Artichokes are notoriously difficult to pair with wine. Why is that?
Well, they have both tannin and a chemical called cynarin which makes everything that you eat afterwards taste sweet.
The cynarin inhibits your sweet detecting tastebuds and when you take another bite of food, they return to normal, so everything tastes sweet.
So, should you serve a dry wine or an off dry wine with artichokes?
That’s a good question. Recently Nigel made an artichoke and lemon salad with a garlic, thyme and honey dressing. We served a dry Vouvray from Bernard Fouquet alongside which was delicious although we commented that maybe a wine with a teensy bit of residual sugar would have been a better match.
The wine tasted pretty dry after a bite of artichoke. Arguably it will makes dry wines taste slightly less dry but then again, why not pair it with a wine with a tiny bit of sweetness so the impression of sweetness lingers gently in the mouth.
Certainly I would avoid anything with too much characater so avoid really oaky whites and certainly no tannic reds. A Sauvignon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay, an Italian white like Soave or a Crémant de Loire for dishes that are light and fresh and maybe something slightly less dry if the dish is rich and creamy.
Obviously the flavours of the dish will affect your wine choice. Braised artichokes with smokey bacon and garlic would be fine with a light non tannic red.
