Cracked Crab, Cheesy Ravioli, and Chablis #Winophiles

This month Liz of What's in the Bottle? is hosting the French Winophiles as we explore Chablis. You can read her invitation here.

On Saturday, April 20, we are convening on Twitter at 10 a.m. CST for a Chablis chat. If you like Chardonnay, ahem, Chablis, join in! Just use #winophiles and you’ll find us. We’ve got a fantastic group of bloggers posting about Chablis. We’ll talk about the region, the wines, food pairings and travel! 

The Chablis Line-Up

• Cam at Culinary Adventures with Camilla brings us Cracked Crab, Cheesy Ravioli, and Chablis.
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles writes about Mont De Milieu Premier Cru Chablis From Simonnet-Febvre And Pôchouse .
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares Chablis is … Chardonnay? Comparing 2 from France, 1from SoCal Paired with Seafood Lasagna.
• Liz at What’s in That Bottle shares Chablis: the Secret Chardonnay.
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen writes about Top Chablis Pairings with Japanese Food.
• Jennifer at Beyond the Cork Screw has French Companions: Chablis and Fromage Pavé.
• Payal at Keep the Peas writes about Chablis: A Tale of Two Soils.
• Jane at Always Ravenous is Pairing Chablis with Marinated Shrimp Salad.
• Jeff at FoodWineClick! shares All the Best Food Pairings with Clos Beru Chablis.
• Jill at L’Occasion writes about Metal Giants: Windfarms and the Chablis Landscape.
• Susannah at Avvinare writes Celebrating France with Chablis and Toasting Notre Dame.
• David at Cooking Chat writes about Sipping Chablis with Easter Dinner or Your Next Seafood Meal.
• Pinny at Chinese Food & Wine Pairings writes about A Delicate Pair: Jean ClaudeCourtault Chablis and Sichuan Peppercorn-Cured Salmon.
• Nicole at Somm’s Table writes about Domaine Savary Chablis Vieilles Vignes with Scallops and Brussels SproutsTwo Ways.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm brings us Chardonnay? White Burgundy? Chablis!

Chablis

from carlorossi.com

I'll be honest: When I saw Liz's topic for the month. I pictured the bottle above. When I was a kid - probably 6 to 9 years old -  my dad was teaching ROTC to students at San Francisco State and Sacramento State. These were young cadets, mostly in their early 20s and mostly single. So, my parents would host spaghetti dinners once a month and invite the students to our house for dinner. I just remember going to the commissary with my dad to get jugs of Carlo Rossi Chablis for those who liked white wine and, maybe the Paisano, for the people who liked red. I just remember the shape of the bottle and the word: Chablis.

I knew nothing beyond that. So, I started reading. Chablis is a region in the northernmost district of the Burgundy region in France. The Chablis Appellation d'origine contrôlée is required to use solely Chardonnay grapes. And the cool climate of the region produces wines with more acidity than Chardonnays hailing from warmer climates. These wines are often described as steely or "goût de pierre à fusil" meaning 'tasting of gunflint.' I was intrigued.

In My Glass

I was able to track down a La Chablisienne Chablis La Pierrelee 2015. From the website, I see that the wine is made from Chardonnay grapes grown on both sides of the River Serein in clay and limestone soils. It's also called 'typical' of the appellation.

On the nose, I got sweet hints of green apple while on the tongue, more of that minerality and flintiness came through. I thought this would be an easy match for a buttery, cheesy crab dinner.

On My Plate

It just so happened that on the day I wanted to open the Chablis, our CSF (community-supported fishery) had a special sale on fresh crab and crab ravioli. Ummm...yes, please! I ordered right away and picked it up on the way home. So dinner was take-out and I have no recipe to share. Sorry.

I will just say that all of the crab paired beautifully with the wine. I will definitely be grabbing another bottle or two for when I can get my hands on some more fresh crab. Cheers!