Pairing:  (1) Vietnamese-Style Shrimp Salad, and (2) Pork Tenderloin in a Peach/ Lime Sauce, Each Paired with 2013 Cascina Spagnolo Roero Arneis (Italian White)

Food:  There are usually just the two of us home for dinner, and a bottle of wine typically lasts us two nights. So we plan for two meals that each will pair nicely with the same wine. This posting provides an example of this pairing with two very different meals that benefit from the same wine accompaniment.

The first meal is a recipe from Eating Well magazine for Chilled Maine Shrimp with Cabbage and Peanuts, Vietnamese-Style (see link). A most flavorful shrimp salad made with small shrimp, Chinese cabbage, cilantro, rice vinegar, peanut oil, fish sauce, Asian chili sauce, sugar, fresh ginger, shredded carrot, and unsalted peanuts.  A stellar shrimp salad with a conglomerate of bold flavors.

The second meal is simplicity itself. Rub a pork tenderloin with salt and black pepper. Cook on a hot grill pan. Make a basting sauce with peach nectar (or pureed peaches or peach jam/ marmalade) with some lime zest and soy sauce mixed in. Warm up the sauce on the stove, knapp some of the sauce onto the cooking pork. Serve the remaining sauce over the pork slices at the table.

1. Wine:  The Piedmont wine region of northern Italy is most noted for the Nebbiolo grape, the single grape used in the making of the exquisite Barolo and Barbaresco red wines of the region. However, Arneis is a grape/ white wine that is gaining in popularity after teetering on the brink of extinction in the 1970’s, thanks mostly to the efforts of winemaker Alfredo Currado of the Vietti wine family (“Never doubt that one man can change the world …” – Margaret Mead). Roero has become the center for making the Arneis white wines, gaining such distinction that it is sometimes referred to as the white Barolo.

Tasting Notes:  A pretty pale gold color. The nose is a medley of fruit aromas … peach, melon, and citrus … each sniff bringing another fruit to the forefront.  The palate echoes the same fruits, the melon being ripe cantaloupe. There is a background hint of sweetness to the taste, along with the delight of white flowers. The finish brings back the citrus notes. A lovely pairing with the complex flavors of the Vietnamese-style salad. And the peach and lime flavors of the pork bring out the peach and citrus tones in the wine. Yet another wonderful Italian white wine, both by itself and paired up with good food.

Other Wines That Pair Well with Vietnamese-Style Shrimp Salad:  Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand), Vouvray (Loire Valley), Pinot Gris (Oregon), Unoaked Chardonnay (California), Soave (Italy)

Other Wines That Pair Well with Peach/ Lime Pork:  Chardonnay (California), Gewürztraminer (Alsace), Riesling (Germany), Viognier (Australia)

Other Foods That Pair Well with Roero Arneis:  Crab Salad, Pasta with Seafood, Poached White Fish, Clams

Read About:  http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-718-arneis

A Source:  www.wine.com