At the Market | Spring Wines for a Green Table
April 10, 2026
During my time as a sommelier at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the arrival of spring meant one thing: the whole menu went green: ramps, fava, peas, garleek, asparagus. And that's just the beginning. Because there's no menu at Stone Barns, wine pairings changed day by day. We relied heavily on the tried and true classics: high acid, flinty, fresh white wines.
Here's why they work: spring vegetables are notoriously difficult to pair. Asparagus, artichokes, and wild alliums have bitter, vegetal compounds that make most wines taste thin or metallic. However, the inherent green, herbal, mineral drive and refreshing acidity of wines like Erbaluce, Grüner Veltliner, and Sauvignon Blanc are complimentary to these seemingly difficult to pair flavors. Grüner Veltliner (or as the Austrians say, Spargelwein, translated Asparagus wine) is one of the rare still wines that actually holds its own against asparagus and other challenging vegetable fare. The grape's white pepper spine and light phenolic backbone meet bitter greens on their own terms rather than flinching. Meanwhile, Sauvignon Blanc brings an herbaceous quality that echoes whatever's on the plate — if there's parsley, chive, tarragon, or pea shoots in the dish, it finds a mirror in the glass.
So, as you head to the market for those first bundles of green, don't forget to grab a bottle that can actually stand up to them.
As always, we are here for questions @ shop@mwcwine.com. We hope to see you tomorrow for our Saturday Tasting Series!
Happy Spring.
ITALY
Azienda Agricola Monte Maletto
2023 Erbaluce di Caluso, Vecchie Tonneaux - 12+ btls @ $42/btl
Erbaluce is Piedmont's great mountain white. High-acid, mineral, with citrus and green orchard fruit built into its bones. The Vecchie Tonneaux adds a layer of texture without losing that electric, alpine nerve.
Pair with: a spring vegetable risotto with peas, green garlic, and lemon zest.
Pair with: a spring vegetable risotto with peas, green garlic, and lemon zest.
Ferrando
2024 Erbaluce di Caluso - 12+ btls @ $26.99/btl ($24.29 with case discount)
Ferrando is the benchmark for Erbaluce, and this bottling is pure, focused, unadorned. Think white flowers, citrus pith, a stony finish. A spring must for me.
Pair with: shaved asparagus, lemon vinaigrette, a soft-boiled egg. The wine does the same work the dressing does.
Ermes Pavese
2024 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle - 12+ btls @ $42.99/btl ($38.69 with case discount)
Pair with: shaved asparagus, lemon vinaigrette, a soft-boiled egg. The wine does the same work the dressing does.
Ermes Pavese
2024 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle - 12+ btls @ $42.99/btl ($38.69 with case discount)
A wine from the highest elevation vineyard in continental Europe, at nearly 4,000 feet at the foot of Mont Blanc from ungrafted Prié Blanc vines. One of the most extreme growing environments on the continent, and you taste it. Crystalline, nervy, with mountain herbs and lemon pith.
Pair with: trout with capers and green herbs, or soft fresh cheese on rye with pea shoots.
Due del Monte
2022 Collio Sauvignon - 4 btls @ $40/btl ($36 with case discount)
This is Friulian Sauvignon at its most textured and savory. Much weightier than its Loire counterpart, but it shares that green, mineral spine. You need some butter with this wine.
Pair with: grilled green garlic bruschetta with anchovy butter, or a plate of spring vegetables in good olive oil and sea salt.
Pair with: trout with capers and green herbs, or soft fresh cheese on rye with pea shoots.
Due del Monte
2022 Collio Sauvignon - 4 btls @ $40/btl ($36 with case discount)
This is Friulian Sauvignon at its most textured and savory. Much weightier than its Loire counterpart, but it shares that green, mineral spine. You need some butter with this wine.
Pair with: grilled green garlic bruschetta with anchovy butter, or a plate of spring vegetables in good olive oil and sea salt.
AUSTRIA
Birgit Eichinger
2024 Kamptal DAC, Gruner Veltliner, Strass - 12+ btls @ $19/btl ($17.10 with case discount)
The everyday Grüner and one of the most dependable spring bottles in existence. Its peppery, green notes are a perfect complement to leek, asparagus, and herb-driven vegetable dishes — exactly the kind of thing that defeats many other wines.
Pair with: potato leek soup, or blanched asparagus drizzled with olive oil and Maldon salt.
Pair with: potato leek soup, or blanched asparagus drizzled with olive oil and Maldon salt.
Franz Hirtzberger
2023 Wachau, Spitzer Donaugarten Gruner Veltliner Steinfeder - 6 btls @ $31.99/btl ($28.79 with case discount)
Steinfeder is the Wachau's lightest designation, at 11.5% ABV, built to be drunk cold and young. All tension, no weight — from one of the Wachau's finest properties.
Pair with: pea shoots sautéed in brown butter with wild leeks and simply grilled river trout alongside — and yes, more asparagus.
Pair with: pea shoots sautéed in brown butter with wild leeks and simply grilled river trout alongside — and yes, more asparagus.
FRANCE
Claude Riffault
2023 Sancerre, Boucauds - 12+ btls @ $44.99/btl
Flint, smoke, citrus, gray salt and a precision that cuts clean. If I'm drinking Sancerre, Claude Riffault is high on my list.
Pair with: pan-fried chèvre on toast with pea shoots, a spring herb omelet with chives and tarragon, or the classic salade de chèvre chaud.
Flint, smoke, citrus, gray salt and a precision that cuts clean. If I'm drinking Sancerre, Claude Riffault is high on my list.
Pair with: pan-fried chèvre on toast with pea shoots, a spring herb omelet with chives and tarragon, or the classic salade de chèvre chaud.
SPAIN
Nanclares
2024 Rias Baixas, Dandelion Albarino - 10 btls @ $31.99/btl ($28.79 with case discount)
Briny, tense, and mouthwatering Albariño — ripe citrus, green apple, wild thyme, and that unmistakable sea-spray salinity. A grape that is cool enough, it has an entire weekend festival dedicated to it: The Festa do Albariño in Cambados. And if you are wondering if I have been, the answer is yes.
Pair with: oysters, grilled prawns, or a simple plate of salt cod with good olive oil.
USA
Division
2024 Sauvignon Blanc, La Frontiere - 12+ btls @ $28.99/btl ($26.09 with case discount)
Division plays the edge between Loire restraint and Oregon freshness beautifully.
Pair with: mustard green and herb frittata, or a simple goat cheese tart with wild leeks — the Loire's great regional pairing, transplanted to the American spring table.
Division plays the edge between Loire restraint and Oregon freshness beautifully.
Pair with: mustard green and herb frittata, or a simple goat cheese tart with wild leeks — the Loire's great regional pairing, transplanted to the American spring table.
