Off to the grocery store I went today to grab a few things, including a bottle of Chardonnay, some butter and fresh lemons, at the request of Chef Husband. I’m not one to gravitate towards a Chardonnay, so I gambled and went for a Chateau St. Michelle, since I enjoy their Reisling.
Back home I was delightfully surprised to discover a lovely lunch set-up on our back patio, where the ingredients requested suddenly made sense. Over the next hour we would share a chilled fresh Dungeness Crab, twisting and cracking and revealing the pure white crabmeat hiding under the shell, followed by a spritz of fresh lemon and decadent plunge into melted butter.
The key to food and wine pairing is taking a sip of wine, partaking of the food and then returning to the wine to discover an enhancement to the wine you hadn’t noticed before. While we were seranaded by the gentle rain tapping around us (ambiance is always important when eating), I would truly experience food and wine pairing as it should be. The CSM Chardonnay started out with quite a bit of apple and citrus, but after a bite of buttery crab, oh my! I suddenly loved this Chardonnay, as the buttery sweet notes surfaced.
Now that I’ve been spoiled, Chardonnay has moved up in rank on my list, but course I’m not sure if I can enjoy it without some crab and melted butter. We will see.
Until next time...
Culinarily Yours,