Filed under: Spain

Pithon-Paillé @32NaturalDays plus Linda Violago on López de Heredia

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If you're not following Cory Cartwright's 32 Days of Natural Wine on his excellent blog saignée, you're missing out on some great insights on the natural wine movement, and some great wine writing in general. Yesterday, I contributed post 19.1 with a profile on Pithon-Paillé, friends of mine who are working to establish a new wine business for themselves in Anjou. Sommelier Linda Milagros Violago from Malmo, Sweden followed up with post 19.2: Talking about Tondonia, an up-close look at Rioja's most traditional producer. I worked with Linda briefly at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago and I respect her knowledge and palate tremendously.

A short video posted by Wendy featuring Jo and herself at Les Treilles.

Zarzuela, Albariño and nerdy reference books

I like Monday night because Jesse cooks dinner on Mondays. To be honest, J makes dinner every night, but it's particularly nice to come home to on Monday, so I think it rates special mention.  The evening started out with a blind tasting of Alianca Vino Verde (Fail for me. I thought it was Trebbiano or at the very least, Italian. Meh.) I've had this producer before and it's very lightly and naturally effervescent, with a hint of RS--if you are used to Gazela, which has an assertive spritz, this is a different style, more old-fashioned. The meal tonight was Zarzuela, with a generous side of grilled bread for each of us. Oh deliciousness, you are tomatoes, shellfish and breadcrumbs. What a bright, savory meal for a rainy evening. Just as with risotto, it seems like too much food for two people, but then thirty minutes later, we're sopping up the juices and wishing for more. I also blind tasted for tonight's wine pairing, 2008 Bodegas Palacio de Fefinanes Rias Baixas. This is a nicely balanced Albarino with lots of trademark peach, saline and lemon-lime citrus. It was a great match for the tomato in the Zarzuela and paired well with the cheese, Idiazabal.  We pulled out two books during dinner: The Wine and Food of Spain which is 20 years old but our in-house reference book for Spanish cuisine as well as the ubiqutous Stephen Jenkin's Cheese Primer.

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bethbecker
peripherique | selections
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