7 Wines for an Indian Summer!

The sun is back out and we’re in for some glorious, warm evenings. Here are seven of my favourite summer sippers from this year to elongate that holiday feeling!

Mar de Frades Albariño Atlantico

Razor sharp, dry and saline, this is citrusy white hails from Rias Baixas in Galicia, northwestern Spain. It tastes as fresh as squeezing lemon juice on your fish and chips and is delicious with all seafood but great on its own too.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £17

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Misco Tenuta di Tavignano 2021

Once a staple in our fridges, the Verdicchio grape fell out of favour here in the UK when the bold Aussie Chardonnays stole the limelight in the nineties. Now as our palates have matured, the lean, cool yeastiness of this Italian white from Le Marche appeals once again . This Misco is a serious version with compex notes of apple, green almond and subtle apricot.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 13.98%
Find here: £25

Pasqua “Hey French You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t”

This multi-vintage white is a juicy blend of Garganega, Pinot Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc from 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 and Pasqua’s finest vineyards in Verona, Italy. Lots of aromatics, texture and flavours of greengage, peach and candied peel.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £32

Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko

Of all the Assyrtiko wines I have tasted this summer, this is my favourite. A fabulous combo of zesty lemon, quince and peach with a slick of saline making it ridiculously glugworthy. A really special wine that sets the benchmark for balance.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 14.5%
Find here: £40

Hidden Sea Chardonnay

Fans of easy-going, Aussie Chardonnay will love Hidden Sea, not just for its generous, melon and honeysuckle-scented juice, nor for its super stylish bottle but each product purchased helps remove plastic from the oceans! What an excellent reason to stock up. A great, affordable, all rounder wine.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 13%
Find here: £10

Hampton Water Rosé

This elegant but ripe Grenache-based blend hails from the Languedoc and is the brainchild of Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse with wine skills by vinous Languedoc legend, Gerard Bertrand. Think wild strawberry and creamy, raspberry compote. A real easy drinker but smart with it.

Size: 750mL
ABV: 13%
Find here: £19

Babylonstoren Rosé

This lively, pale, South African pink cuts a stunning figure in its smart, screen printed bottle. Fans of Bandol in Provence will like this more savoury, fuller-bodied rosé made with the meaty Mourvèdre grape. It’s a BBQ in a bottle with its aromatic nose, ripe strawberries and cream notes and crisp acidity. Lush!

Size: 750mL
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £16

If you’re looking for more end-of-summer sips, then take a look at these wines from Santorini, and for recipes to pair perfectly with Albariño, check out this article.

What to eat with Albariño wine: 3 recipes

The Albariño grape’s spiritual home is in the wet, green and blustery region of Rias Baixas within Galicia, northwestern Spain. A mixture of the cool climate, proximity of the vineyards to the sea, lots of granite soils and the grape’s own characteristics give wines that are famously saline and lemon citrusy with notes of peach and a bitter kick on the finish. If you consider that what grows together, goes together then it should be no surprise that fish and seafood is king when asking what goes best with Albariño. 

Albariño can be made in various styles from zesty, youthful and lemony to more creamy, peachy, gastronomic wines. You can now even find sparkling Albariño! Here are some recipes that will pair perfectly with the three key styles of Albariño wine from this article featuring the iconic wine producer, Mar de Frades. Each recipe makes enough for four people. 

Youthful, zesty and saline Albariño

Eat: Wine-steamed mussels & baguette

Drink: Mar de Frades Atlantico Albarino 2022  - £17 from Tesco

If you’ve ever eaten steamed mussels fresh off the boat or even better, while still on the boat, then you’ll know the easiest and freshest way to eat them is with a splash of the white wine, garlic butter and a baguette. 

All you need to do once you have scrubbed the mussels and removed the wafty beard bit, is drain them, set aside and then lightly fry the chopped garlic and shallots in butter in a heavy-based pot until just brown. When they are, add a splash of Albariño and stir for a few seconds before adding the mussels and half a glass of wine. Allow to steam for 4 minutes. Discard any closed ones, pour the juice over the top and serve with a buttered baguette and delicious cool glass of Albariño.

Ingredients:

Mussels x 4 handfuls

Finely chopped garlic x 2 large cloves

Knob of butter

Salt & pepper to season

Parsley to garnish (optional)

Richer, peachy, gastronomic Albariño

Eat: Slow and low, peachy, pulled pork baps

Drink: Mar de Frades Finca Valiñas 2108 - £32 from The Great Wine Co. 

