June marks the beginning of the season for many delicious summer vegetables but it is the pea crop that is in its prime this month.

We celebrate this harvest with a couple of classic recipes and wine pairings from Northern Italy and France. 

Risi-e-bisi.. obviously chosen for its excellent name, is a dish related to risotto and champions the pea! From the Veneto, North East Italy, it pairs wonderfully with the most popular wine from the region, Prosecco!

You can click here for a recipe Risi-e-bisi 

Bosco di Gica, Adami £20.99

We love the Bosco di Gica from Adami. A producer at the forefront of prosecco production, making superior quality wines, complex enough for food matching and any special occasion. The Glera 95%, Chardonnay 5% has scents of yellow apple and peach, wisteria and acacia blossom. Creamy mousse, taut acidity and a lingering dry finish. 

Durello Palladiano £9.99

If you are on a budget - and let’s face it, most of us are these days - this is a cheerful alternative. The Palladiano Sparkling wine, again from the Veneto is made with the lesser known Durello grape. It is fresh and zippy on the palate with crisp green apple and lightly honeyed characters and certainly won’t disappoint, for the money.

For non-sparkling Veneto wines we recommend these old favourites:

Pieropan Soave Classico £16.99

A perfectly balanced organic white wine from a top producer. Zesty lemon peel, white flowers, peaches and almond notes. Ripe and rounded fruit with a clean, pure citrus finish that just goes on and on. 

Valpolicella, Ca Fiui Corte Sant Alda £19.50

A light Valpolicella from Corte Sant Alda. This is a blend of the organic grapes, Corvina Grossa, Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara made with a bio-dynamic approach. Fresh red fruit, soft on the palate with a long and complex finish. Not your heavy Ripasso or Amarone style Valpol!

Over to France... 

Petis Pois a la Francais

Click here for this classic French dish Petit Pois a la Francais

With lovely fresh peas, salty pork and tangy, sweet onions this dish needs an uplifting, bright white and of course, it has to be French! 

We all know that white wine drinkers divide into two flavour camps, those who reach for a classic Chardonnay or those who prefer a racy Sauvignon Blanc - We hope this is not actually true and that those days are behind us but… if you are stuck in one of these flavour camps, we urge you to try the other. Here are a couple of shop faithfuls which we hope will convert you, one way or the other! 

Chablis Fournillon £17.50

Peu Pres Sauvignon Blanc £12.75

Crémant de Loire Brut Nature Bois Brincon 2018 £22.50

And not to be upstaged by posh prosecco, we had to highlight this wonderful, traditional method Crement de Loire from Anjou.

Made with80% Chenin and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine spends up to two years on the lees.

It is fermented in old wood and bottled just before the next harvest. It's a very elegant cremant with zingy effervescence, juicy fruit.