544879 Sat Aug 02 09:23:23 -0700 2008 28 34 Wine 0 3924334 Hi I'm new to chowhound and have enjoyed reading the wine posts as I've just begun to learn about wines. Right off a friend who knows of my interest has asked me to bring the wine for a summer outdoor party next week. The hostess is making a seafood paella for approx 14 people. She said the recipe suggested a Spanish white. Of course as a novice here I don't know anything about Spanish wines. but figured it's a great way to learn! Any thoughts on a $10-$15 price range? Sat Aug 02 09:23:25 -0700 2008 215355 mpcarney 1 3924686 Basa Rueda. Can probably get it under $10. Sat Aug 02 12:20:51 -0700 2008 3924334 196217 Brad Ballinger 2 3924862 Methinks an Albarino would be a good choice. Burgans Rias Baixas Albarino is always a good bet. You could also go with a few sparklers. Something like Cordoniu Cuvee Raventos Brut or Marques de Gelida Brut Exclusive. Lots of good choices out there. But I would definitely seek out an albarino, especially if you have never tried one. Sat Aug 02 13:45:35 -0700 2008 3924686 99971 anewton 3 3925103 Thanks. I'll see if I can track some of these down this weekend so I can taste before the event next weekend. Appreciate it! Sat Aug 02 16:03:17 -0700 2008 3924862 215355 mpcarney 4 3944137 I agree with the recommendations for Albarino. The 2006 Vionta Albarino is widely available (you can even buy it online at BevMo.com) and would be a fabulous match with paella. It's right in your price range ($14.99 per bottle). I picked up two bottles for a cookout last weekend and loved it. Sat Aug 09 20:36:09 -0700 2008 3925103 207021 sbonagof 1 3925271 Like anewton, my first thought was an albarino. Martin Codax is another widely available, reliable producer. My only misgiving is that depending on your location, it might be above your price range. Rueda would be fine, and within your price range. Another good choice would be Miguel Torres's Vina Sol, made from parellada. It's a crisp thirst-quencher, and certainly within budget. I quite like it. Let us know what you chose and how it went. Given that you're in the process of learning, and have a large group, why don't you pick a selection, and do a comparison of the wines? Sat Aug 02 17:50:02 -0700 2008 3924334 91415 hungry_pangolin 1 3944643 I love Albariño (or its Portuguese namesake, Alvarinho), but with paella it isn't my first choice. OK, well, that clearly depends upon the paella. Yes -- with a paella that heavily leans towards the seafood and shellfish, then the more I'd lean towards an Albariño. The more chicken and chorizo, etc., in the paella -- in other words, the fuller-flavored, richer it is -- the more I'd lean towards a Rueda (like Brad) or a Viura . . . Sun Aug 10 08:20:20 -0700 2008 3924334 28122 zin1953 2 3944787 I thought and almost replied about my similar preference for a less acidic Rueda to pair with, say, a Valenciana with the chorizo and chicken, but realized that the Paella being paired with is a Seafood one. For a seafood paella, I think Albarino would be a good choice. Sun Aug 10 09:38:59 -0700 2008 3944643 10578 RCC 2 3945156 Jason, I was going to also recommend a Viura, but couldn't come up with one in the price range (my "go to" being Palacio's Placet). And I'd almost go French Mediterranean white (e.g., a Clairette) before I'd go with Albarino. Love Albarino, but I don't think of it when I think of paella. Sun Aug 10 12:56:07 -0700 2008 3944643 196217 Brad Ballinger 3 3945179 I honestly don't either -- but most of the paellas that we cook are a blend of seafood, chicken, and chorizo -- so they need a fuller-bodied wine (I think). That said, I do love Albariño, and the OP was asking about a Spanish white. If we throw open the doors to all the EU . . . . ;^) Sun Aug 10 13:09:17 -0700 2008 3945156 28122 zin1953 4 3945469 I've read this thread three times now...and I just can't get to the place where Albarino is a good match with a seafood-based paella. That dish, even when it's made with seafood, is gutsy and full-flavored. One of Albarino's great qualities is that it is a near-direct expression