A Difficult Wine and Food Pairing – Seafood Marinara
Our informal “Friday Night Wine & Dine” group arrived early at Vine18 restaurant to order the special of the evening, the Seafood Marinara dish. The special was pre-published so the dilemma was which wine to pair? Simple seafood is easy to pair with a variety of white wines, but combined with a marinara pasta and sauce, it leaned towards a Pinot Noir or various Italian varietals. However I didn’t want to overpower the shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels.
The Wine
Went with one of my favorite varietals and winemakers Susan Tipton’s Acquiesce Winery and her 2018 Roussanne. On the eye is a light golden straw and medium viscosity. On the eye and palate, it possessed an elegant finesse with floral aromatics, hints of pear, apricots and with a rich and silky smooth mouthful texture almost creamy. The finish had a soft nutty texture of almond and a hint of honey with a distinct minerality with a medium long finish. Roussanne brings more acidity, elegance and floral aromatic complexities to the wine which makes it perfect for fish. The retail is $34. The wine has already made my Best Wines of 2020 list which is published at the end of each year. Click on the previous articles on Acquiesce Winery:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2018/09/09/acquiesce-winery-vineyards-an-unique-offering/
The Food and Wine Pairing
The seafood marinara dish included: sautéed shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels with light red sauce, pasta, and garlic bread. The meal was delicious and the wine pairing was very good. Should they offer this again, I might try this dish with a light red wine for a comparison.
Sláinte,
Michael
California Wines & Wineries 