8 Terrific Spring Wine & Food Pairings

As much as we love winter-hearty comfort food, when the sun starts warming things up we are bursting to throw off the layers of sauces, creams, gravies and starches in favour of foods that are a bit brighter, lighter and fresher.

Same with our wines; while we’ll happily drink reds, whites and rosés all year long, we are quite happy to put a focus on bottles that can best be described as crisp, vibrant and racy.

With that in mind, we’ve outlined a few ingredients we can’t wait to start cooking paired to spring worthy wines that make our mouths water.

Asparagus

Easily the quintessential flag-bearer of spring, when fresh Ontario asparagus come into season it’s cause for celebrating in an all out gorge-fest. This soup from Niagara’s The Good Earth Food and Wine Company also takes advantage of seasonal leeks and potatoes. If there’s any downside to asparagus, it’s how notoriously difficult they are to pair with wine, leaving Sauvignon Blanc as an easy go-to. You can’t go wrong with that option as the grassy, herbal notes mirror the flavours of the springtime vegetable, but when we’re adding creamy (like with a soup), buttery (as a simple side) goodness to the mix, we might reach for a crisp Chablis to counter the richness.

Try: Sylvain Mosnier Côte de Léchet Chablis 1er Cru, Burgundy, France $35.95 Vintages 318139

Artichoke

Experts say artichokes can’t work with wine because, like asparagus, there’s a chemical in them that throws off a wine’s taste, making it come across as sweeter than it is. That may be true, but how often are you eating a simple bowl of steamed artichokes? In season from March through May, enjoy them either pickled as a decadent part of an antipasto platter, battered and fried, or even drenching the steamed leaves in an indulgent sauce like this roast garlic wine sauce from Cooking Light. The pairing comes from how the artichoke is prepared. A dry rosé has food-friendly acid that will work with most preparations.

Try: Malivoire “Moira” Rose, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, ON 2015 $24.95 malivoire.com (May availability)

Fennel

Fennel on it’s own can sometimes be a bit much, with it’s strong, black licorice flavours. (However, we do confess we love the fresh bite raw fennel gives salads when chopped finely and added to the mix). Usually, the best way to soften the edges and bring our fennel’s softer side is with braising. A wonderful partner to citrus – and especially orange – braised fennel can make a fresh side for lamb and meat dishes. But we also can’t deny the beauty of Ina Garten’s Parmesan Fennel Gratin. For this we’re reaching for a buttery Chardonnay.

Try: Henri de Villamont “La Canee” Auxey-Duresses, Burgundy, France 2012 $39.95 Vintages 445270

Lamb

Braised or roasted lamb is a great dish to bridge the gap between warm and sunny spring days and cool and crisp spring nights. Some might get scared off from cooking it, but just like this Jaime Oliver recipe shows, it can be dead easy and yield impressive results. The ROI is certainly there. While Mr. Oliver recommends Chianti, we’re partial to a rustic Rioja.

Try: Olarra Erudito Reserva Especial, Rioja, Spain 2009 $37.95 Vintages 378885

Morels

Coming into season from late March to May, depending on the region, morels are super expensive, but a real culinary treasure. They rot quickly (just one reason why they’e so pricey), so if buying fresh, select morels that are bouncy or rubbery and have a pleasant aroma and meaty, nutty taste. Of course, you can always buy dried and use them in recipes like this Saveur pasta, which also incorporates asparagus and oozes spring yumminess. Morels are usually a slam dunk with Pinot Noir, but with the lighter pasta and asparagus, this can be a bit of a tough paring. We’re big enough to admit we’re taking the easy way out and going with a Chardonnay-based bubbly, for its earthy notes, bright acidity and all around easy food pairing. It’s spring. Celebrate.

Try: Graham Beck Premier Cuvée Brut Blancs de Blancs, Robertson, South Africa 2010 $23.95 Vintages 907568

Peas

Spring peas are flat out delicious. You can by English peas in the pod and then go through the hassle (or mediation depending on how you look at it) of shelling them, or luckily, you can simply buy them in a bag, fresh, already shelled. Just use them reasonably quickly as it’s been our experience that they sour if not used within a few days. We go through pounds of them to make spring pea soup and add them by the fistful to our Lemon Risotto with Seared Scallops. Pairings are reasonably flexible, Gruner Veltliner, Chablis and even Riesling all work well, but we’re going for a white Bordeaux – a Sauvignon Blanc led blend – just to shake things up.

Try: Château Haut Philippon, Entre Deux Mers, Bordeaux, France 2014 $14.95 Vintages 445171

Ramps

People seriously loose their minds over these delicate wild leeks that taste like, well, delicate leeks. Only around for a fleeting few weeks, ramps are usually the first signs of spring and have inspired foodies to totally geek out with festivals and foraging expeditions. While it seems to us the most common ways to use these oniony bulbs is to either make a pesto or simply saute them as a side, or you could follow this Epicurious recipe and pickle them for long term enjoyment.  The pungency of the onion family again makes for a challenging wine pairing, but, thinking of how well Pinot Gris goes with items like onion tart or onion soup, we’d go for the same with ramps.

Try: Domaines Schlumberger “Les Princes Abbés” Pinot Gris, Alsace, France 2014 $21.95 Vintages 21253

Salmon

Spring may not necessarily be the season for salmon fishing, but nonetheless, it seems the warmer weather encourages salmon recipes to abound.  Perhaps it’s the craving for lighter, healthier fare that has people thinking pink…fish. Clearly there are as many way to prepare salmon as there are chicken, but we think an elegant, modern and reasonably easy spring time dish is fresh salmon tartare, like this one from Williams-Sonoma. You’ve heard it time and again that the rich heartiness of salmon allows it to stand up to lighter reds like Pinot Noir or Beaujolais, but we like Viognier, especially when there’s the richness of cream-based sauces involved.

Try: D’Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” Viognier/Marsanne, McLaren Vale, South Australia 2014 $17.95 Vintages 662775