The wines to match

TIMORASSO

Artichokes are notoriously difficult to pair as they have high levels of cynarin, which serves to make everything you taste seem sweet. Cynarin will enhance any natural sweetness in a wine, making it taste not only sweeter but also less fresh. Thanks to its richness and intrinsic freshness, Timorasso is one of the best pairings for artichoke. One of the great white grapes of Piedmont, it has a distinctive dryness that almost edges to bitterness, which is an ideal counter to the cynarin.

Ezio Poggio, Caespes Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi Terre di Libarna, Piedmont, Italy 2019

92 £22 The Sourcing Table

Timorasso, an ancient white variety native to the Piedmontese hills, is expressed in a pure, unoaked form here, free to display its lemon rind, pear, dried herb and mint characters with great finesse. Pithy, chalky texture and a stony, mineral edge, with bitter green olive and fennel on the finish. Beautifully briny, and toothsome.

2022-2029 13%

Drink ALTO ADIGE PINOT NERO

For those who prefer a red, the Pinot Neros of the mountainous region of Alto Adige in northern Italy also have a great natural freshness.

Cavit, Brusafer Pinot Nero Superiore, Trentino, Italy 2018

Try:

Alc

90 £19.95 Vin Cognito

A lovely food wine, with sweet wild strawberry and red cherry fruitiness, a sprinkling of herbs, refreshing acidity, and spice from 20 months in French oak. Translucent in the glass, and modest in alcohol, this is nevertheless no wallflower. Pinot Noir that brings to mind mountain breezes.

2022-2025 13%

Alc Drink

D