Rías Baixas Albariño Wines

What happens when two foodie friends get together at Joe’s Shanghai in midtown Manhattan to plan a cycling trip to Spain?  Before we could get done to the critical discussion of what to pack for our Andalusian bike trip, the first task at hand was tasting two Albariños from Rias Baixas and selecting dishes to pair them with for lunch.

Torre la Moreira 2008 from producer Marqués de Vizhoja comes from the warmer, drier Condado do Tea area of Rías Baixas (closer to Portugal) and the Paco & Lola 2008 hails from the Salnés Valley, the coolest and wettest area of the region. Our waiter ceremoniously chilled the two bottles in a dragon-festooned gold ice bucket while we ordered Soup Dumplings (a must at Joe’s), Tangerine Chicken with Broccoli, and Moo-Shu Pork.

Having just completed six different recipes for Kitchen GadgetGals upcoming Christmas cookie cookbook, I was over tasting anything sweet, but these wines, like all Albariños from the region, are bone dry.

The Paco & Lola had a deeper straw color than the Torre la Moreira.  Both wines are 100% Albariño and while they shared similar characteristics like bracing acidity, there were noticeable differences.  Paco & Lola had an elegant citrus nose with a slight herbaceous note, maybe basil?  I also noticed aromas of white flowers and exotic fruits such as pineapple and mango. The Torre la Moreira had an undertone of herbs and aromas of ripe apples and pears.  Which wine would pair best with the steamer of Soup Dumplings that just arrived at our table?  First we had to master those dumplings!

To help us in this pursuit, my friend stripped off a black sweater to reveal a t-shirt designed by Roger Chen, “How to eat Shanghai Dumplings”. How a propos!  We carefully followed the instructions: “Step 1: Lift it gently. Step 2: Dip in rice vinegar. Step 3: Take small bite. Suck the soup out. Step 4: Smile! You are a pro now.”  Those details did not save us from getting “polka dots” of dumpling soup splashed all over shirts. Now we matched the Paco & Lola label.

On to the next task at hand: the pairings. The Torre la Moreira worked the best with the dumplings with its touch of natural spritz that cut through the intense, almost oily broth from the shredded pork and chicken filling.  We were still working on the art of eating Shanghai soup dumplings like pros when the waiter appeared with the other dishes.  Some things are universally true: Chinese dishes always come out too quickly!

The waiter assembled the Moo-Shu pancakes tableside adding a slather of Hoisin sauce on the pancake, added the filling and finally rolling the whole thing with a nimble twist of his chopsticks.  He gave us two pancakes each and then brought out the Tangerine Chicken.  More food before it is time. We had neglected to notice the red pepper marking on the menu indicating that the chicken would be a spicy dish.  Would the wines be destroyed by the heat?  Quite the opposite, their structure and backbone of acidity proved them up to the task. The Paco & Lola, with its slightly richer body stood up a bit better than the Torre, but either would work nicely.

The Moo-Shu pork’s marinated pork loin, garlic, ginger, eggs and slaw-like chopped mixture of bok choy, scallions, bean sprouts and bamboo shoots was tasty but mild in flavor.  Both wines paired well with the dish, although when I added in an extra dash of Hoisin, I preferred the Torre.

Our vigilant waiter suggested we not order more than three dishes knowing we could never finish what was on our plates. He was right!  We were stuffed.  With our focus on the food and the Albariño wine pairings, we had completely forgotten our other task at hand.  We decided to make another date to discuss cycling attire as we walked out the door carrying containers of leftovers.

Jan Turner Hazard is the former food editor of Ladies Home Journal and current half of the Kitchen GadgetGals on-line collaboration. Contact: www//kitchengadgetgals.com

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