Welcome to the continuation
of our new wine tasting series. We’re
going to explore the wonderful world of
wine – glass by glass. This series
will assist you in setting up your own
wine tastings. Whether you are a novice
or a seasoned wine aficionado, it’s
not enough to read about this stuff. To
truly appreciate and learn, you have to
get in there in taste. Hey, it’s
hard work, but somebody has to do it!
Barbera
Sangiovese
Pinot Noir
Riesling
Chardonnay
Syrah/Shiraz
and Old World vs. New World
Using Sauvignon Blanc to figure out oak
Albariņo is the Spanish
name for Alvarinho, a grape native to
Portugal. But it’s the Spanish version
that’s making a splash these days
– in the form of deliciously refreshing
whites from the Rias Baixas DO (regulated
wine region) of northwestern Spain.
The heady bouquet is reason
enough to pop the cork on a few of these
lovelies, but we think the taste really
clenches the deal. The grape may be (or
may not be, depending on which version
you believe!) a "descendant"
of Alsace’s Riesling – which
would certainly explain Albariņo's wonderful
bouquet. These wines are delicate but
ripe and slightly exotic, and should have
mouthwatering acidity.
Prices are inching up as
this wine becomes more popular –
closer these days to $20 a bottle, instead
of the $10-ish prices we saw not so long
ago. Still, Albariņo is a fun wine to
experiment with, especially because their
acidity makes them great with food. We
like Albariņo as an aperitif, but also
with shellfish and caviar, spicy Thai,
and tapas.
These wines are made to
be drunk young, so no aging or hunting
for older vintages here. There are many
producers – most probably completely
unfamiliar to the average wine buyer.
Our advice is to buy whatever you see
in the newest vintage available. We’ve
recently tasted several 2000 and 2001
Albariņo vintages that were quite good.
For a terrific wine tasting,
pick up several different bottles of Albariņo
and serve them well-chilled. Oysters on
the half shell with a small dollop of
black caviar, thin slices of Spanish ham
or prosciutto, and garlicky shrimp hors
d’oeuvres all make good food pairings.
Cheers!
We've found that our guests really enjoy
the opportunity to "grade" the
wines. You can make it as casual or controlled
as you like. We tend to put out a pile
of our
tasting notes sheets and then encourage
our guests to take notes. Somewhere toward
the end of the evening -- or once everyone
has had time to taste the various wines
-- we like to have a little group discussion
of the favorites. It really is a lot of
fun to hear everyone's opinions of the
wines, and there are always some interesting
surprises.
The most important thing
is to have fun with your tasting party.
Branch out to wines that are new to you.
Don't worry about the results -- everyone
will have a great time participating in
the tasting. And be sure to let
us know which wines were the hit at
your party!
For details on our past
tasting party ideas - click
here.
