I have been wanting to try Paella since I started my virtual tasting through Spain. Saving the best for last, I saved this dish as my final pairing for my Spain adventure.
I had heard quite a bit about the Albariño grape – a white grape grown in the Rias Baxias region of Spain. The Rias Baxias region is in Northwestern Spain, beautiful and coastal. So, what better than to make a seafood dish.
I have never tasted, let alone made, Paella before, so this was quite an adventure. I know that Paella contains a lot of shellfish, but being this was my first attempt and I didn’t want to mess it up completely, I went for a little milder version of the dish.
I used chorizo, chicken, shrimp and crab meat – so there was still some seafood, but nothing too extreme. It actually made a mild, but very tasty meal. You should know that when cooking, it seems I always forget a step – and I did this time as well. I was supposed to add roasted red peppers at the end, but I forgot. Regardless, the Paella still turned out good.
I paired the dish with Martín Codax 2011 Albariño. The wine was light yellow in appearance and had a nose of citrus (mostly lemon) with hints of honey and ginger. The palette was reminiscent of citrus with a touch of honey. Nothing too sweet and the acids worked well with the seafood. The chorizo was also spicy so the cool wine balanced out the heat.
Overall, Spain was tasty and delicious! So many great wines and so much great food. And now off to Italy!
The Splendid Grape 