You may have noticed that the produce section in your local food market is chock full of great deals on artichokes this time of year. Most of these semi-obscure vegetables are grown and harvested in California or Florida, and I covet the little buggers about as much as I do our wild and wonderful ramps, which are also at their peak in springtime.

Now artichokes (and certainly ramps) are not on everyone’s favorite foods list. In fact, I surmise that most people eat artichokes less frequently than ramps and about as often as they might consume … say… chicken lips – which is less than never.

Those who do like artichokes, though, have one overriding complaint: they can’t find a wine that gets along with these spiny cylindrical balls. The overwhelming complaint is that artichokes make all wine taste sweet. My own experimentation initially resulted in the same impression. Neither white nor red worked.

Most people who do take the time (and it does take a considerable time commitment) to prepare artichokes use the standard butter/garlic/lemon bathe, or some version of an aioli whereby the leaves of the vegetable are dipped into the sauce and then consumed by sliding them between the upper and lower teeth.

Try as I might, I had been unsuccessful in finding any wine that would do anything other than turn overly sweet when sipped after eating artichokes in this manner. Now, the artichoke heart is another matter. No problem with using this in salads or in an omelet and finding a white wine- particularly sauvignon blanc – that matched it. But the leaves are another matter.

However, I am not easily deterred when it comes to finding a way to marry two of my favorite consumables, and so I persisted until I created a modified version of an old Italian family recipe – and that did the trick!

My dear mother would stuff the artichoke leaves with a fairly potent combination of ingredients and then serve them as an appetizer or just have around the home for snacking. I have prepared artichokes in this manner for years and, while this treatment fared better with wine, it still fell a little short.

Then a revelation -like a bolt of lightening – hit me in the middle of the night. What this dish needed was more substance in the form of Italian sausage. The rest is history and I’ll share it with you.

This year I took a bold step into uncharted culinary territory by adding ramps to the mixture. Exquisite!!

As far as wine matches with the recipe below, white still worked the best although I would substitute chardonnay for sauvignon blanc. Try a medium to full bodied chardonnay such as Acacia Carneros, Chalone Estate or Talley Vineyards. If you dare to add ramps, you’ll need a big zin such as Ridge Geyserville or full-bodied Malbec such as Catena.

Wild and Wonderful Stuffed Artichokes (ala Calabrese)

2 medium sized artichokes, stems reserved
1 egg
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 half cup of grated pecorino romano cheese
2 and one half cups of toasted Italian bread crumbs
2 links of cooked Italian sausage finely chopped
1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground pepper
1 half cup of chopped ramps (optional)
4 twelve inch long pieces of aluminum foil

Prepare the artichokes by cutting the stems off the bottom (reserve) and take about three quarters of an inch off the tops and discard them

Trim the stems on all sides until the center (white in color) is revealed. Chop this up and add to the mixture

Spread open the artichoke leaves and with an ice cream scoop or spoon carefully take out the center section or choke part of the vegetable

In a mixing bowl, combine the oregano, chili flakes, ramps, sausage, bread crumbs cheese, artichoke stems, salt and pepper and mix in the egg

Preheat the oven to 425 F

Spoon in the artichoke mixture (starting from the center) and adding it to as many of the leaves as possible

Drizzle olive oil evenly over the artichokes and double rap with the aluminum foil

Bake at 425F for 90 minutes, allow to cool and serve.

You may wish to make this dish ahead of time, refrigerate and use it as a heavy appetizer. Be sure to allow the artichokes to come to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy !!

I’ve been all over this wonderful state in the past few weeks engaging in what some would refer to as work. Of course, work requires energy which depends upon sustenance that is fueled by food and enhanced by liquids – especially those produced from fermented grapes.

In other words, I made a point of eating and drinking well. And, as always, your intrepid wineaux sought out opportunities to evaluate wines that you might find appealing. So without further ado, here are some goodies for your consideration.

2007 Bridlewood Viognier ($14)
While viognier originated in France’s Rhone Valley, the grape is grown especially well in California, and particularly along that state’s central coast. The Bridlewood is an extremely aromatic wine with aromas of ripe peaches and apricots. Round, lush and slightly sweet, it has mango and tropical fruit flavors with a nice touch of acidity enabling it to pair well with foods such as stir fry pork and veggies in a honey/soy sauce.

2007 Emmolo Merlot ($25)
This is a Napa Valley merlot made in the style of Duckhorn at about half the price. Deep, dark fruit and mocha flavors along with mid-palate tannin and excellent acidity make this a wine that needs to be decanted for a couple of hours if it is to be consumed in the short term. However, I’d buy a few bottles to hold for three to five years and taste this baby when it is at its peak. This wine needs full-flavored roasted meat like prime rib or sirloin of pork infused with plenty of garlic and black pepper.

2008 Villa Pozzi Nero D’ Avola ($10)
Nero d’avola is the ubiquitous red of Sicily and Villa Pozzi’s 2008 version of the wine is a good one. Ripe cherries and spicy cola flavors predominate in this medium-bodied wine that is exceptionally well balanced. Like most Italian wines, this one is made to be paired with food and my choice would be grilled lamb chops that had been marinated in lemon, olive oil, garlic and rosemary.

2008 Acrobat Pinot Gris ($12)
Oregon is known for pinot noir and is also getting a well-deserved reputation for producing distinctive pinot gris. Made by King Estate in Oregon, Acrobat stylistically is a cross between the crisp, floral type of pinot gris produced in northern Italy and the rounder, fuller bodied wines of Alsace. Ripe green apple and melon flavors with crisp acidity, this is a porch sipper that would also be great with strawberries and cheese and other appetizer foods.

2008 Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay ($23)
Produced from grapes grown in the Arroyo Secco region of Monterey County, this is the style of chardonnay that I truly enjoy. Rich and creamy on the palate, this wine is extremely well balanced with just a kiss of oak and none of the overripe tropical flavors sometimes present in chardonnay produced in California. Roast a rosemary and garlic -rubbed chicken breast stuffed with chevre, sun-dried tomatoes and chives and then pour yourself a glass of this elixir. Nirvana!