2019 Piero Brunet, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, Vallee d'Aoste, Italy + Sommelier Erica Archer’s Bangs Island Mussels with Chorizo and White Beans

March is one of the best months to enjoy Maine Mussles and they are one of the easiest things to have access to and cook at home. This is such a satisfying one-pot meal that my Mom is constantly requesting when she comes over for dinner. Mothers do know best.

First, let’s start with the wine, of course. The 2019 Piero Brunet, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle hails from the tiny, mountainous, and least populated region of Italy’s northwest corner, the Aosta Valley (abutting France and Switzerland) in the shadow of Mont Blanc. This wine is made from the local grape variety, Prié Blanc, that, “was brought to fame by Alexandre Bougeat, who, besides serving as parish priest of Morgex, began bottling wine in 1964. In 1985, Piero Brunet took over his family’s vineyards. Piero, his wife, and their two daughters now farm just under a hectare of high-altitude (1000-1200 meters), steeply-terraced, pergola-trained, ungrafted vines.” (Importer’s website).

In this steep and rugged environment, these grapes can only be hand-harvested. They are then gently pressed, fermented naturally from wild yeasts, and aged for 6 months in stainless steel, resulting in a very dry, crisp, clean, bright, and pristine Alpine wine.

It’s clear and bright, pale lemon-green with aromas and flavors of crunchy green apple, ripe peach, and pear, with citrus notes—lemon, orange peel, and lemongrass. It’s lively on the palate with high acid, light body, and a persistent stony-like mineral finish. Only 330 cases were made. We’ve been cellaring it for a few years to let it develop a bit more in the bottle. We’re releasing it to February Wine Club Explorer 6 Whites + Explorer 6 Mix wine club members.

Below, you’ll find Sommelier Erica Archer’s Bangs Island Mussels with Chorizo and White Beans the easy recipe for delicious Bangs Island Mussels. March is one of the best months for Maine Mussels! And it does not get any better than Bangs Island Mussels—sustainable, rope-grown mussels on the coast of Maine. And in this recipe, the spiciness of the chorizo and freshness of the herbs, and complimentary citrus tones, with the crisp acidity and light body of the wine are a perfect match! Yum!

I’ve used a lot of other local ingredients in this recipe which you can find at plenty of local markets around Southern Maine. We’ve found everything in Scarborough at Lois’ Natural Food Marketplace and Pine Tree Seafood).

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RECIPE

Serves 2 as a meal and 4 as an appetizer

Here’s what you need:

• 1 large wok or stockpot (I love to use a wok when cooking this dish because it provides for more surface and distributed steam to cook the mussels more evenly. But any large stockpot will do.)

• 1 wooden spoon or spatula to stir

• 1 large ladle

• Cutting board

• Chefs Knife

• Large bowl to serve and small bowls to discard shells

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP Canola oil

• 1 bag of fresh bought-that-day Bangs Island Mussels. Rinsed and scrubbed to remove any sand or debris and kept cold.

• 2 links of chorizo sausage cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

• 4 cloves of fresh chopped garlic

• 1 cup chopped, fresh tomatoes

• 1/2 cup chopped celery, celery leaves reserved

• 1/2 small white onion (not sweet onion)

• 1 cup of dry white wine (unoaked, dry, and crisp - not the Piero Brunet in this article as you’re going to want to drink that :-)

• 1/2 cup fresh Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, chopped

• 1 can of white beans (Great Northern, Cannellini, Butter Beans, etc) before rinsing, reserve 1/2 cup of the bean liquid.

• Salt to taste

• Crusty bread (optional)

Step 1

Add the canola oil to the wok or stockpot and on medium-plus heat. Add the chorizo and by distributing the slices around easily so all pieces are on the pan’s surface. Let the chorizo cook for two minutes.

Step 2

And the onion and celery to the chorizo. Reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture slowly brown, stirring occasionally. About 10 minutes. Turn the pieces over with the fork if they are getting too, browned. Reduce the heat if needed.

Step 3

Once the chorizo is browned add beans, garlic, and tomatoes. Stir and cook for two minutes.

Step 4

Add the wine and the bean liquid and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and bring to a boil again. Cover, stirring occasionally to make sure all mussels are cooking evenly and getting coated in the sauce. The mussels will be done when all shells are opened—usually 8-12 minutes for a full bag of mussels depending on your stove-top temperature.

Step 5

Add the chopped herbs and celery leaves to the pot just before removing from the heat and give it all a good stir before turning off the burner off. Ladel the cooked mussels and chorizo sauce into severing bowl(s). Finish with a pinch or two of Malden Salt. (Leave any unopened shells in the pot to let them cook a bit longer. Discard any mussels whose shells did not open fully after thoroughly cooking.)

Enjoy with the chilled 2019 Piero Brunet, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, Vallee d'Aoste, Italy and some crusty fresh baked bread.

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