LOCKDOWN COOKING & INTO SUMMER DRINKING BY NICK ADAMS MW PART III – SEASONAL FOODS AND WINE MATCHING SUGGESTIONS

At this time of the year there are some lovely seasonal offerings (and summer dishes) and I would just like to highlight a few and suggest some wines from the Wine Trust selection

• English Asparagus – now in full flow the season ends officially on 21 June
• Other Spring Vegetables – including young carrots, early peas and broad beans, new season potatoes (including Jersey Royals) celery, spring onions, beetroot
• Spring Salads including Lollo Rosso and Verde, Romaine, Radicchio, Rocket, Spinach
• Fish – especially Crabs, Flat Fish, Prawns and Shrimps (the mussel season is over) and wild Sea Trout
• New Season Lamb
• New Season British Strawberries
• And of course, good old BBQ fare!

I thought I would take the above and provide you with two options, which in theory could both work well with these foods. Please do be adventurous – often a wine works well with certain foods when you might have been a little less enthusiastic when trying it on its own. However, the number one maxim remains when talking about food and wine pairing – personal preference is the final arbiter. Please note that I have starred ** those wines which also have the capacity to work well with more savoury, or umami foods.

Hope this helps to make the most of lockdown and you home picnic!

Foods	Crowd Pleaser	Try Something Different
Asparagus	Lawson’s Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand (V,Ve)	The Foundry Viognier Stellenbosch South Africa (particularly good if serving with Hollandaise sauce) (V)**
Spring/Summer Vegetables & Salads	Picpoul de Pinet Baron de Badassière, Roussillon France (V,Ve)	Amalaya Torrontés-Riesling, Salta Argentina (V,Ve)
Fish	Chablis Domaine de l’Enclos, Burgundy France	Malagousia Domaine Gervassiliou Macedonia Greece, OR Whispering Angel Cotes de Provence Rosé Château d’Esclans, Provence France – with oilier fish such as Sea Trout or Salmon (hot or cold)
Lamb	Chianti Classico Fontodi, Tuscany Italy **	Domaine Diamantakos, Naoussa Greece **
BBQ – char grilled vegetables and meats	Kaiken Clásico Malbec, Mendoza Argentina (V,Ve)	Finca Villacreces “Pruno”, Ribera del Duero Spain (V)**
Strawberries (and soft fruit)	Pink Moscato (Muscat) Innocent Bystander, Victoria Australia (V,Ve)	Essencia Orange Muscat Andrew Quady, California USA (works well with cake, pastry and even chocolate too) (V)