My good friend Karen Cakebread is making two great food friendly wines under her new label Ziata. My wife, Virginia, thinks the Ziata Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best wines she has tasted this year. I created a fun summer time recipe the pairs perfectly with this beautifully structure Sauvignon Blanc. To learn more about Ziata Wines and Karen Cakebread visit her website at http://www.ziatawines.com

Grilled Zahtar Rubbed Shrimp and Fattoush Salad
Serves 4 to 6

Zahtar Spice:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 tablespoons sumac
1 teaspoons fresh picked, chopped lemon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
*Reserve some of the spice mixture to use another time with fish or poultry

1 pound medium 25/30 shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail intact
¼ cup olive oil

Dressing:
½ cup lemon juice
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sumac

Salad:
2 pita rounds, torn into pieces and toasted or ready made from the store
2 romaine hearts, rough chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded and medium diced
¼ cup mint, roughly chopped
½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
1 avocado, quartered, pitted, peeled and cut into pieces

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Grind the sesame and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice mill. Combine the remaining spice ingredients and mix well.

Light the grill. Toss the shrimp in the spice mix, covering the shrimp evenly. Thread the shrimp on soaked bamboo or metal skewers. Brush the shrimp with olive oil and grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes a side until the shrimp are cooked. Remove from the grill and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl, mix well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the salad ingredients. Add the dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss together.

To serve, portion the salad onto plates. Remove the shrimp from the skewers. Top the salad with the shrimp and serve.