Hi,
Choosing an alcoholic beverage that I like is especially complicated for me because in my moments of leisure with my friends before going out to dinner I can opt for a cold beer on hot days.
Or I may opt for red or white wine depending on my mood if the ambient temperature is cooler. For some reason I associate beer more with warm, sunny days.
But if I have to choose a drink from the two mentioned, I will choose white wine and especially white wine made from albariño grapes with Rías Baixas appellation of origin from Galicia (Spain).
There are several wines with Rías Baixas appellation and until a year ago differentiating the nuances of each of these wines was for me an almost impossible task because I liked them all.
That is why I opted in June last year to visit one of the largest wineries of Rías Baixas wine in Cambados, which is the Martín Codax winery.
After a general visit to the store to see the large number of wines of different types that they had and contemplate the history and tradition of this winery, I hired a tour of the factory and a final tasting to learn to differentiate the nuances of these delicious wines.
They explained to me how through sight we can identify Rías Baixas white wines depending on whether they are more transparent or more cloudy. With this we can know if we are in front of a younger wine with more citrus and fresh flavors or if we are with more elaborated wines with some barrel aging along with their yeasts.
Apart from color, we were taught how to identify them by smell. Not because they smell very different depending on the aging of the wine, but because a more elaborated wine we can perceive its smell having the glass a little further away from our nose.
But undoubtedly, the class was differentiated on the palate. Although the different wines all had a slightly salty touch due to the fact that the vines are very close to the vineyards, the more aged wines presented nuances with flavors that remind us of freshly baked bread, that is, nuances of the yeasts with which the wine is in contact during its aging in barrels.
All these wines were accompanied with different fish-based appetizers such as these mussels and this sardine accompanied by a bell pepper jam.
Undoubtedly, for almost a year now, Albariño white wine with Rías Baixas appellation has become my favorite alcoholic beverage before dinner or luch with my friends on weekends.
Best regards.
