find, but a Muscat from Alsace would fill the bill.

Has to be an aromatic wine, and pretty full on at that, to even try to go against the Pernod.

Can't think of a wine match, but it sounds like an interesting dish. I take it the Pernod is a significant flavor element rather than just an accent?

Even flaming the pastis is not going to make a big difference. In Paris, we used to dish up Sea-Bass flamed with pernod on dried fennel shoots.

If it's a white you want, how about a cold climate Sauvignon Blanc (perhaps Isabel or others from Marlborough area ....)

Jeff,
I was thinking a Marlborough Sauv Blanc as well - some definitely have the tomato / basil / anisey-flavours (think fennel / chervil / tarragon herbs), and some definitely more so than others. Something really pungent and bright, e.g. Saint Clair, Astrolabe, Mudhouse, Lawson Dry Hills, Nautilus, Vavsour. But would the alcohol in the Pernod be the clash?

Sue,

I would be inclined to try something like that myself (especially some you suggest, over the Isabel), but I have no real experience in matching Pernod. I was thinking of the flavor profile mostly. The alcohol in the Pernod would be presumably be cooked off, but trial by experience usually is the only way for me to know.

Good luck and let us know what you discover along the way !

A lovely but not all that unusual combination in the Middle-East or in Greece (where it is just as likely that Arak or Ouzo will be used instead of the Perod) and I have often found that the best match is a crisply dry and unoaked Sauvignon Blanc.

Best
Rogov