Food & Wine Pairing

Pesto sauce, generally comprising basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, grated hard cheese and salt, originated in Genoa of Northern Italy, but no mention appears in the United States until 1944, when the New York Times reported an imported, canned pesto paste. Soon after, a recipe appeared in Sunset Magazine in 1946, contributed by Angelo Pellegrini. But the sauce did not gain popularity in the United States until the 1980s and 1990s, partly because fresh basil was not sold here until the 1970s. For a time, a mini pesto fever took hold with chefs and home cooks prolifically turning out recipe after recipe, varying the proportions of olive oil, cheese and basil and even changing the herb and nut combinations to such concoctions as parsley and/or mint with pistachios.

I know my mother shied away from cooking pork chops in the 1970s when the scare was on regarding worms from undercooked meat. Although she was a wonderful cook, what resulted on our plates looked like a piece of pink leather. Trichinosis is no longer a problem in the U.S., as pigs are no longer fed slop or raised in the mud. More recently, some folks think about the swine flu when they consider eating pork chops, but the World Health Organization stated that the swine flu is not passed through meat.

Ah, the temperamental scallop! If not cooked just right, it is rubbery or mushy – you choose the lesser of two evils. If properly handled, the delicate, but meaty texture sings in your mouth.

Once having accomplished this culinary feat, what wine shall accompany? We asked one winery operations director, one restaurant owner, two sommeliers and one wine shop owner for their suggestions, and they accommodated, revealing a stunning passion for food and wine. The mouth waters in consideration of their inventive unions!

Scallops are one of the most interesting foods to hail from the sea. The rich texture coupled with a delicate essence of flavor never gets lost in the preparation, whether simple or complex. The rich texture and flavor are ideally suited for wines that are equally rich in texture and flavor. The scallop also needs crisp, refreshing acidity to cleanse the palate and prepare the taste buds for another bite. Some of my fondest wine memories around scallops are Gavi (an Italian wine from the Piedmont region made from the Cortese grape), pinot gris from Alsace and even beautiful rieslings from Germany. All three have exotic fruit and spice aromas, great nerve and balance. Depending on the scallop’s preparation or the theme for the evening, choose one of these wines or s omething similar. For example, I had a beautiful pan-seared Diver Scallop served on a celery root purée with black olive tapenade that was extraordinary with a White Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Chateau de Beaucastel. All the stars aligned on this one –  the richness of the wine stood proud next to the bold flavors of the Mediterranean and the aromatics were simply divine. Each bite brought out more from the next and was a symphony in my mouth. – Gregg Lamer, Director of Retail Operations, Rutherford Hill & Alderbrook Winery at Terlato Wines International, Rutherford, CA; www.rutherfordhill.com.