For Pi Day + Women’s History Month: 4 Organic Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” and Reserve Wines Paired with a Savory Squash Pie + a Strawberry Pie

organic Domaine Bousquet wines for Pi Day + Women’s History Month

Pizza pie? Pumpkin pie? Pecan pie? Pi Pie? Which pie for you this Pi Day– paired with which wine? Yes you can pair wine with pie— just make sure the wine is not sweeter than the dessert and it will work! Try sweet pies with port or sauterne or another dessert wine.  Savory pies like quiche or this squash pie that Sue came up with work well with white, rose and even red wines as we found (read more below). Last year we did a quiche with wines produced by a Princess! Read more here. Less sweet pies like the fruit puff pastry pie that Sue created also work well with a range of wines.

Since Pi Day is March 14 aka 3.14, and March is Women’s History Month, this year we are pairing a savory squash, kale, feta, bacon pie with wines from Domaine Bousquet where Anne Bousquet is at the helm leading the way toward producing organic and now more and more biodynamic wines in high altitude Argentina. Of course, most know about Malbec from Argentina, but she’s also putting her stamp on organic, biodynamic, and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon as well as Chardonnay and even Pinot Noir.

organic Domaine Bousquet

As fans of affordable, sustainable, well made wines, we participated in ZOOMs with Anne Bousquet and her team at Domaine Bousquet several times, and we’ve tasted and paired her wines, too. Some of the articles below focus only on Domaine Bousquet while others are round ups with Domaine Bousquet and other relevant wines. While we’ve celebrated Earth Month and Women’s History Month with Domaine Bousquet before, this is the first time we’ve celebrated Pi Day!

All of Domaine Bousquet wines are 100% organically grown grapes because of a combination of factors: soils, altitude,  ground water, and most importantly, a very dry climate which reduces disease and pest pressure on the vines, making it easier to grow organically and biodynamically.

Anne Bousquet and her sandy soil; photo courtesy Domaine Bousquet

This is by design: Anne Bousquet’s father wanted sandy soil because it provides the low fertility desirable for vine stress, with good drainage, and no salinity issues.

“We teased him about buying a beach,” said Anne Bousquet in a ZOOM a few years ago. Her father bought the sandy soil in the Argentine vineyards using money from the sale of his vineyards in France. “He was adamant because this soil makes elegant wines and that characteristic was very important to him as a Frenchman.”

Anne grew up in her father’s business, first in Southwest France where her father had a third generation winery and vineyards which he sold to set up shop in the Uco Valley of Argentina’s Mendoza region in the 1990s when no one believed wine grapes could thrive in such a cold, hostile, high altitude place. But he proved them wrong, and Anne fell in love with the landscape, an area where growing organically could work out well for wine.

“Vines –like humans –prefer cooler nights for better sleep and a nice warm sunny day,” says Anne. They shut down when it is too hot or too cold.

Anne studied economics in the US, and started a career and family in Boston. But when her father asked for help with the winery in 2004, she said yes. Working together did not go easily, but Anne stood up for her ideas, and in 2011, she and her husband bought out her father’s shares; he still lives on the property where he tends his own organic vineyard. Her brother now runs the business in Europe. In 2015 Anne moved back to Miami so her daughter could go to school; she and her husband manage the business with the team in Argentina.

Domaine Bousquet continues a commitment to sustainability; they are one of the largest organic wineries in the world which means you should be able to easily find their organic and biodynamic wines at your favorite wine store.

