This month the #WinePW group served up unexpected white wine pairings. Thinking about the theme I tweaked it a tad and considered the idea of local pairings – what grows together goes together as a conventional way of pairing and did the opposite. While Shrimp and White wines are always good together, in my view, I decided to pair a white wine from a region in Italy I am about to visit with a dish from Spain that I love to make – Shrimp with green sauce. Trentino is famous for many things but Shrimp is not one of them. Had I done a pairing with Speck that would have been an example of a local pairing but not Shrimp. So while my idea is a little off the beaten path from what Robin our host for this month’s group might have envisioned, I think it works.

The Shrimp were frozen, the sauce made from olive oil and herbs from my garden – parsley, thyme, basil, oregono, and garlic. Easy and delicious with a mix of super local – right outside my door, and not so much – frozen shrimp. – I opted for a white wine from Trentino made using a traditional grape and in a simple style – Pinot Grigio. I chose one from Trentino because I on my way to the region.

This one comes from Mezzacorona which grows the grape in the Adige Valley (Valdadige). The grapes have brief skin contact with the wine which adds texture and structure to this otherwise crisp. nicely mineral summer sipper. It has delicate floral and white fruit aromas on the nose and palate and finishes with a hint of bitter almond, as so many Italian whites do. It paired well with the Shrimp which turned out to have more garlic than I had planned. The acidity and the freshness of the wine that comes from this region at the foot of the dolomites was able to offset the garlic and the herbal notes in the sauce matched those in the wine.

Mezzacorona is a large cooperative winery that has been in operation since 1904. The winery sits at the foot of the Dolomites. Mezzacorona. Mezzacorona is the largest Italian estate producer of both Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. I am a proponent of always trying wines from Italian cooperatives although many people overlook them. Italian coops account for around 55% of Italian wineries and offer thousands of families a sustainable way to sell their grapes, a force to be reckoned with. I did a project years ago for a winery owned by Mezzacorona and was impressed with their managed and attention to detail in their wines despite the size.

Other writers in the group joined in with these posts:

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “PBJ and Gewurtz? Say What?!!”

Cam of Culinary Cam shares “Pecorino Times Three: Two Cheeses and a Wine with a Lamb Burger”

Andrea of The Quirky Cork shares “Assyrtiko, Keftedes, and Salt”

David of Cooking Chat Shares “Grilled Filet Mignon with Mushrooms and White Wine”

Jane of Always Ravenous shares, “Lamb Curry paired with Viognier”

Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator shares“Yes, Sparkling Whites from Mendo’s Scharffenberger and Marche’s Mai Sentito Pair with Pizza!“

Robin (that’s me) of Crushed Grape Chronicles shares, “Sauvignon Blanc with Lamb and Cocoa?”

And Susannah with Avvinare shares “Pinot Grigio from Valadige and Shrimp with Green Sauce”