Curried Pea Soup – Rosé or White Wine?

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Dry U.S. Riesling: Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling Magdalena Vineyard 2014 – Pairing Rating: 9.5 out of 10.0

Rosé:  Fleur de Mer, Côtes de Provence 2019 – Pairing Rating: 9.0

Note:  This is a face lift and update of an older post. The recipe and pairings are so good we felt it worthy.  We hope you give it a try.

In 1961, Craig Claiborne published The New York Times Cookbook. Numbingly comprehensive and relatively uncomplicated (most recipes have 10 ingredients or less), the recipes are definitely 50+ years old stylistically. There are, nonetheless, recipes in that cookbook that continue to impress today. One of them is Cream of Curried Pea Soup.

Every summer, we get accolades when we serve this soup chilled as an appetizer at our Vermont house. Do you recall the applause when the 50-year-old Aston Martin DB5 appeared in the 007 Skyfall movie? Same thing . . . sort of.

The recipe appears below. We modernized it a bit by cutting back on the cream. Note the variety of vegetables used in the soup. These give the finished product greater complexity than more contemporary recipes, many of which use only peas. More complexity in the soup = more bridges for the wine pairing. So here’s the rundown:

When it comes to pairing a wine with this soup, there are two in-your-face markers: cream, which means you will want a wine with some cleansing acidity, and curry, which calls for a touch, or as my friend Bruce would say, a kiss, of residual sweetness to quell the heat of the curry. Riesling brings both to the table.

We have a number of posts where we have paired foods with German Rieslings, such as Riesling and Spicy Chicken. This time, however, we thought we would pair the soup with one of our favorite producers in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State: Hermann J. Wiemer. The long, narrow Finger Lakes cushion this northern climate with a moderating effect: storing the summer warmth, thereby softening the harsh winters. The wine growers in this region have proven that Riesling grafted on American rootstock can produce dry, age-worthy wines here.

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We chose the 2014 Wiemer Dry Riesling from the Magdalena Vineyard ($36 for the 2018 vintage) to pair with this soup. The wine’s nose served up a bouquet of lemon/lime blossoms and a hint of fennel, while the crisp acidity on the palate reminded us of yellow apple with a touch of melon. Trish found the wine to be balanced, clean and fresh, with a bit of sweetness to complement the heat of the curry. For me, the winning feature of the wine was the finish: it did not overwhelm the lingering, complex taste of the soup. Together, they were a perfect combination: after a sip, you tasted both the soup and the wine in balance. Incredible . . . and ideal.

Can’t get your hands on the Wiemer? Then reach for a Rosé from the Côtes de Provence. Widely available and smartly priced, the Fleur de Mer ($19) is an excellent option. The crisp, fruit-forward character of this Rosé, a Cinsault – Grenache blend, delivers many of the same attributes of the Wiemer Riesling, albeit with slightly less complexity. We prefer this Rosé over many we’ve tried; it satisfies because it is more than a patio-sipper yet doesn’t insist on a food accompaniment.

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While the Fleur de Mer is relatively easy to find, the Wiemer Dry Rieslings, along with their Finger Lakes’ peers (Red Newt single vineyard and Ravines – Argetsinger) may be more of a challenge outside the Northeast. They are, however, available from the wineries and are worth the extra effort. Better yet, jump in your DB5 and cruise up to the Finger Lakes for the fall harvest! The wooded, rolling hills surrounding the lakes are gorgeous in full color. No wonder this was a Victorian playground.