Serve with dried white noble vegetables
“Let the precious vegetables come!” So my grandfather announced that he was now serving something very special. By definition, there were exactly two types of noble vegetables, namely asparagus and (perhaps a little surprising) cauliflower. Asparagus was only available during the holidays, but fortunately spring has a few in store. The rarity of asparagus was not only due to its high price. He probably felt like the only vegetable he did not grow.
So when my parents started planting their own vegetable garden, I was just hoping for paradise. From now on, all kinds of vegetables will have to be put from hand to mouth, so to speak. However, our many roommates on the property were just as excited about this view. Deep alluvial clay not only allowed everything green to sprout, but also provided an ideal home for all kinds of hungry little creatures. After the cauliflower had been plastered several times both underground and above ground (there was no question of spraying poison), this was the story of the cabbage.
Grow asparagus yourself?
I had already given up all hope for fine vegetables when my parents decided to do a really exotic action: They wanted to create an asparagus patch in the 1980s. No one in our village had ever grown asparagus. But my father was ambitious, he took a whole truckload of sand for himself and started digging for days, rolling books and finally preparing an ideal plant soil mix. It should not be white asparagus, but a green variant that grows above the ground. Incredibly, the experiment was successful and so my parents had fresh green asparagus in the spring for over 30 years.
I was thinking about this story with our asparagus growing again when I saw the first green asparagus in the organic supermarket. Of course I accepted it immediately. But which wine do I get as an accompaniment? And what about other early vegetables, spinach, lettuce or early potatoes? To be able to answer this question, I chose and tasted three white wines.
Cameleon – mighty Chardonnay from Argentina
When I usually discovered this wine, I could not help but wonder if I had ever drunk Argentine white wine. Why not give it a try? You can say that Domaine Bousquet has a clear French background. However, the family has been cultivating wine in Argentina for four generations. From the vineyards in the Tupungato valley you have a spectacular view of the Andes mountain peaks. Although the vineyards are already at an altitude of 1,200 meters, the mountains are still more than 6,000 meters high and covered with eternal snow and ice. The latter is also responsible for the fact that no vines can be grown in this landscape. The melt water from the Andes is channeled to the vineyards using an advanced irrigation system.
Cameleon is a white wine made from Chardonnay, the most widely grown white grape variety in the world. Chardonnay is so popular because it is so versatile. The Bousquets made a conscious decision to grow wine without the effect of wood and therefore rather pure. In this way, it goes well not only with white asparagus, but also with a whole range of other early vegetables. Relatively strong in alcohol, however, it is balanced and does have its own slightly greenish hops.
Schnabl Veltliner in a small bottle
Grüner Veltliner is the national vine variety of Austria. Hardly cultivated abroad, you can not imagine many dishes in Austria like Wiener Schnitzel or fried chicken without it. The Schnabl family from Weinviertel (this is the name of the development area north of Vienna) came up with the good idea of filling the Grüner Veltliner into small bottles. This is ideal not only for free, but also if you want to have a drink with your meal on Sunday.
I find the wine very attractive with its pear notes as soon as I smell it. In my mouth I notice that the Veltliner is not one of the heaviest of its kind. 12 vol% alcohol, which is very pleasant especially for vegetable dishes. We have a pan with fresh potatoes and roasted asparagus with egg with wine, with arugula. Veltliner likes that – and that’s why we like it.
Parra Jiménez – green wine with green asparagus
Along with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc is another white grape variety that has been made worldwide from France. He also cast a spell on the three Parra Jiménez brothers. Although they mainly grow red grape varieties in the central highlands of Spain, the sometimes surprisingly cool nights mean that white wines can also retain their freshness. Many young drinkers especially like it