Uncork now: Petite Arvine – post-margarita!

After more than a month of self-isolation a day suddenly arrived where we needed a bit of zing! in the evening. Fortuitously, a trial test to order farmer-to-consumer avocados from Spain turned out very well, the best of these I’ve ever had. And world-class asparagus from Saillon in Valais was suddenly available. Which added up to an accidentally very large rice and asparagus side dish using a recipe from the town of Saillon’s online recipes for les asperges (7.4).

The added avos, as they are fondly known in this house, sounded like just the thing to go with a margarita using my mother’s Fostoria 1936 glasses that we once used for milk at Thanksgiving dinners. The US had come out of Prohibition not long before and wine at home was not a common thing in the Midwest, where we lived.

Here, the Patrón tequila that an American friend brought when visiting some time back went into a 3-2-1 recipe: parts of Tequila to Triple Sec to lime juice. Next time around I used more lime juice. Less salt on the rim. Smaller glasses or much larger margaritas would be good, too.

The main dish was a spicy fish soup, the perfect excuse to try one of the bottles of wine I picked up from Les Fils Maye in Riddes just before we were all sent home: their award-winning Petite Arvine Jean de Crêtes 2018.

Excellent with the avocado and asparagus and even better with the spices in the soup and the rich broth, homemade from bones from the previous night’s grilled loup de mer (sea bass). This is a fine Arvine, just the way I like it with clear citrus notes that worked with all the lime and coriander on the table, and lively, a good balance with the soup. The label boasts wisteria, but I forgot to look for that although I did note a lovely floral nose. We had enough going on at the table, and any good wine will forgive you for enjoying yourself.

The day I was at the winery, in early March, was one of the last cold, slushy snowy drizzly days so not surprisingly, the wine bar was empty, but it has a lot of appeal and is on my list of places to go when we are all able to be out and about again.