Lemon Like Lemon

You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find a wine that goes with lemon accents in a dish — but it is. It seems that white would be a safe choice; but then, only a certain profile among the myriad white wines can pull off a pairing with tangy lemon flavors. So, you can imagine how pleased I was the night when I happened to open the 2011 Fattoria Sardi Giustiniani Vermentino ($12 per glass/$42 per bottle) while experimenting with a new lemon-anchovy-zucchini-tuna pasta: the two hit it off immediately! In fact, the poised vermentino even embraced the lemon zest that I incorporated into the pasta — for the added intense fragrance — without one overpowering the other. Just beautiful interaction…

There’s a je ne sais quoi to this vermentino from Colline Lucchesi in Tuscany. This is probably not the first region that pops into your head when you think of vermentino. But, in fact, Lucca’s serendipitous location between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennine Mountains plays a big part in the bright acidity of this particular vermentino. Be sure to grab Jacopo, co-owner of Felice 83, if you have any questions about this wine, as Fattoria Sardi Giustiniani is his family winery.