Tuesday Night Out

When you are bored and trying to diet on a Tuesday night, and your partner suggests going to the gourmet restaurant up the street, the answer of course is let’s do it! We had been driving past this lovely place on the top of the Janiculum hill ever since we moved into our new neighborhood in February. The Antico Arco has an extremely tempting tasting menu, but since it was Tuesday and  I was supposed to eat light after all, we opted to try out just a few dishes and return another day for the menu. Now, when you order crispy buffalo mozzarella, salted tuna roe, and tomato confit to start, followed by homemade tortelli pasta with guinea fowl ragu and black truffle and cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) pasta with crispy zucchini blossoms, what wine could possibly complement this diversity of flavor?  Luckily Antico Arco has an incredible wine list (and excellent service as well) so there was plenty to choose from. I immediately thought of Riesling, one of the world’s most food-friendly wines. Its crisp acidity and bright fruit flavors make it a perfect match with any number of dishes. I chose the Geheimrat “J” Riesling Spätlese trocken 2005, a dry wine from the Rheingau, which is actually a blend of the estate’s best first-growth vineyards. It had lovely aromas of grapefruit and ripe pears, a hint of flowers and a whiff of the petrol aroma that Rieslings sometimes take on with age. It had a pleasing, bright acidity and managed to stand up to all those strong flavors. It improved every dish that we tried. I can’t wait to go back for the tasting menu!