Pulled pork is one of those dishes that makes you think of high end gastro pubs; when they’re done well, and paired with a decent, cool glass of white wine, they are pure heaven! With a richer, creamier style of Albariño such as this single vineyard offering from Mar de Frades that has had more time on its lees to add texture, you can go a little heavier with the dish. Enter slow and low, peachy pulled pork!

To make this dish, first rub the pork shoulder with the blended combination of paprika, cumin, pepper, salt and sugar. Place it in a large casserole dish with the skin-side up before adding in the white wine. Cover and cook in the oven at 150C (130C fan) or Gas mark 2 for 4-5 hours until it looks like it’s falling apart. Check it every 45 mins or so to make sure it;s not drying out. You can always add more wine if needed! Remove when done, then place the pork into a large dish, pouring the cooking juice over the top. Remove the skin and shred the pork with a couple of forks, removing excess fatty bits. Leave to rest for a few minutes to blend up some good, smoky barbecue with the flesh of one ripe peach and a pinch of salt. Stir it through the pork rto coat it before serving on a fresh white bap, perhaps some slaw and extra sauce on the side and of course, a glass of gastro Albariño. 

Ingredients:

2.5kg boneless pork shoulder 

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 small glasses of Albariño wine

White bread rolls

Traditional Method Sparkling Albariño

Eat: Pan fried scallops in lemony butter

Drink: Mar de Frades, Val do Salnès, Sparkling Albariño Brut NV - £29.50 from Great Western Wine (or £26.55 when you buy 12)

Scallops are a staple in Rias Baixas and there’s nothing so simple and decadent as a freshly seared plate of them served with a cool glass of saline, citrusy Albariño - especially if it’s a sparkling Albariño! For this dish, the salinity and freshness of the bubbles combined with their subtle, brioche note complement the lemony butter and fleshy scallops so beautifully.  

There’s no need to faff around to cook the scallops here; All you need to do is add some butter to a non-stick, thick-bottomed pan, warm it on a medium heat, then add the scallops, turning the heat to high and seasoning each side with a pinch of salt. Leave for three minutes or until golden, flip over and sear the other side for another minute or two, seasoning that side. Remove the scallops with tongs and put to the side on a plate. 

Add a knob of salted butter with a squeeze of lemon juice and a small splash of wine to the pan, stirring to combine the cooked bits. Add the scallops back in and baste them for a few seconds before plating up and serving with wild rice, crusty bread or even skinny fries. Deliciousness!

Ingredients: 

‘Dry’ Scallops, side muscle remove x 16

Knob of salted butter

Salt & Pepper

Chilled glass or two of sparkling Albariño

For your expert, one minute guide to Spain’s flagship white grape, Albariño, click here! For more on the three styles of Mar de Frades Albariño, click here.

One Minute Wine Ace: Albariño

The 1st August is Albariño Day! If you haven’t tried Albariño before, listen up as this is going to be your new, go-to, all rounder, white wine. Trust me…

What is Albariño wine and where is it from?

Albariño is a white wine grape whose spiritual home is the naturally beautiful region of Rías Baixas in Galicia, northwestern Spain; a place characterised by its wet and wild,coastal climate given its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and a lot of granite in the soils. 90% of wine grapes planted here are Albariño; it is the white, fine wine region of Spain.

If you think of stormy seas, ripening lemons, wet rocks and sea spray, you’ll have an instant feel for these wines. 

Albariño vineyards in Rias Baixas with their characteristic vine training system and granite poles to keep air circulating.

What does Albariño wine taste like?

Albariño has thick skin and ripens slowly. This contributes to its famously vibrant acidity and elegantly intense aromatics of citrus and peach. It also has a deliciously cool minerality, which makes it a wonderful pairing for fish and seafood. 

Styles of Albariño 

Winemakers in Rías Baixas have been experimenting with Albariño in recent years in order to offer varying styles of wine. Traditionally, the wine has been fermented in stainless steel and is made to be drunk young to preserve its super fresh character. We are however, seeing more and more wines that have seen some oak ageing and /or time spent on the lees (dead yeast cells from fermentation), which give the wines a creamier texture and more complexity of flavour. Wines made like this are more gastronomic, meaning they can handle richer flavours and textures when it comes to food pairing. 

