Unexpectedly Great Food and Wine Pairings: Champagne and...Salad?!?

Sunday was an adventure. I went to a farmers market looking for inspiration and found them in the form of sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes). They look like ginger, very knobby and gnarled. I also picked up some beautiful spinach; it's amazing how spinach that doesn't come out of a bag actually has distinct flavor and pleasing texture. Radishes were on hand at home. I peeled the sunchokes and thinly sliced them with my mandoline. The radishes got a similar treatment. Since the sunchokes oxidize and brown at an alarming rate, I doused them (and the radishes) with a bit of white wine vinegar and blood orange juice. Spices? Yes, please. A dash of cumin, thyme, and onion powder made an appearance. Separately I whisked up a dijon mustard vinaigrette. I tossed the spinach in the dijon dressing and drained the sunchoke/radish mixture and combined. Delicious! Sunchokes are definitely artichoke-y but (raw) have a great crunch to them. And a bit of earthiness. Maybe I would say they are a cross between an artichoke, jicama, and a mushroom...in the best way possible.

And, once again, Champagne proves to be on of the most versatile and food-friendly wines on the planet. The Taittinger has a bit of richness that really compliments the earthy notes of the sunchokes, and its cleansing bubbles and refreshing acidity are practically a symphonic match with the peppery radish and vinegar elements in the vegetable marinade and vinaigrette.

Champagne: is there anything it can't do?

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He moved to Seattle from Chicago, where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries, five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine. He'd rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.