Looking for a wine to pair with your meal for the spring holidays? Look no further than the 2020 Bell’Aja Bolgheri DOC. This well-balanced red is a great addition to your spring holiday table and pairs well with many traditional Easter or Passover foods and will taste well into the last spring for evenings that still have a slight chill. The 2020 Bell’Aja Bolgheri is produced by San Felice (Bolgheri is part of the estate).
This gorgeous wine is a deep purple color and originates from the Bolgheri region of Italy. Its nose resembles ruby fruits and berries combined with notes of spices and coffee. Its smooth, well-balanced finish leaves the palate with fine and precise tannins. The wine would pair well with pasta (in particular, ravioli), meats (such as duck or lamb), cheeses, and roasted seasonal vegetables (a wonderful pairing included below).
The wine’s vineyard is located in Bolgheri (Castagneto Carducci, Livorno), whose grapes are grown in silt-sandy soil. The grapes were harvested in the last week of August and the second week of September. If cellaring, the recommended time period is 8 to 10 years. The 2020 vintage produced roughly 36,000 bottles.
Suggested recipe pairing by Borgo San Felice’s Executive Chef Juan Quintero
Roasted artichokes with cashews, lemon and herbs cream.
Ingredients for 4 people:
o 8 fresh artichokes
o 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
o 4 garlic cloves
o 1 glass of white wine
o 6.8oz of vegetable broth
o 1 sprig of thyme
o 3.5oz of cashews
o 3.4 oz of sparkling water
o 1 egg yolk
o 3 lemons
o Fresh herbs: mint, coriander and rocket
o Maldon salt or fleur de sel
o Salt (for tasting)
Recipe:
Clean the artichokes by removing the outer leaves, cut off the tips and leave 5 cm of stem, then
remove the outer, fibrous parts of the stems with a potato peeler. Immerse them in water with
squeezed lemon to delay browning while you clean the other artichokes. Strain the liquid and
keep it aside to use later as a sauce.
Put the oil and the crushed garlic in a saucepan and cook gently for 2 minutes. Drain and dry the
artichokes, season them with salt (also inside) and add them to the pot, together with the wine.
Increase the heat of the flame until half of the wine evaporates, at this point add the broth, the
thyme and cover. Lower the flame and cook gently for 15 minutes until the artichokes are soft.
For the cashew cream, in a blender add the toasted cashews, sparkling water, plenty of salt, 4
tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of a squeezed lemon and blend everything together.
For plating, arrange the cashew cream at the base and on top of the artichokes, for an appetizer
2 per person is a good portion.
Take the filtered artichoke cooking liquid and blend it together with an egg yolk and half a
squeezed lemon. Sprinkle a few flakes of salt.
If you have a charcoal grill or BBQ, you can give the artichokes a quick smoke on the grill, for a
few seconds, before serving them.
Season the artichokes with the sauce and decorate everything with leaves: mint, rocket and
coriander.