A Delightful Pairing

Taken from the Galatoire’s cookbook, this easy shrimp dish makes a perfect summer meal and a delightful pairing with almost any dry white wine. I made a few substitutions* and cooked with and drank a fantastic Gruner Veltliner made by Weingut Brundlmayer.

Galatoire’s Shrimp au Vin

• 3 sticks plus 2 T. salted butter
• 1/2 c. chopped scallions
• 2 c. sliced mushrooms
• 4 dozen shrimp, peeled (and deveined)
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 2 c. steamed rice
• 1/4 c. parsley for garnish

Melt 2 T. of the butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the scallions and mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the shrimp, garlic, and cayenne and saute for 3-4 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink and begin to stick to the pan. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Cook the mixture for 5-7 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly until all of the butter is incorporated into the sauce. Serve with rice and garnish with parsley.

*It wasn’t as much because I like to add my own ‘flair’ while cooking, but because I simply didn’t want to use 3 sticks of butter and didn’t have any mushrooms, that I decided to make a few substitutions. So, 2 sticks plus 2 T. of unsalted butter- I prefer to add salt to taste- 1 c. white wine, no mushrooms, 1 1/2 lb. shrimp, pasta instead of rice (with ‘Bologna’ as a last name, you can imagine that a lot of pasta gets consumed at our house!), and the addition of Parmesan cheese as a garnish, made a perfectly delectable dish.

The wine, 2007 Weingut Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner ‘Alte Reben’ Kamptal Reserve imported by Terry Theise, made a beautiful pairing with the spicy, saucy shrimp. The nose displayed aromatic orchard fruit of pear and golden delicious apples, with underlying floral notes. On the entry, mineral and wet slate qualities combined with bracing acidity that was offset by a textured mouthfeel and more orchard fruit flavors, followed by a lingering, savory finish. The wine’s acid cut through the rich flavors of the dish, almost like the addition of lemon juice, while it’s lanolin viscosity coated and cooled my hot tongue. I usually would not recommend cooking with a ‘nice’ wine, however, in a dish such as this one where wine is a main ingredient integral to the finished product, it made since to splurge and use something with a bit more polish and complexity; but there are numerous wines that would work with this dish such as dry Riesling, Pinot Gris, Viognier or Chardonnay- Sauvignon Blanc would probably be fine too, but one with gentle acidity without substantial mouth-puckering ‘grapefruit’ flavors, such as one from the Loire Valley or Washington State, would likely make a better pairing.

Here’s the winemaker’s note for the most recent release of the Gruner Veltliner, 2011: “Flowers & fresh (exotic) fruit (citrus and pineapple); apples and pears some peppery spice & just a hint of toasty & nutty aromas, on the palate dry following through with mouthwatering fruit also grapefruit, pineapple, melon, lots of minerals and some peppery spice, concentrated, with a good grip, and harmonically integrating acidity, a quite subtle wine well balanced showing typical minerals and spice in the long after taste.”