Tomatoes for Me!
The dog days of summer are here. So are tomatoes.
They just showed up at the Farmer's market. This is a food with great natural acidity. Last night we had a wonderful summer dinner. Slices of red New Jersey tomato topped with good sea salt and a slice of fresh mozzarella, a bit of black pepper and the best olive oil we have.
Then pasta with pesto and some more of the tomato, a pretty green, white and red dish - the colors of the Italian flag.
Then the main course! Toasted focaccia sandwich bread, homemade mayonnaise with lots of Dijon mustard, little gem lettuce, a nice slice of that tomato and the best bacon we could buy. I drank Champagne. The best BLT and Champagne is an unbeatable combination.
But my wife does not like white wine or champagne. She says that these wines do not make her happy. She had a cool glass of Beaujolais, another wine with crisp acidity. Serve it cool and summer just keeps getting better and better.
Often, I drink Chablis or Muscadet, two more wines with nice, crisp acidity. Everyone thinks that Muscadet is what you have with oysters or any manner of seafood. So it gets relegated to a very specific and inaccurate pigeonhole. In truth it can play so many parts, fill many roles. The high acidity is the key - try Muscadet with a Carolina pulled pork barbecue sandwich, it will cut through the fat and clean your palate for the next bite.
Here are some suggestions of high-acid summery wines that taste fantastic with tomatoes and more. You can click any of these links to start shopping.