in wine today


Choke artichokes

By Georges Meekers

First a celebrity TV gardener with a yen for the wild explained how they had a rocky time in ancient Rome, lauded and ridiculed for their prickly appearance.

Then, at the dinner table, the same globe artichokes, camouflaged as ‘Qaqocc Mimli’, sneaked up as the impossible match assaulting a prematurely decanted bottle of meat-craving Syrah.

In fact, the crankiness of artichokes doesn’t end with their odd, prickly appearance. These vegetables can unleash a weird combative flavour that combines sweetness, bitterness and a vaguely metallic clang on almost every wine.

So, what do you do? Just reach for a Cisk?

Well, artichokes might need some special consideration because they contain an organic acid called cynarin, which apparently stimulates certain receptors in our taste buds, making everything sweeter for a short time. But there’s no reason to go without wine.

Reds (that Syrah or a fruity Merlot) tend to fare the worst, though there are some wines which prove more resisting to the artichoke’s palate-bending tricks.

But do always steer clear from whites with oak (butterly chardonnay) which confuse the issue further and avoid wines with high residual sugar since the sweetness will increase the flavour clash.

When looking for a wine to flatter this monstrous veggie, start by asking yourself how the method of preparation influences the flavour of the dish. Is there any animal protein in the dish, which seasonings are being used and how much fat or acid is in the sauce?

And, if you are a wine lover, you cheekily adapt the dish around your artichoke to widen your wine choice.

Stew the artichokes in white wine and flavour them with some parmesan cheese to broaden your choice well beyond a bone-dry Sauvignon Blanc.

Stuff them with sausage meat and sauteed onions if the Pinot Noir or Beaujolais takes precedence.

Season with cumin and put the artichokes under the grill and you could reach for a light-bodied and low-tannin Rhone-styled wine like the Maltese Medina red.

Alternatively, strike first, choke those damned greens in water, preferably with a healthy pinch of salt to kill any supporting wildlife, dislodge the pointed bracts with brute force, mash their hearts and dispose of any remains.

Then, you-the-carnivore are out of harm’s way to savour that Syrah.

Condolences to the Cynara Scolymus family.