The Gavi in the Bottle

As with everyone who has experienced it, it's the bottle that grabs you first. Shapely, seductive, it calls out to you and says "come on, taste me". But once you look past the packaging, you get to what really matters, the Gavi in the bottle. Gavi has a long history in Piedmont and celebrated most of its success in the 1960s. The white wine is named for the town of Gavi, located in the southeast province of Alessandria. Gavi is produced from the Cortese grape, a varietal which has been grown throughout the province since the late 1600s. The Villa Sparina is what Gavi should be; rich almond and honey notes coat the palate, leaving you with a crisp mineral acid finish, ahh the best of both...It is available at Swirl and is our white wine pick of the month for "club swirl", our discount wine purchasing club.

I cooked a shrimp dish using fresh Louisiana Gulf shrimp we bought at the Crescent City Farmer's Market today. The God Mother of Italian cooking, Lidia Bastianich has a recipe from her native Istria called Shrimp Buzara style...it is simple and fabulous with a light tomato and white wine sauce that leaves you scraping the bottom of the pan with anything you can find in the kitchen! Divine! Go to Lidia's website for the recipe: http://www.lidiasitaly.com/appetizers/ap01.

Not the most fabulous pairing ever, but both stood exceedingly well on their own and complimented nicely.

Definitely a wine and a dish for future endeavors!