A classic fish dish made to go with Albariño

There are also some subtle differences in the wines from each of the five sub regions of Rías Baixas:

Val do Salnés: This is the largest sub-region, famous for its sandy soils and traditional vineyards and style of Albariño. 

O Rosal: This subregion is near the Portuguese border where soils are more granitic. Other white grapes such as Loureiro and Treixadura are also grown here, so it’s a good place to try blends. 

Condado do Tea: Located inland along the Tea River, Albariño here is a little more floral, thanks largely to the alluvial soils.

Ribeira do Ulla: Towards the north and along the Ulla River, this small subregion has a mix of granite, schist and alluvial soils and a slightly milder microclimate thanks to the river. Wines here are floral and vibrant with a particular tropical note.

Soutomaior: The smallest sub-region near the town of Soutomaior with granite soils and vines on steeper, terraced slopes, which help bring more minerality and salinity to the wines as well as a pronounced white blossom note.  

More Albariño vineyards with granite buildings and supports.

Where to taste Albariño in the UK?

Head over to www.albarinoday.co.uk to find stockists as well as venues for tasting Albariño wine. Here are some of my favourites:

PLANET OF THE GRAPES

Leadenhall, Bull's Head Passage, London.

Planetofthegrapes.co.uk

THE TAPAS ROOM TOOTING

Broadway Market Tooting, Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RJ.

thetapasroom.co.uk

EVUNA NORTHERN QUARTER

Evuna NQ, Thomas Street, Manchester.

evuna.com/restaurant/manchester-northern-quarter

THE ELM TREE INN

Shop Lane, Langton Herring, Weymouth, Dorset DT3 4HU.

theelmtreeinn.co.uk

Six Albariño wines to try:

Condes de Albarei 2022, Val do Salnés

Made by Adega Condes de Albarei, this is a super fresh, zesty white with delicate flavours of apricot and white peach.

£14.99 from The Wine Flyer

@condes_de_albarei

Torre la Moreira 2022, Condado do Tea

Made by Bodegas Marques de Vizhoja, this is a cracking, youthful Albariño with a soft texture and a pretty, floral character. 

£13.40 from Vinissimus

@bodegasmarquesdevizhoja

Albariño Martin Codax 2022, Val do Salnés

Made by Bodegas Martin Codax, this is a brilliant introduction to Salnés Albariño with its lemon citrus acidity and salty kick. 

£14.58 from The Great Wine Co

@bodmartincodax @martincodax_uk

Santiago Ruiz 2022, O Rosal

Made by Bodega Santiago Ruiz who are considered to be the fathers of Albariño, being the first to sell these wines from Galicia. This particular bottle is a blend of Albariño with Loureiro, Treixadura, Godello and Caíño Blanco.

£22.25 from DrinkFinder

@bodegasantiagoruiz

Turonia 2021, O Rosal

Made by Quinta Couselo with a touch of oak and 4 months on lees, this is a zesty, concentrated, lemony white with refreshing acidity. 

£21 from Bottle Apostle

@quinta_couselo

Silandeiro Sobre Lías 2022, Val do Salnés

Made by Bodegas Gallegas, this lees aged Albariño has a gorgeous, lemon peel, white peach and honeysuckle nose and a deliciously silky mouthfeel.

£23.95 from Mothervine

For more in depth information on the delicious wines of Rias Baixas, visit www.riasbaixaswines.com

talkRADIO: Alternative White Wines for Spring

Whoohoo! It’s getting warmer! What better time then to try some alternative white wine grapes? Come on, you’ve had enough Sauvignon and Picpoul. Here are three grapes that deserve your attention and some lovely examples to seek out. Happy Thursday Club!

If you like Albarino, try… Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko is THE key white wine grape from Greece and it makes one of those super refreshing white wines that are slick and saline with zesty lemon and citrus notes but a riper, peachy fruitiness with it. The most famous region for it in Greece is Santorini and this one comes  from winery Artemis Karamolegos and is made with fifty year old vines. 

Find it for £14.95 at The Wine Society

If you like Viognier, try… Roussanne

Roussanne  is a white grape hailing from the Rhône Valley that produces powerful, nutty white wines with intense aromas and flavours of flowers, peach, pear and apricot, with baking spice. Exotic, oily and textural, this grape is the opposite of zesty, zippy Sauvignon. Traditionally used in blends like white Chateauneuf du pape, we’re now seeing more of it as a single grape wine. 

