Peirano Estate Chardonnay and shrimp scampi

Last night Ms. G came over and we had shrimp scampi, blackened scallops, and a vegetable medley of asparagus, squash and zucchini. I recently discovered that shrimp scampi is really, really, ridiculously easy to make and wondered what the heck took me so long to make it. I’ll post the recipe tomorrow. Anyway, since scampi sauce is basically white wine and butter, what better wine to use and drink with it than a chardonnay? Often I’ll use a cheaper (but still good) chardonnay to cook with and have a slightly nicer with it and end up drinking the rest of the “cooking bottle” later. The wine I use is still drinkable, I just don’t like to use great wine to cook with, so I use something I would rate maybe an 87-88 to cook with and drink a 90+ wine with it.

I used the Simi Chardonnay for the scampi sauce, which I picked up at Sams Club for $12. It was fine but when we opened Ms. G’s Peirano Estate Chardonnay…..there was a noticeable difference. It had a bit more complexity and a bit more buttery creaminess. Now, I’ve had the Peirano Estate Chardonnay in December of 2007 and I didn’t care for it. Clearly this was a different vintage and it was way better. It was just the right amount of buttery and a bit oakey, but not overpowering since they use French oak. I’m glad I got a chance to try it again and it reminded me not to write off wineries - everybody can have a bad year.

And, of course, it went perfect with the scampi and scallops. Really what could go better with a buttery wine sauce than a buttery wine?? Yum!