Sometimes the best wine pairings are the ones you don’t think too hard about.
As summer winds down, Paul and I headed over to The Dock in West Wildwood to support one of our former employees, Monica, who is working there for the season. It was great to see her—and we managed a wave to Mike (also a former employee), who was buried in the kitchen.
Neither of us had been to The Dock before, and, I didn’t really study the menu before we left. I knew it was BYOB, so I opened the refrigerator, grabbed the first bottle of white wine I saw, and off we went.
That bottle happened to be Il Forte Gavi DOCG.
Then we got there and saw the menu: tacos, oysters and ceviche.
Hmmmm.
Was Gavi going to work with all of that?
We were about to find out.
First, About Gavi
Gavi comes from southeastern Piedmont in northern Italy, close to the Ligurian border. The wine is made from Cortese, a native white grape that is known for producing crisp, refreshing wines with bright acidity, citrus and orchard fruit flavors, and a distinctive mineral character.
Il Forte Gavi DOCG is produced by Produttori del Gavi, a cooperative whose history dates back to 1951. Il Forte is 100% Cortese, grown in the Gavi area at elevations of roughly 200 to 300 meters. The vineyards for this wine are planted primarily on red clay-based alluvial soils, and the vines average about 30 years old.
The wine is fermented at cool temperatures and then spends at least three months in stainless steel on its fine lees before a short period of bottle aging. No oak here, which helps keep everything fresh, clean and focused on the fruit and minerality.
And Then Came the Jam Jars
When our server brought over the wine glasses, I had to laugh.
They were jam jars.
But then I thought about it. Is drinking wine from a jam jar really that different from drinking it from a stemless wine glass?
We opened and poured the Il Forte and rolled with it.
The wine showed lovely fresh minerality with hints of lemon and pear. It was crisp and refreshing, with a nice balance between the fruit and acidity.
What I liked most was how easy it was to drink. Just a fresh glass of wine that seemed perfect for one of those final summer evenings at the Shore.
But Did It Work With Dinner?
Paul ordered the oysters and ceviche, while I went with the chicken tacos.
This was where my random refrigerator grab was put to the test.
Paul thought there was plenty of acidity in the Gavi to work with both the oysters and ceviche. That makes sense because Gavi is a natural partner for seafood. Its freshness and acidity can handle those briny, citrusy flavors without overpowering them.
And the tacos?
They were okay!
Would I have chosen Gavi if I had studied the menu beforehand and planned the pairing? Maybe, maybe not.
Not every bottle needs 20 minutes of analysis before you pull the cork. Sometimes you open the refrigerator, grab a bottle and see where the evening takes you.
In this case, it took us to oysters, ceviche, chicken tacos, jam-jar wine glasses and a beautiful West Wildwood sunset.
Il Forte Gavi DOCG is a terrific wine to have chilled and ready to go. Made from 100% Cortese, it’s fresh, mineral-driven and bright enough for seafood, yet versatile enough to handle quite a few other dishes.
Try it with:
- Oysters
- Ceviche
- Grilled shrimp
- Clams
- Light seafood pasta
- Fresh cheeses
- Grilled chicken
- Fish tacos
- Mildly spicy dishes
- Or whatever happens to be on the menu when you grab the first bottle from the fridge