of vine to bottle -- just a clean, refreshing white wine with no intervention. It's a lovely wine but doesn't have the guts or flesh for a seafood paella. I'd go with a Spanish rose first, then whites from Italy, then a Rueda, before I'd do Albarino. Sun Aug 10 15:46:02 -0700 2008 3945179 18222 maria lorraine 5 3945724 Yes! Spanish rosado is MADE for paella. I had a 97 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Rosado Viña Tondonia a couple of weeks ago that would have paired perfectly with a seafood paella. Not sure where the OP is, but I got mine at Astor Pl in NYC. Sun Aug 10 17:58:41 -0700 2008 3945469 16011 oolah 6 3945729 With my last paella, I have a bottle of 1996 Lopez de Heredia Viña Gravonia from the Rioja -- all Viura. The match was stunning . . . Sun Aug 10 18:02:46 -0700 2008 3945724 28122 zin1953 7 3945754 I've never had a 100% viura, only as a part of a blend. Did you find it had a little heft and substance? And some minerality? Sounds good for seafood paella. Sun Aug 10 18:18:11 -0700 2008 3945729 18222 maria lorraine 8 3946031 No, the 1996 is the current vintage. (OK, I take that back -- the 1998 was released recently.) There is a lot of substance and heft . . . For more info, check out http://www.thinkglobalwines.com/bodega02/bodega02.html (their US distributor), and scroll down, OR go to http://www.lopezdeheredia.com/english/vinos/gravonia.html Sun Aug 10 20:39:28 -0700 2008 3945754 28122 zin1953 8 3946520 Maria, Upthread I mentioned a 100% Viura from Remondo Palacios labeled "Placet." I usually find it in the $15-$20 price range, but maybe it's creeped up of late. Plenty of mineral and heft. There will be some oak, but it's not a distraction. Mon Aug 11 06:42:23 -0700 2008 3945754 196217 Brad Ballinger 9 3947064 That sounds good. A white needs some heft to go with the paella flavors in toto, which includes that caramelized, scorched rice bottom, the Spanish name of which escapes me at the moment. A little oak would work fine with that. Mon Aug 11 09:47:00 -0700 2008 3946520 18222 maria lorraine 10 3947910 Socarrat is the word I think you are looking for. Mon Aug 11 13:43:30 -0700 2008 3947064 10985 MMRuth 10 3947992 Hours later now...I remembered the name of the heavily caramelized and concentrated crusty rice bottom of paella -- it's the soccarat. No one wine fits all paellas, because they vary so widely in overall flavor intensity. (Even the seafood paella from Andalucia is different from the one from Valencia.) Not every, probably not even most, American cooks make the soccarat or even know that this is a desirable or authentic element of paella. A "white paella" may have with fish and no shellfish, no bell pepper or pimenton, only a small amount of saffron, and no soccarat. A Valencian cook might pile on the shellfish, add lots of bell pepper, tomato and saffron; and develop a soccarat that is caramelized and crusty and like a piece of artisan bread. The first paella might be fine with an Albarino but would be lost with the second. The second paella definitely needs something with more heft, something like the Viura, or what you often see it served with -- rosado. Mon Aug 11 14:07:19 -0700 2008 3947064 18222 maria lorraine 5 3946237 Seafood paella and Albarino is a classic pairing. That aside, it sounds like you have other preferences, which is fine. Personally, I find it to be a fantastic match with seafood paella. Sun Aug 10 23:37:57 -0700 2008 3945469 207021 sbonagof 6 3946531 Actually, if you want to talk "classic" pairing, the classic pairing for Albarino are Galician fish pies. The wine is from Galicia, and is a frequent companion to the fish pies made in that region. Paella is from Valencia, a different coast altogether. That said, I still ascribe to drink wine you like with food you like regardless of how "classic" the pairing may or may not be. For me, I would drink plenty of other wines with paella before I'd grab an Albarino. Mon Aug 11 06:46:20 -0700 2008 3946237 196217 Brad Ballinger 7 3946604 Speaking of Albarino, I recently had one from Alban Winery (Central Coast CA) and it was MASSIVE, with 