I tasted a lot of wines yesterday. A LOT. Wednesdays tend to be 'tasting day' with suppliers anyway, but we also got to hang out with an old industry friend fresh in from Paris. That meant our little circle of wine geeks (what fabulous comrades!) all got together late-night over heaping plates of tasty salami from Belmont Butchery, exotic cheeses from RCC and ET, and a mouth-watering array of grilled veggies, sausages and other treats. Oh, and at least four cases of wine samples. In the mix there were some punishment wines, some whatever wines, some ridiculously compelling wines. Frankly I got my proverbial palate (and pride) *whupped* by all the blind tasting.

A few of the selections really stood out amidst all that 1am humiliation, and I decided to create a meal around one of them tonight. Apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. It was and is such an interesting wine, with a singular history and a timely dose of Catholic guilt. It's an all-natural, Trappist monastery wine produced in the Italian province of Lazio by Cistercian nuns, with a little help from a really famous, really passionate Italian wine maker. Say hello to Coenobium 2006 IGT (Lazio) Bianco: an organic blend of Verdicchio, Grechetto & Malvasia, with minimal intervention. It might be an obvious stretch but it reminds me of raw milk cheese--there is a vibrancy and almost spiciness to the palate, and the finish defies simplistic wrap-up. It changes every time I revisit it.

Tasting notes? OK...from my own notes as well as input from Jessi & Peter: sprite melon, lanolin, mint, sweet cream butter, white smoke, lemon creme, pea shoots, cane sugar, cheese rind, wasabi powder, brazil nuts, pine nuts, celery seed, balsam...all with a satisfying old-school acid-alcohol balance and ever-changing, evolving development in the glass one encounters so very rarely. This is some crazy wine! My vestigial Catholic gene tells me this is meditation wine, not to be mixed with earthly things like indie rock and 30-minute meals but, as usual, I don't listen.

So, what to serve with it? I had originally thought something rich with fresh herbal notes, maybe penne with Gorgonzola sauce and fresh peas. I added just-picked oregano from my mother's garden. No luck. The food and wine nodded at each other politely but declined to play together. In fact, the wine sat there like the hot, aloof boy at a party. You know: the handsome one wearing a Frank Zappa t-shirt carrying a copy of The Hunger Artist, smiling at everyone but talking to no one. More specifically, the heavy cream, blue cheese, baby peas and herbs canceled out parallel elements in the wine and left the lanolin and mint behind to say, "nice try; don't be so literal next time." I hate mouthy comestibles.

So while washing dishes I fantasized about white bean puree with rosemary oil. Already full of some 2,000 calories of butter, cream and blue cheese and resisting more oven heat in August, I opted to ponder flavor elements on my front stoop. Translation: I sought pairing enlightenment by munching on various herbs from my container garden while frantically swatting Nile virus-ridden mosquitoes and swilling nun wine. The winner? Lemon-thyme with a Pecorino Romano chaser. Ah, simplicity.

Invitational: if you are so brave as to personally experience this Enigma Vino, I would love to hear your recipe ideas--tried, imagined, successful or wildly flailing. Hair-shirts optional!