Pairing: Haddock with a Shrimp and Watercress Sauce Paired with a 2013 Verdicchio de Matelico

Food:  Having just stopped at a farm stand and purchased fresh sweet corn and green beans, we now must decide what fish (it is Friday, after all!) we will serve with these lovely vegetables. Haddock is always nice and available. How shall we prepare it? Well, my wife and live-in gourmet cook (they’re the same person … in case you were wondering) had recently made and frozen some wonderful watercress sauce. Thaw out the sauce, toss in a handful of already cooked and frozen coldwater shrimp, cook the sauce down a little bit and added a Tbs of cream to thicken it, and pour over the pan-fried haddock. An amazing flavor combination has just been discovered!

Wine:  Verdicchio is widely regarded as an ideal companion to fish. And we concur. This Verdicchio di Matelica is the smaller of the two Verdicchio wine growing zones (the larger being Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi) both in the beautiful Marche region of Italy … the Matelica vineyards located on the eastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains. The Verdicchio grape has been grown in this region for more than 600 years.

Tasting Notes:  The color is a pretty golden hue. The aromas are of clover and peach (like walking through the peach orchards of Adams County on a summer day). Flavors of lime, yellow peaches, and some minerality emerge on the palate and continue on the finish. The light taste of lime is a nice companion to the sweetness of the fish and shrimp (as well as the corn in this dish). That sweetness of the corn, salinity of the seafood, and the peppery notes of the watercress, taken together bring out the subtle, perhaps hidden, flavors of this delicate wine.

Other Wines That Pair Well with the Fish:  Soave (Italy), Sauvignon Blanc (California), White Bordeaux (France), Chenin Blanc (South Africa)

Other Food That Pairs Well with Verdicchio: Poached or Sautéed White Fish (Cod, Sole, Haddock), Fish Stew or Chowder, Shrimp, Scallops, Crab

Read About:  https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-marche

A Source:  www.klwines.com