Sep
17
Spanish white wines worth learning about
Filed Under EN
When we talk about Spanish wines, it’s easy to think only of its reds — the flagship tempranillos of the Rioja region, the august wines of Ribera del Duero, the trendy new offerings from Priorato.
But we’re missing something good until we add Spanish whites to our mental wine lists. Spain makes fabulous whites, from the steely, floral albarino wines of the northeastern Galicia region to the crisp, high-plains verdejos of heartlands Rueda.
American sippers accustomed to our chardonnay and sauvignon blanc often know little of Spain’s whites. They’re worth learning about. They tend to be light, dry, crisp and mineral-scented so they go as well with the same foods as the world’s sauvignon blancs.
Imported to America, they’re the light, crisp wines to sip all by themselves or with shellfish, fish, chicken, salads, rice, pasta and soft cheeses.
Oh, and they’re inexpensive — often under $15 a bottle.
In Spain, these wines have grown up for centuries with the country’s varied local cuisines, and it’s cliche but true that “what grows together goes together.”
Albarino, from Spain’s northwestern Galicia region, is a steely, floral white wine that goes well with seafood, from that cauldron-boiled octopus to its slithery garlic eels.
Verdejo, seem by many as Spain’s finest white grape, is similar to Italy’s pinot grigio, with the crisp minerality and citrus tang from the cold, high plains of Rueda, north of Madrid.
Viura, light and crisp, is the grape the white wines of Rioja, which is far better known for its reds. White riojas are best young, benefitting little from aging.
Parellada, crisp and citrusy, and garnacha blanca, with its herbal quality, are in the white wines of Bodegas Torres in Catalunya, outside Barcelona.
Cavas, the sparkling white wines by Segura Viudas, Freixenet and other bodegas in northeast Spain, are made of lemony macabeo (the grape called viura in the Rioja region), paralleda, and floral xarel-lo — more grapes little known to Americans.
So here’s a chance to try a whole new lexicons of white wine — without denting our wallets.
— By Fred Tasker, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.