I am lucky to live just a five minute walk from Green and Blue in East Dulwich. The place is a real blessing as the staff are extremely knowledgeable and I am just, well, not. Although I’m a big wine drinker I have a huge amount to learn. So, I wander in, tell them what I’m cooking and they sort me out with a suitable bottle.

They are currently running a special ‘Awesome Alsace Food and Wine’ menu, which includes four food and wine pairings. Menus like this are perfect for me because I get to rack up some more notches on the tasting/matching post while also comparing different wines from the same region. I was excited then to join a group of other bloggers for a preview.

The owner of Green and Blue, Kate Thal gave us a bit of an intro about Alsacien wines and I learned that they are generally aromatic and generally white, as the region doesn’t have the heat to fully ripen red grapes. It does, however, have a long growing season, which apparently allows the grapes to mature and ripen slowly (a good thing).

Our first match was a 2007 Dirler Caude Muscat served with roasted artichoke hearts, which are apparently famous for being impossible to match with any wine. Although I didn’t know this (surprise surprise), I was obviously very intrigued by the pairing which, in my humble opinion, is one that works really well. Although there was the briefest moment when an unpleasant metallic taste started to materialise, it was almost instantly washed away by the truly mouthwatering experience of the match. It was like a whooshing sensation in the mouth – really fresh.

Next we tried crab (equal portions of white and brown meat – my personal preference – hooray!), served with bread and aioli and a glass of 2007 Leon Boesch Riesling. The wine smacked me round the nose with the full on honk of honey and then did the same again to my tastebuds. It was also packing some citrus and was high in acidity, making it a great match with the crab. I do remember some discussion as to whether the aoili might take a bit of lemon but Kate explained this would be difficult to balance due to the high acidity of the wine. In the end it was decided that lemon zest might be worth tentatively experimenting with.

I was very excited about the Gewürztraminer (2007 Leon Boesch) which came next because it is my favourite grape (I couldn’t care less that it is apparently uncool). I remember the exact moment I first tasted a Gewürztraminer, many years ago now -  my Dad handed me a chilled glass on a hot summers day and stood back to watch the expression of surprise and delight on my face. I am actually getting a bit emotional thinking about it now and I’m not even joking. He bought me a mixed case for my birthday this year and I had to leave it at work so I wouldn’t drink them all at once. It’s safe to say me and the Gewürz are best mates.

With this we enjoyed a wedge of Popina aubergine tart – sweet with tomatoes and peppers and caramelised onions. The richness of the wine and aubergine worked really well together and, as ever I loved the Gewürztraminer, floral nose and then buttery with apricots and a hint of white pepper finish. It was also unsurprisingly my favourite match of the evening.

Finally, we tried a 2006 Frederic Mochel Pinot Gris with a dish of smoked chicken and red peppers. I was amazed to learn that the grape used to make Pinot Gris is the same used to make the most boring wine on the planet – Pinot Grigio. This wine could not be more different – bone dry, with enough acidity to cut through the smokyness of the chicken and a kind of fruity sweetness that worked really well with the peppers. It was a really interesting match and a strong contender for my favourite.

At £25 for four tapas sized plates of food and four 100ml glasses of wine (that’s over half a bottle in total), I think the Alsace menu at Green and Blue is excellent value. I was totally stuffed at the end and I really felt I’d learned something. This is in no small part down to Kate Thal, who is brilliant at what she does, not coming across as either patronising or going over people’s heads. She has an ease about her which comes from complete confidence in her knowledge, the quality of the wines and doing her job for the right reasons.

One of these reasons, she tells us, is purely to celebrate the pleasure of consumption – the joy of losing yourself in the moment of sensory experience that is eating and drinking. I don’t know about you, but I can certainly raise a glass or two to that.

Green and Blue Wines
38 Lordship Lane
East Dulwich
London
SE22 8HJ
0208 693 9260
www.greenandbluewines.com

Green and Blue are also offering 15% off all Alsacien wines until the end of August.