Marjan Simçic Ribolla, Grska Brda, Slovenia 2014 (£13.75, Slurp) I’d happily survive on a diet of broad beans. The cooking needn’t be complicated: they can simply be blanched with enough butter, salt and pepper to bring out the earthy sweetness and subtle shading of bitterness. As Joseph Trivelli shows, however, the broad is one versatile bean, so I’ve chosen wines to match the surrounding ingredients as well as the beans themselves. For the salad with new potatoes and dandelions, Slovenian winemaker Marjan Simçic’s take on the local ribolla has sufficient body and lemony zip to cope with the powerful combination of mustard, capers, gherkin and anchovies, a hint of bitterness to match the dandelion and a mineral quality that echoes the beans.
Albourne Estate Bacchus, Sussex, England 2014 (£12.95, Albourne Estate) In Britain, the first crops of broad beans are as much a sign of spring as asparagus, and when served on their own both vegetables work beautifully with a dry white wine that is also renowned for its spring-like verdancy: sauvignon blanc. Touraine in the heart of the Loire Valley is a particularly good value source of the variety’s nettley, grassy freshness, with both Aldi’s Exquisite Collection Touraine 2014 (£5.29) and Asda’s Wine Atlas Touraine 2014 (£5.97) working neatly in tandem with the mint and parsley in Joseph’s dried bean recipe. For the full English spring experience, however, I’d be drawn to Albourne Estate’s racy, vibrant, gooseberry-scented version of England’s answer to sauvignon, the bacchus grape.
Cantine Paolini Nerello Mascalese, IGT Terre Siciliane, Italy 2014 (£7.65, Bottle Apostle) For the remaining two recipes, I’d be tempted to go for red wines. Light and juicy Italians, such as Cantine Paolini’s red berry Sicilian or the vivid black cherry of Asda’s Wine Atlas Marzemino from Trentino (£5.97). Both have that typically Italianate sweet-sour character which will work so well with the tomato base of Joseph’s zuppa di frascarelli e fave. For the lamb I’d be looking for something with a little more grip for the meat, and a little of that fennel, chilli and herb spiciness. It’s a combination that the Languedoc does very well, not least in the succulent syrah-carignan combo of Château Rouquette-Sur-Mer La Clape Rouge 2013 (£9.95, The Wine Society).
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