New Zealand mussels & leeks

New Zealand mussels have a tint of green on their shell and are huge in size. I had these at 230 Forest in Laguna Beach, CA. The leeks made the broth and each bite that much better. (I love love mussels and always have a hard time ordering around them on a menu. If they're there, you bet I'll be eating them.) I don't have that much experience with leeks but they're such a great addition to broths and dips and pasta sauces. I always thought they'd taste like onions because I think they're from the same family but they actually don't at all. They're very refreshing and slightly crunchy.  Healthy and green without the onion tang or smell. I almost want to say there's a bit of citrus to them.

The wine in the picture is a La Crema Pinot Noir from California. White wine probably would have paired better but since the Pinot is a light bodied wine, it matched the light white wine broth. If the broth was creamier, a Merlot or CA Chardonnay probably would have been a better pair. The only issue I had with this wine is that I woke up with a searing headache and this was my only glass. I have different next day experiences with different wines. Sometimes I can drink a whole bottle and wake up the next day fine and dandy. Other times just 1 glass of red keeps me up all night with a headache and jitters. This might be a sulfite factor but I'm not 100% positive.