Find it for £6.79 at ALDI

If you like Gavi, try… Verdicchio 

Verdicchio is one of the finest white native grapes of Italy and the most important area for them in the the Marche region around Castelli di Jesi. This is an area with many medieval fortresses on many hilltop villages surrounding the central town of Jesi. This complex and crisp dry white is often called the White Barolo thanks to its fabulous ability to age. When young, it has lovely floral aromas and subtle notes of tropical fruit and a yeasty finish. 

Find it for £6 at Tesco

Want to know what else we’ve tasted on talkRADIO with Mike Graham for the Thursday Club? Click here!

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Albariño for Albariño Day!

The 1st of August is Albariño Day! Yes, another wine grape day that serves as a fantastic excuse to take a deep dive into a particular wine style. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could LITERALLY do that? Today’s tasting aim is to show that this classy, citrussy, peachy, white Spanish grape is no one trick pony. Experimentation is happening all over the region of Rias Baixas in Galicia, northwestern Spain (where this grape is the queen), which means that we have several styles to choose from these days. Some are zesty and refreshing, perfect alone. Others have a creamy weight thanks to extended ageing on the lees (dead yeast cells left after fermentation) and there is more and more oak ageing happening too that increases texture and body and in some cases, adds a touch of spice. These last two styles can handle various types of cuisine very well. See this article for more on the Albariño grape and its spiritual home in Rias Baixas. 

Don’t forget to check out albarinoday.co.uk for details of

promos and events near you! 

Pazo de Villarei Albariño, Rías Baixas 2020

Pazo translates as a typical house of the region, so something a bit like ‘domaine’ in French. This wine hails from the O Rosal sub-region of Rias Baixas and is a great place to start your Albariño journey, thanks to its approachable, fruity, citrussy freshness.

Find it at The Wine Society here for £9.95.

You & Me Albariño 2019

Taking a small step up with grapes harvested from the Salnés Valley (the most northern and coolest subzone of Rías Baixas), this wine is perky and fresh with floral notes and a touch of peach. There’s a little more body and complexity than the previous wine, so it can handle foods well, especially hard, nutty cheeses, white fish and seafood. 

Find it at Ocado here for £13.99.

Santiago Ruiz `O Rosal` Rías Baixas 2019

Here’s a wine that showcases how well Albariño can blend with other grapes. While 82% is Albariño, there’s a smattering of other local grape varieties that we more traditionally see used in the Vinho Verde wines of Portugal which are literally just around the corner from Rias Baixas. There’s 9% aromatic Loureiro, with 4% Caíño Blanco, 3% Treixadura and 2% Godello for good measure. It’s a crisp and refreshing Albariño with added notes of lime, white flowers and an interesting herbal note too, like lemon balm. One to savour but is still incredibly easy to drink. 

Find it at Bodega Movil here for £17.95.

Check out this link for an article and short video all about Albariño from Rias Baixas! Also, to be in with a chance to win a case of these gorgeous wines head over to our competition!

Why Albariño from Rías Baixas is the Next Big Thing in White Wine

Celebrate Albariño Day on the 1st August!

Check out AlbarinoDay.co.uk for details of events and promos all around the UK.

We’ve seen various grape varieties take their place in the sun over the last few years especially in the UK market. With some, it’s because they are easy to say. With others, it’s because the wines from that region offer a clear, recognisable personality. Enter Albariño in this camp; the white wine grape taking the wine world by storm as consumers seek out whites with flavour and freshness as well as complexity and texture. Here’s everything you need to know about Spain’s flagship white wine grape from the country’s premium white wine region: Rías Baixas. 

The Mermaid of Wine Grapes

You know us and our penchant for describing grape varieties as personalities? Well in our minds, Albariño is the elegant mermaid of wine grapes, swimming in the stormy seas of Galicia. Imagine the scent of ripening lemons, wet granite rocks and sea spray as she calls us with her siren song, that pale and peachy complexion shining in the water. In a classic tasting note, Albariño is pale, dry, crisp and fresh with notes of lemon citrus, white peach and a cool, saline kick on the finish. 

Albariño from Rías Baixas 

The stunning region of Rías Baixas can be found on the southwestern coast of Galicia, which itself is located to the very northwest of Spain. It’s a beautiful location made up of lots of small fjords (known as rias) set out over four estuaries. Compared to the rest of Spain, Rías Baixas is particularly green thanks to its high rainfall and misty mornings. It does also however boast over 2,200 hours of sunshine per year, which together help vines produce healthy, ripe grapes. 

