Recipes that Pair Well with Friends: Amici Cellars Celebrates Spring Flavor

CALISTOGA, Calif., April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As spring arrives across the country, winter-weary wine lovers awaken with a craving for fresh, seasonal flavors and good friends to share them with.  With farmers markets stirring to life, Amici Cellars-a winery that is, at heart, a story of friendship-created a menu of spring recipes designed for sharing and pairing. So grab your basket and your best friends and toast the arrival of spring!

Amici Cellars' owners are all great friends with an equally great enthusiasm for making and enjoying great wines-the kind of wines that they like to drink themselves and are proud to share with friends old and new. They invited Napa Valley Chef John Adamson to create a menu that would celebrate the season and be fun to prepare together. Many hands make light work! You can each tackle a recipe, or divide the tasks and create the dishes together. Either way, it's an enjoyable, shared experience.

So pour yourself and your friends a glass of Amici Sauvignon Blanc and start cracking-it's Dungeness crab season! Amici's recipe for Dungeness Crab Cake with Lemon Aioli and Spring Greens will have your mouth watering.  Serve it with a garnish of micro-greens, simply dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. The wine's lively citrus and tropical fruit flavors and crisp minerality bring out the best in the sweet, succulent crab.

Next up: markets are brimming with spring peas and farm-fresh butter. Put them together in Seared Gnocchi with English Peas, Pancetta and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Amici Pinot Noir shows plum and black cherry flavors with a hint of cedar-a perfect pairing with the gnocchi's earthy notes of browned butter and caramelized pancetta. For a quick and easy dish, you can use any good quality prepared gnocchi, found at many gourmet food markets. For true foodies, break out your potato ricer and try Chef Adamson's homemade Gnocchi recipe.

For the main course, it's time to feel like a spring chicken again!  Amici's Grilled Herb-Marinated Chicken with Farmers Market Vegetables lets you savor spring flavor. Fill your basket with fresh herbs and vegetables—parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, asparagus, spring onions and more-and a plump organic chicken.  Marinated overnight then grilled over mesquite charcoal, the juicy, smoky chicken and vegetables are the perfect foil for Amici Cabernet Sauvignon's wild berry aromas, supple tannins and dark fruit, toffee and mocha flavors.

Download all three recipes and learn more about Amici Cellars wines at www.amicicellars.com/recipes.  Happy Spring!

MEDIA CONTACT: Mia Malm
[email protected]
(707) 266-1320
www.amicicellars.com
facebook.com/AmiciCellars

SOURCE Amici Cellars