Wine: Valmiñor Albariño
Albariño, the white and largely Spanish varietal, has been getting a lot of good press lately but its prices remain quite reasonable in the $8-$20/bottle range. I tend to have a preference for them myself...
The Valmiñor Albariño is no exception. Its grapes are grown in the Rias Baixas region of Spain and a bottle of it goes for $11 or $12. Valmiñor has a slightly pale color, which is for me most attractive on a bright sunny day. It delivers an almost understated bouquet of peaches and citrus with a faint vanilla note. Its acidity gives it that thirst-quenching quality desirable in an outdoor wine and plays well with many foods; there is a pleasant if feeble mineral quality in the mouth. The Valmiñor is one of the whites that is really a pleasure to swish around in your mouth while you pretend to listen to someone talk. :)
On my first taste of this wine, I prepared a dish of Gkai Pad Gkaprow with prawns instead of chicken (pictured). The recipe is on Kasma Loha-unchit's website. The website is truly worth a visit for those interested in or curious about Thai food -- her brand recommendation for coconut milk, for instance, turned my home versions of Thai dishes completely around. Anyway, the pairing worked very well, but I was left feeling that there was a pairing I could enjoy just slightly more...
...and I realized, on the second tasting of the wine, exactly what I wanted w/this wine: peanut butter! It may be a tad unorthodox, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way the acidity and the mineral note in the wine played with the peanut butter so well. I slathered a generous amount on a baguette sliced lengthwise, poured a very little bit of honey on top of that, and drizzled an extra bit of salt on top of the honey. I'll certainly be doing that again.
The best pairing suggestion I've ever heard may be a cliché but it still rings true: once the bottle is open, anything is a suitable pairing for wine.
Value: 4.0
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 3.5
Flavor: 3.0
The Valmiñor Albariño is no exception. Its grapes are grown in the Rias Baixas region of Spain and a bottle of it goes for $11 or $12. Valmiñor has a slightly pale color, which is for me most attractive on a bright sunny day. It delivers an almost understated bouquet of peaches and citrus with a faint vanilla note. Its acidity gives it that thirst-quenching quality desirable in an outdoor wine and plays well with many foods; there is a pleasant if feeble mineral quality in the mouth. The Valmiñor is one of the whites that is really a pleasure to swish around in your mouth while you pretend to listen to someone talk. :)
On my first taste of this wine, I prepared a dish of Gkai Pad Gkaprow with prawns instead of chicken (pictured). The recipe is on Kasma Loha-unchit's website. The website is truly worth a visit for those interested in or curious about Thai food -- her brand recommendation for coconut milk, for instance, turned my home versions of Thai dishes completely around. Anyway, the pairing worked very well, but I was left feeling that there was a pairing I could enjoy just slightly more...
...and I realized, on the second tasting of the wine, exactly what I wanted w/this wine: peanut butter! It may be a tad unorthodox, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way the acidity and the mineral note in the wine played with the peanut butter so well. I slathered a generous amount on a baguette sliced lengthwise, poured a very little bit of honey on top of that, and drizzled an extra bit of salt on top of the honey. I'll certainly be doing that again.
The best pairing suggestion I've ever heard may be a cliché but it still rings true: once the bottle is open, anything is a suitable pairing for wine.
Value: 4.0
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 3.5
Flavor: 3.0
2 Comments:
I'm glad someone has come out and said it! Now I can confess.
Peanut Butter and Red Wine Rocks!
My wife, an avid Atkins Dieter, introduced me to this unorthodox pairing and now I'm hooked. The wine cuts through that peanut butter's glueiness better thn milk and brings that oh-so familiar grapiness. Plus, it has all the flavanoids of PB&J with fewer carbs and nice buzz at the end.
IMHO, it is best enjoyed directly from the spoon with a large glass of Merlot close by.
Parental Discretion Advised or
Lot's of fun, just don't let the kids see you!
Ha! I actually picked up a jar of peanut butter specifically for that purpose today. :D Always good to know I'm not alone!
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