I've always been a big fan of Prosecco, the charming and thirst-slaking Italian sparkling wine, for festive and casual bubbles imbibing. At a recent lunch at Serafina, I was reminded what a great food wine it is as well. Prosecco belongs on your lunch (and dinner) table! The Proseccos we enjoyed were from Valdo, a shop favorite. Their Brut DOC is a machine here at Esquin. The staff loves it and so do our customers. They also make an excellent Rosé Brut, though don't call it Prosecco! The Italian wine laws in the region have recently changed to protect the good name of true Prosecco; it has to be made from the Glera grape and in a specific geographic area. The Rosé is made from the Nerello Mascalese grape (surely you've heard of it) and is a joy to drink. Ultra-fun! It was perfection with the Calamari, especially with the touch of chile flake giving a little heat. (The Brut DOC was no slouch with it, either. I was alternating back and forth between the two.) Most unexpectedly, the Prosecco even worked with a sweet pea and ricotta ravioli (with taragon butter and sauteed pea vines, to boot) The sweetness of the peas was a nice match with the DOC Brut, which has a whisper of sweetness. But my favorite pairing was with the tuna at the top of the post. I devoured it with two special Proseccos from Valdo: The "Cuvee di Boj" and "Cuvee Fondatore". Both have DOCG status, which denotes the highest quality in the Prosecco region. These Proseccos were drier, more elegant, and most harmonious with the tuna and its melted leeks, fingerling potatoes, and frisee salad with a basil-grapefruit vinaigrette. It was a wonderful lunch made even more wonderful by convivial dining companions and and special guest Dr. Pierluigi Bolla, the President of Valdo. Hard to think of a more personable and genuine ambassador for the region and the wines. Bravo! Full disclosure: I was a guest of the importer and distributor who provided the food and wine.

I was really excited to eat at the brick-and-mortar location of a favorite food truck around Seattle, Skillet, and had picked up a tip on twitter to try the fried chicken sandwich. And though I enjoyed a beer with my lunch, I've been thinking about what wine I would pair with it the next time I stop by or get one to take home. The fried chicken has some fennel seed in the crust and comes with a kale slaw and pickled jalapeño aioli on a potato roll. (Note: a salad was offered in place of the fries. Suggestion denied.) Fried food has a real affinity for bubbles, so that's the direction to go. I'm dreaming how they would refresh between each bite, and tame the slight heat from the jalapeño. Naturally I am recommending you have Champagne (especially a non-vintage with a lighter/crisper style), but if you are feeling less indulgent any high-quality Cremant, Cava, or Prosecco will do nicely. If you must drink a still wine, I think a Sancerre or racy Sauvignon Blanc, with some grassy, herbal tones would really work well with the fennel seed and kale. Any other suggestions? I'm willing to do as much research as necessary. Though I may have start thinking about the salad option more seriously. Belated thanks to Jane (@callingindead) for inspiring this post.

Sometimes you can learn a lot about a wine from a back label. Let's take the Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Crede for instance. This single-vineyard gem is not only thirst-slaking, palate-cleansing, and party-starting, but the good folks at Bisol are kind enough to let you know the vintage of the bottle in your hand. Even better, you can tell when it was bottled by deciphering the lot number. No Rosetta stone necessary: L10082 means it was bottled on the 82nd day of 2010. With most Proseccos, and sparkling wines in general, there is no way to discern freshness based on what you see on the label. (And here is where I must say that we sell oceans of bubbles at Esquin; nothing that we love sits around for any extended period of time.) This is a practice I would like to see more sparkling wine producers undertake, beyond their vintage-dated offerings. For non-vintage wines that do not go through a secondary fermentation in the bottle, why not stamp the date it was bottled on the back label? If it's good enough for Budweiser, it's good enough for all your quality sparkling wines that peak in their youth. Demand freshness! Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Crede: $20