It’s ladies night! Pairing dumplings from a female owned San Francisco restaurant with a bubbly from a female run winery from Spain. Does it truly get any better?
My new favorite gal to hang with on Friday night is named Anne Marie. She’s a biodynamic Cava from Castell d’Age and goes SO well with dumplings!
Dumplings with a twist
Sandy Zheng and Julia Zhu started United Dumplings in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco to bring Beijing style dumplings to the city with a twist.
As a resident dumpling eater, you can truly never have enough dumpling restaurants in the any area. They’re like burger joints. The more the merrier!
For this evening’s DoorDash dinner, I ordered the following tasties with a twist.
Dumpling Menu
Scallop and Chicken Bao – ground chicken, spring onion, bay scallop, salmon roe
Jumbo Shrimp Turkey Dumplings – jumbo tiger shrimp, organic ground turkey, green onion, ginger
Vegetarian Dumplings – baby bai choy, mushrooms, tofu
Shrimp Toast – crunchy Chinese doughnut with baby shrimp and a creamy mayo sauce
Chili oil and soy sauce/vinegar dipping sauce on the side
Castell d’Age “Anne Marie” Brut Nature Reserva Cava NV
40% Xarel-lo, 40% Macabeu and 20% Parellada; Methode Champenoise; 12% ABV; $20
Led by winemaker Olga Betrian, Castell D’Age has a three generation history with women at the helm. While the winery has long been a pioneer of organic farming in the Penedes region of Spain, they took the further step of obtaining Demeter biodynamic certification.
I loved this wine. I want to go to bed with this wine. I want to have babies with this wine.
Visual: straw, hay, slightly taupe; the little beads effervescently dance in the glass like the flamenco!
Aroma: toast, pear, whiff of honey
Taste: prickly pear, almond, slightly bitter at the back of the throat but overall goes down so easy. Has the delicate fizz of champagne but the flavors are more muted and amenable to a wide variety of foods.
Pairing: Cleanses away all the saltiness in the vegetable dumpling. Brought forth lovely tart apple notes. Very nice palate refresher!
With the crunchy, fried shrimp toast, this wine seemed to be even more effervescent. Those little bubbles really do fit so nicely with fried food.
With the turkey and shrimp dumpling, I got a little more fresh fruit from the wine. But the real winner was with the scallop and chicken bao. The little salty salmon roe just hit it out of the ballpark with the cava making all the subtle flavors just so much stronger and enjoyable.
Takeaway
Pass the salt! This cava rocked with the saltiness of the vegetable dumplings and salmon roe. I would try it again with sushi, soy sauce, prosciutto, cured meats, and salted duck.
Regardless of the food, I love the history of this female winery and commitment to sustainability. I will be looking for more of this cava and more wines from Castell d’Age.
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