Spring Has Sprung: Gallo Family Vineyards Chardonnay & Turning Leaf Shiraz Rose

2009 Gallo Family Vineyards Chardonnay RRP €8.35 and 2009 Turning Leaf Shiraz rose RRP €10.99

Now that we are into March, we’ve almost turned a corner. The crocus is out and the daffodils should be showing their wonderful yellow colours before Paddy’s Day comes around. Spring is a little late this year but our memories of this tough winter will soon fade.

With spring comes a host of delicious fresh greens, young sprouts and juicy lamb. As well as bringing an abundance of delicious food which we can all look forward to enjoying.

As we move away from the heavier winter wines and look forward to the Easter holidays in early April, I want to now look at some springtime foods to match this week’s wines.

Asparagus – spring sees the return of tasty and crunchy asparagus, a perfect ingredient for a light but filling dish of grilled salmon, crushed potatoes and asparagus a la Polonaise. Place blanched asparagus into a baking dish, cover with breadcrumbs mixed with butter and top with slices of boiled egg. Place on a mid-heat in the oven for 5-8 minutes. Compliment this rich, creamy dish with the ripe melon flavours from the Chardonnay grape. Californian producer Gallo has a wonderful range of affordable Chardonnay from the Family Vineyards range that will accompany this dish very well.

Leeks are also available in abundance in the shops right now. They’re relatively cheap and can really bulk out a meal. They add great texture to stews but are also gorgeous baked into a pastry base with blue cheese. Bake a base of short pastry blind. Add egg and crème fraiche, sweat the leeks in butter and add them to the eggs, seasoning with black pepper and fresh thyme. Crumble in a little blue cheese and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. This cost-effective dish is easy to make and has lovely strong flavours. Enjoy a glass of Turning Leaf Shiraz rosé with this dish. It has lovely cherry-fruit flavours and a little bit of residual sugar which will work well with the slightly salty flavour of the blue cheese. A real springtime treat!

Stockists: Widely available from supermarkets (Tesco, Dunnes, Supervalu, Superquinn) and many independent off-licences and supermarkets

For information about wine events go to the wine event diary at www.jeansmullen.com