Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio and Baked Scallops with Shrimp by Philip S. Kampe

With the pandemic forcing us inside, there is little doubt that our cooking skills and wine drinking abilities should reach new heights. I’m from New Orleans, needless to say, my cooking skills have been useful for years. I used to help my mother cook, at age five, for my parents bi-monthly social gatherings at our house. My dad loved French wine- Burgundy’s  and Bordeaux’s. He was at the cusp of the wine world-way before it was fashionable.

Cooking secured my life, as my Italian (Capri), soon to be mother-in-law, had me cook for her before saying that I could marry her daughter. Fortunately, I passed the test (I cooked Italian) and the rest is history.

During the pandemic, at least in our household, meals are very important.

Matching wines with food is essential.

The best way to do that is to choose the wine first, and then build a meal around the wine. That is what was done in this case.

With warm weather lingering, it was apparent a white wine was the way to go. And Italy’s most famous white wine export is Pinot Grigio. With a search online, I found an interesting Pinot Grigio from western Sicily- a wine that can handle shellfish, in this case, sea scallops and shrimp.

New to me, Barone Montalto makes a Pinot Grigio that is exactly what a Pinot Grigio profile entails: a wine that is refreshing, crisp, full of fruit (apple, pear, dried flowers) and is clean. Sampling the 2019 wine, while cooking, I found good minerality, with additional flavors of lemon, grapefruit, papaya and peach. There were undertones of sage, lemon grass, pineapple and hay. A heavy dose of green apple and lime surrounded my palate, as well.

Using this wine in cooking the scallops and shrimp added the extra special necessary dimension.

The Wine: 2019 Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio from Sicily. 12% alcohol

The dish: Baked Sea Scallops and Shrimp

Ingredients:
8 xl Sea Scallops
12 16-20size Shrimp
1/4 cup Pinot Grigio
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 stick of melted butter
Quarter squeezed lemon
olive oil
kosher salt
ground pepper
butter
parsley

Procedure:
Pre-heat oven to 400F
Cook 16-20 minutes
Use a baking dish or divide into two ceramic bowls
Put a drop of olive oil in each dish, pat dry the scallops and peeled .shrimp. Put salt and pepper on both sides of the scallops and shrimp. Arrange them in the baking dish. In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients. Spoon them on top of the scallops and shrimp. On top of the scallops and shrimp, pour the melted butter, wine and lemon juice. Put in the oven on a middle shelf and cook til brown (16-29 minutes). Take out of the oven and serve immediately.

Remember to sample the 2019 Barone Montalto wine while cooking the dish. That is part of the fun during preparation.

I’m happy to say that this Pinot Grigio from Sicily held up to the dish. It is a wine, I will order again.

Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com