Hard worn muddy boots and sad limp mittens draped over the radiator are signs that this winter that may have overstayed its welcome. This season Weather.com became the most used app on my smart phone and ice scrappers and shovels have been the family appliances of choice for far too long. This time of year marks the moment when the once cozy notion of sitting by the fireplace bundled up with a good book on a snowy night, has given way to an implausible cabin fever that requires an intervention - of the culinary kind. Root vegetables have been prominent on our dinner tables since November so it seems fitting to give them a proper rite of passage into this next season, paired up with citrus and fennel they take on a sort of gastronomic spring awakening.

To help send winter along for good, a transitional wine is required to continue to brighten up the scene. Greenhill Winery in Middleburg produces a terrific wine for just that - a tasty Vidal Blanc. Made from the Vidal Blanc varietal, a hearty cold weather grape, that is even used in the Canadian production of ice wine – how's that for irony?

In keeping a spring theme I found the perfect saffron pasta from my favorite olive oil boutique Olio on E. Washington St. Saffron is produced by a crocus flower, one of the first flowers of spring, so it's a complete trio. A tangy sweet sauce, the floral pasta and Greenhill's tropical Vidal Blanc achieves loads of flavors that parley into the perfect early spring dish.

Virginia wineries will soon too have their spring commencement as they prepare for the warm weather season and host daytrippers from around the region. Greenhill's Vidal Blanc – is a perfect wine to escort in the spring and kiss the winter adieu. Let's all remain hopeful that this month of April will mark the end of winter – at least for a while.