Artichockes, difficult to pair with wines

Artichokes are Mediterranean in origin and are strong on mineral elements. They are among the vegetables that are difficult to pair with wine.
Often served alone, in a salad or as a soup they are sometimes served as a side with meat.




Imagine what would happen when a red wine – the ideal companion to red meat – meets up with an artichoke. The artichoke’s ferrous, bitter nature would conflict with the wine, annihilate its complexity and clash with the wine’s expression on the palate. A total disaster. The very first commandment when serving artichokes is to go with a white wine.

White wine, and white wine only.

Example n° 1: artichoke heart, perfectly simple, steamed. Served with an herbed vinaigrette dressing, artichoke hearts go perfectly with an incisive, delicate white wine. The match here is based on two points – the white wine has to be able to stand up to the ferrous aspect of the artichoke, and a good acid base has to be able to take on the vinaigrette sauce. This immediately leads us to young, rather northern whites. Here, I would recommend a Sèvre et Maine Muscadet from the Domaine de la Chauvinière. Jérémie Huchet has made a lovely cuvée Granit de Château-Thébaud. The 2010 millésime delivers a mineral, saline tension which suits the artichoke to perfection.

The Sylvaner grape offers a second interesting choice. Here, I recommend you try the 2008 Grand A du Petit Léon Sylvaner from the Roland Schmitt estate. Their Sylvaner vineyards are planted on the terroir of the grand cru Altenberg de Bergbieten. A real high-flying wine, this cuvee offers incredible fruitiness and crystalline precision.

Barigoule fashion

For artichokes prepared in the barigoule fashion, choose the small violet artichokes from Provence rather than the traditional Camus artichoke from Brittany. Barigoule means ingredients such as garlic, parsley, ham and bread crumbs, all of which add their own flavour to this Southern French classic. Here, I recommend a southern white wine, made from grape varieties which produce pure, mineral whites. This means varietals such as Clairette, Ugni and Rolle in Provence, Carignan blanc in Languedoc, and Grenache blanc and Macabeu in Roussillon. An excellent example is a Côtes-de-Provence white from the Domaine de Gavoty, in particular their 2007 Clatendon. The Rolle grapes are grown in clayey-chalky soils on the Cabasse terroir. Lengthy and lovely, this wine expresses aromas of almond, honey and minerals for which the artichoke is the perfect foil.

Black truffles without red wine

In an artichoke soup with truffles, one of Guy Savoy’s favourite dishes, the presence of the black truffles contributes a tertiary note (humus), but the bitterness and austerity of the artichoke are still very present.  Logically, truffles would call for red wine. And yet, here too, white wine will stand up better to the savours and persistency of the artichoke.

To go with the taste of the truffle however, the white wine can’t be too young. Look in the direction of a Rhone white, such as an Hermitage, or a more southern white from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, preferably about fifteen years old. An older millésime from Château Simone (Palette) would be just about perfection!