As a wine region, Rías Baixas comprises of five distinct subregions, which each offer subtle variations on the classic Albariño style thanks to differences in their geography, though there tends to be granite-heavy, mineral-rich soils throughout. These sub regions are Ribeira do Ulla, Val do Salnés, Soutomaior, Condado do Tea and O Rosal. You will currently see these on the label as Rías Baixas Salnés, Rías Baixas Condado and Rías Baixas Rosal only. If the wines are simply labelled ‘Rías Baixas Albariño’, it means they are made with 100% Albariño grapes from any sub-zone.

Unusual vines 

Due to the humidity in the region, vines are often planted up to seven feet high to allow air to circulate (thus preventing mildew) and helping the grapes to ripen evenly. The vines are supported by granite posts called ‘parras’ where they form canopies and the bunches are harvested in the Autumn by pickers from below.  If you drive around the region, you will see lots of small vineyards with these parras, all owned by single families. There is a long history of artisan families passing down their vines through the generations and this is why hand harvesting has also always been important as this is how it was always done. Combine this with the unique terroir in Rías Baixas and wines that so beautifully express their sense of place and you have real fine wines in your hands. 

More than just a white wine

Unusually for a Spanish wine region, 99% of all wines made in Rías Baixas are white and of these, 96% of the grapes used are Albariño! Of the remaining 4%, there are 13 other local grapes allowed in the DO; most of which are blended with Albariño, though you will occasionally see some of them standing alone. The most important ‘other’ grapes are Treixadura, Caiño Blanco, Torrontes, Loureiro and Godello. Red wine is made in Rías Baixas (Rías Baixas Tinto) but it’s rare at under 1%. Sparkling wines (Rías Baixas Espumoso) are also still very rare, but we are starting to see some well-known producers experimenting - and to great effect. 

Albariño wine style trends in Rías Baixas

Here’s the geeky part! Producers of Albariño in Rías Baixas have been experimenting over the last few years, finding ways to make their wines age for longer, to create more food friendly styles and generally put this grape through its paces to see what it is capable of. As a result, we are seeing producers try more maceration of the grapes with their skins before fermentation, which increases the aromatics and gives more structure. They're opting for native yeasts to kick off this ferment too as they've noticed that it gives the wine a more authentic, less generic flavour. In very ripe years, some barrel ageing (Rías Baixas Barrica) is now starting to be used to tone down the overt fruit and balance things up, offering a more robust texture. One particularly exciting development however, is seeing producers let the wine sit on its lees for longer (the dead yeast cells left after fermentation). This gives body, weight and structure to the wines and means they can age for a bit longer. It also means that these wines can take a bit more on the food matching front, from nutty cheese to creamy, chicken and rich fish dishes. 

What to eat with Albariño

Albariño was born by the sea so naturally, it should be a top choice for fish and seafood. The lighter, more zesty styles are great by themselves or make a fantastic aperitif with salmon blinis or fresh sheep cheese. The weightier, more lees-aged or barrel-aged wines can take some heavier textures and flavours, be that nuttier cheese or grilled, smoky flavours. Creamy pork and potato dishes work well here too. All in all, it’s a very versatile grape variety!

Try these Albariño Wines

We’re seeing more and more Albariño from Rías Baixas in the UK every year, with exports having increased by twenty five times in the last nine years alone. Many supermarkets now stock their own label Albariño wines as well as carrying key brands and more gastronomic styles of wines can also be found in independent shops, bars and restaurants. Here are some to try.

You & Me Albariño

With grapes harvested from Salnés Valley, which is the most northern and coolest subzone of Rías Baixas, this wine is perky and fresh with floral notes and a touch of peach. Very easy drinking.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £13.99

Serra da Estrela Albariño, Adegas Valmiñor 2020

Another refreshing Albariño with a touch more body and great salinity. Think peaches, lemon peel and white flowers. So pretty!

Size: 750ml
ABV: 13%
Find here: £13

Lagar de Cervera Albariño

A creamier, weightier drop this thanks to some extended lees ageing, making it a perfect match for food such as white fish and seafood. Grapes harvested in O Rosal and Condado.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £14.99

Linar de Vides Albarino, Bodegas Coto Redondo

Another elegant white with the perfect balance of citrussy freshness and creamy texture. This is the wine to take home to meet the parents. A great all-rounder, with or without food.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £14.99

For more wine content make sure you check out these articles next.