Todd Thrasher. Photo: Allison Dinner

The celebrated Restaurant Eve in the Washington, D.C. suburbs features the beloved tomatoes from one local farmer on its menus. (The farmer in question, happily, has stayed free of the tomato blight sweeping the country.)

It's up to mixologist and sommelier Todd Thrasher to find the right vino to balance out the sweet, tangy summer favorite. A native Virginian who got his start in the drink biz by bartending his way through college, Thrasher has schlepped drinks at such esteemed places as José Andrés' Café Atlantico.

"People ask how you get into wine and I say you read a lot about wine and then tasting blind is how you get into it," he says.

After a sommelier course and a failed business try, he was ready to bolt from the industry for a career as a scuba instructor on a Caribbean island until he was hooked up with chef Cathal Armstrong. "The rest is history," he says.

We caught up with Thrasher to talk the Virginia tomato season, the art of tomato pairings and his tomato pet peeve -- teaming a raw tomato with a red wine.


Are tomatoes hard to pair with wine?
I don't think so. There are so many different types of tomatoes.

What are you trying to pair in a tomato?
Tomatoes are super high in acid. So, you usually have to pair tomatoes with wines that are super high in acid. We use tomatoes in different ways at the restaurant, from raw to cooked.

Is there a mistake people make with pairing tomatoes?
I am not a big fan with pairing red wines with raw tomatoes. A lot of people like to pair Chianti with raw tomatoes and Chianti goes well with [cooked] tomatoes. But with raw tomatoes [because they are more acidic], I would go with a white wine.

Is there one style that goes better with tomatoes?
I feel white wine goes better with tomatoes than red wine.

What would you pair with a sweeter tomato?
Usually what I try to do with sweeter tomatoes is something that has a good acidity, a little roundness to it and a little malolactic acidity. Not full blown malolactic, but just a little bit to soften the grape out.

What would you pair with a more tart one?
I would definitely tend to go toward going with a Sauvignon Blanc or Verdejo.

What about with pasta sauce?
When you are cooking tomatoes, you are really changing the flavor and makeup. When you cook something for so long, all those sugars come out and it really changes tomatoes from that raw state. When you are cooking tomatoes, I go toward bolder wines like Chianti, Sangiovese and Cabernet. You can definitely get away with a Cabernet with something like a ratatouille.

Pizza?
Pizza is one of my favorite things in the world. And with pizza with tomatoes, I really like drinking Zinfandel.

Is there any wine you would never pair with a raw tomato?
Personally I wouldn't drink a [red] Pinot Noir. I think the acid in the tomatoes would really eat up the wine.

How about with cooked tomatoes?
I think you can get away with anything with cooked tomatoes. I don't know if I would drink champagne with it, but I may.

Below, Thrasher offers his five favorites, with tasting notes, under $25, from a bright Pinot Noir to a smoky Chianti.

2007 Pinot Noir Glass, J.K. Carriere, Willamette, Ore.: "This is a rosé with a bit of sweet cherry notes, dry on the finish."

2008 Saint Jeannet, Finca El Reposo, Mendoza, Argentina: Thrasher pairs this with the eatery's Sun Gold Tomato Tart. "It has a brace and acidity to it, but it has a little bit of roundness to it. ... You can taste a little bit of lemon with lemon blossom."

2007 Hondarribi Zuri, Ulacia, Getariako Txakolina, Spain: "It's really kind of such a crazy wine. It's really light with kind of very grassy notes when you open the bottle. It is bright with a bit of Granny Smith apples to it."

2008 Albariño, Pazo Señorans, Rías Biaxas, Spain: "It has those really green notes to it; a bit of lemongrass, a bit of citrus, dry in the mouth. A little softer. A little bit of stone, like apricots and peaches also."

2005 Chianti Classico Sangiovese, Savignola Paolina, Tuscany, Italy: "It is very rustic in style. A high acid wine. A [bit of the] flavor of cooked tomatoes. A little bit of unripened raspberry with a little bit of cedar and cooked tomato and smoke on it."