15.8% Alcohol (possibly higher, but this was the ABV on the label), plenty of vanilla oak, and significant heft. Now, this is a far cry from any Spanish Albarino one would find, but it nevertheless interests me how a grape variety that is traditionally considered to be fairly lean could be transformed into a burgeoning monster of a wine given the right climactic and soil conditions and winemaking techniques. (Surprisingly, this California Albarino had pretty vibrant acidity, which rescued it from being a flaccid, doughy monster of a wine). Mon Aug 11 07:11:20 -0700 2008 3946531 99971 anewton 7 3946635 Here's the thing when speaking of things "classic", especially recently when everything old is "nouveau/nouvelle" again. Last summer a friend of mine did a "seafood paella"... no chorizo, no chicken, just seafood. Although she used that short grain rice (can't recall the name at the moment), it was remarkably light, and marine. The albarino was perfect. So, mpcarney, what precisely was the paella, and what wine(s) did you choose? Mon Aug 11 07:23:31 -0700 2008 3946531 91415 hungry_pangolin 8 3947741 I completely agree - Albarino would be a great combination with a seafood paella without chicken and chorizo, too. What I find amusing is how hard a few people are trying to argue against an obvious pairing of Albarino, a notably food-friendly wine, with a dish, seafood paella, that is paired with it all the time. There are several other solid recommendations in this thread, too. I take nothing away from them. But most of all, I do appreciate the (unnecessary) geography lesson that I was given in this thread. The next time a waiter in Spain tries to recommend a bottle of Albarino with paella, I'll be sure to set him straight. ;-) Mon Aug 11 12:57:59 -0700 2008 3946635 207021 sbonagof 9 3947866 Easy now, sbonagof...it was your comment that albarino was a "classic pairing" that invited further comment. No one disputed the food-friendly nature of Albarino, or its loveliness as a wine. What may be in question is the frequency with which Albarino is paired with seafood paella in Spain itself, where Rosado, especially from the bobal grape, and other whites (like moscatel romano and meseguera) from Valencia and Andalucia are far more common and less expensive than Albarino, as well as more regional and traditional. Mon Aug 11 13:31:25 -0700 2008 3947741 18222 maria lorraine 1 3948501 Had a wine called Portal over the weekend. Might be a good option with seafood based Paella; &0% Garnacha Blanca, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Viognier, and 5% Macabeo. Very refreshing and crisp at $14 bottle. Mon Aug 11 16:41:52 -0700 2008 3924334 50082 TonyO 1 3948612 No doubt an Albarino will pair nicely but I haven't been able to find a good one in your price range. Two other choices second best could be Muga Rose 2007 from Rioja Spain. Nicely crisp and dry with some flavor and an Italian, Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2005 somewhat less flavour and different but dry sometimes with a spritz. 'She' may find the first has a romantic touch... and even the scroll and bottle shape of the second. Go for it! Mon Aug 11 17:29:03 -0700 2008 3924334 181266 Winowill 2 5131452 Many respondents here are correct in preferring a white wine for seafood paella. However, much as I like Albariño, I would not select it. Too fruity. The other Spanish whites lack the strength to stand up to a flavor-filled paella. So a rosé/rosado from Rioja would be good. However, an earthy, rich Marsanne/Roussanne based wine from southern France is ideal. Frankly I don’t have gobs of experience with these wines, but they are only whites of consequence grown here under the warm Mediterranean sun. They pair well with nuts, sea scallops, lobster/crab, smoked fish, garlicky dishes – big flavors as you will find in paella. Mon Oct 26 08:30:44 -0700 2009 3948612 1119315 collioure1 1 5136440 this is a rather old thread but since its been revived, I'll suggest a Txakolina; Extomin Extaniz is one that I like rather well Tue Oct 27 22:16:48 -0700 2009 3924334 31795 ibstatguy