But when I tasted the dish, I found that the most prominent pops of flavor were the bright, vegetal notes of the peas and the sweet, tart flavors of the pickled rhubarb. The earthy, umami note of the maitake and the rich weight of the halibut itself came in second.
So I paired to the pea and rhubarb first… I looked for a wine that had a green, vegetal note to match the puree and also crisp acidity with sweet aromas to match the rhubarb. That put me in the family of aromatic white wines, most likely coming from a cold climate so they would have good acidity and green notes (which tend to disappear the riper grapes get).
But that still left me a lot of options! So then I thought about what else the wine needed… it needed to have weight and creaminess to match the rich texture of the halibut and a slight savoriness to match the mushrooms.
What I settled on was an Austrian Grüner Veltliner. Grüner actually means green and the grape has a distinctive note of snap peas, green apple and tarragon. It’s a very aromatic varietal and has a sweet, stone fruit nose to it, which picks up the sweetness of the rhubarb. And coming from the alpine climate of Austria, it has plenty of acid! Lastly, Grüner has a full body with a slightly oily texture (much like Riesling or Chardonnay) and this particular one was aged on the lees, giving it a creamy mouthfeel. All this allows the weight and texture of the wine to match that of the dish harmoniously.
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