Loire

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.

Rhubarb is most often considered to be a fruit, when it is actually a vegetable. Rhubarb’s tartness is often used as a foil for a sauce. The crisp fibers and the persistent acidity on the palate call for a wine that is both delicate and mineral. A wine to go with rhubarb requires controlled sweetness to contrast with the acidity of the rhubarb, and good tension to work with the plant flavors.

Calf’s head is one of those typically French roll-up-your sleeves-and-dig-in dishes. The fatty, gelatinous texture is enhanced set off by the famous French sauces known as sauce gribiche and sauce ravigote. And … what wine to serve with such dishes? The challenge lies in working with the sauces which contain mustard, garlic, shallots, aromatic herbs, vinegar and hard-boiled egg, in addition to capers and pickles for sauce gribiche. And the right wine has to meet two criteria: stand up to the gelatinous aspect of the calf’s head, either through the acidic base or with a tannic opposition, and provide the vivacity and persistency required to handle the vinegar, capers and pickles with respect to taste persistence.

Within the past couple of years, old has become the new “new” and trying out once-forgotten vegetables has fortunately spread. Parsnips, Jerusalem artichoke, crosnes and other odd-looking vegetables have found their way to our kitchens and dinner plates, often accompanying the main dish. These new old vegetables have given rise to new equations in food and wine pairings.