Farmers' Market Wine Challenge: Plums + Bubbles

My pairing for this week's Farmers' Market wine challenge is inspired by a delicious plum salad I recently enjoyed at one of my new favorite neighborhood spots, All' Acqua in Atwater Village. It was a simple preparation of fresh burrata cheese, watercress crushed pistachio and small slices of purple-skinned plum (maybe the LaRoda variety?) drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar. The sweet-tart punch of the plum complemented the delicate creaminess of the cheese while the supporting ingredients provided the perfect arrangement of contrasting flavors and textures for a truly harmonious dish. It was one of those dishes that was so good (not to mention so apparently uncomplicated!) that it has already been added to my summer entertaining repertoire!

As with most fruit and wine pairings, the inherent sweetness in fruit bumps us up against the one rule in food and wine pairing: ideally your wine should be sweeter than the dish. Aged balsamic vinegar adds more sugar and acidity to the dish, so you want to avoid tannic reds and whites, which will taste astringent. Additionally, a very light and low acid wine will fall flat. You want a wine with some body and acidity to balance the the vinegar, but not too strong or high in alcohol as to overwhelm the more delicate flavors and textures of the fruit and other components of the dish. In fact, a little sweetness in your wine here would be a good thing, if you are open to that. 

In this summer heat, I like my wine to refresh the palate, so something served chilled is my preference. Many sparkling wines offer moderate to high acidity while delivering body and texture without tannin and can be superb complements to a dish like this; I recommend a rose champagne or other methode champenoise sparkler with body and complexity like the NV Latitude 50N Sekt Rose Trocken ($15.99). I'm not one to say no to real Champagne, but it is expensive and there are many wonderful and more affordable options available from other regions in France and elsewhere in the world. This naturally made, bottle-fermented pink sparkler hails from Germany and is a blend of German varieties Dornfelder, Portuguieser, and Pinot Noir. It offers a delicious balance of flavor and texture with subtle fruit and spice accents--perfect for not only a fresh plum and burrata salad, but a wide variety of summer fruit dishes. Cheers!

-Chiara 

In stock now:

LATITUDE 50 N SEKT EXTRA TROCKEN ROSE ($15.99)

This crisp, dry sparkling wine from Germany is an under-the-radar gem. The palest pink in hue, it mimics Champagne with its fine bead and smoky minerality. A blend of Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and Portuguieser from mostly slate, limestone and porphyry soils, this gets its sparkle from secondary fermentation in bottle--just like Champagne--but it's priced to party!