So cheers to women in wine! Happy Pi Day!

organic Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” wines are also biodynamic

Pi Day Menu for Wine

  • Salad: Green salad with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, Sgt Pepper goat cheese
  • Pie: Roasted Squash, Kale, Bacon + Feta Pie (inspiration here; Sue’s recipe to follow)
  • Puff Pastry Pie: Lemon Marscapone with Strawberries and Blueberries (Sue’s recipe to follow)

Domaine Bousquet Organic Wines

  • 2023 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Chardonnay
  • 2024 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Rose of Pinot Noir
  • 2022 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 2020 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2023 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Chardonnay

2023 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $18
Grapes: organic Chardonnay

Appearance:  Golden, buttercup, clear, pale yellow rim, ripe lemon with pale yellow pith

Aroma: Grass, herbs, green apple, spring meadow, feverfew, pollen, rose geranium,

Palate: Good acidity, toasty oak on the finish, apple, pineapple, Meyer lemon, grassy, meadow, butterscotch, salinity,

Pairing: Great with the tossed green salad responding especially well with the vine ripe tomatoes, very nice with the squash pie, the wine loves the richness of this pie, so very nice with the dessert tart the wine loves the richness of the mascarpone and the touch of lemon in it, the berries are fresh and tart and not too sweet and go perfectly with this wine.

2024 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Rose of Pinot Noir

2024 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Rose of Pinot Noir

ABV: 12%
SRP: $20
Grapes: organic and Biodynamic Pinot Noir

Appearance:  Rose gold, almost orange, apricot, clear, platinum rim

Aroma: Floral, cherry, strawberry, bouquet or flowers, fresh mountain breezes, salinity, wet gravel, petricore,

Palate: Bright and fresh, sweet tart, mountain strawberry, raspberry, tart, minerals, granite, salinity, long lasting finish,

Pairing: Very nice with the salad, the wine loves the St Pepper goat cheese, the fresh tomato, and the toasted pine nuts bring everything together, fabulous with the squash tart so rich and savory and lovely together especially with a bite of savory bacon, very nice with the dessert tart, with this wine Sue wanted some spiced pecans sprinkled over the top of the dessert which would have made it better than perfect, but it was a great combination and went well with the wine.

2022 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Cabernet Sauvignon

2022 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $20
Grapes: organic and Biodynamic Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance:  Very dark and dense ruby opaque theatre curtains, bright ruby rim

Aroma: A bit of funk when first opened that blows off quickly, plum, baking spices, sandalwood, amber, black cherry,  pennyroyal, wild mint, sage

Palate: Grippy tannins, blue fruit, cherry, tobacco, leather, plum,

Pairing: Good with salad because of the toasted pine nuts and the St Pepper cheese and the tomato in the salad, red wines don’t always work with salads but this one does with this salad, the dessert was perfect with this bright wine, the fresh fruit was not too sweet, and the rich mascarpone with lemon juice was bright and tart and a perfect combination with the wine.

2020 Domaine Bousquet Gran-Cabernet Sauvignon

2020 Domaine Bousquet Gran-Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 15%
SRP: $25
Grapes: organic Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance:  Dark and dense, ruby, bright ruby rim

Aroma: Cherry, cherryCherry pipe tobacco, chery pie, eucalyptus, sage, earthy, dry earth, gravel,

Palate: Juicy cherry, cherry pipe tobacco, leather, silky tannins, smooth, tannins from the oak have integrated nicely,

Pairing: The wine works well with the squash pie loving the bacon and rich roasted cheese however the only change Sue would have made in the recipe to highlight this particular wine is to use a different cheese like creamy gouda. because this dessert is not very sweet it works really nicely with the wine, definitely a winner.

 

Sue’s Roasted Squash, Kale, Bacon + Feta Pie

PREHEAT: oven to 350.

BAKE: Blind bake a pie shell of your choosing  15 to 20 minutes till golden brown.

DICE: 1 medium winter squash (butternut, kabocha, kiri); dice into 1/2″ squares  (aprox 2 ½ cups)
TOSS: with olive oil, salt, pepper
ROAST: 15 to 20 minutes
CHOP: 4 to 5 slices of bacon into 1/2″ slices and fry till crispy, remove from pan and set aside. Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan.
DESTEM, CHOP:  Bunch of kale.
SAUTE: kale in remaining bacon grease to 10 minutes.
ADD: juice from 1/2 lemon, remove from pan, set aside.
COMBINE:
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup half and half
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg

LAYER: kale, bacon and squash, and ½ cup feta cheese in the pie shell, top with egg mixture.

BAKE: 35 to 45 minutes until the filling is completely set.

COOL: 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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