WITH a lovely, rich dish such as prawn and lobster bisque, you need a wine with good acidity and a bit of character to match the grub. I’d suggest an Albarino from Galicia in northern Spain, but I’d advise caution when choosing your bottle. There are a lot of good ones out there, but you have to know what you’re looking for. It took me two years to find the perfect Albarino to put on the shelves of our wee shop on Glasgow's Bath Street. In the interim, I tried lots of disappointing bottles at a variety of prices, and a few that were tasty but just too expensive in my opinion. This is my daily struggle that I take on for the greater good. Rest assured, I’m doing it all for you.
A decent Albarino should have peach notes and an attractive minerality as well as a wee hint of the sea. This complexity adds to the food-matching potential of the wine, making it ideal with Shirley’s bisque. As long as you can find a good one.
So to find a good one, you should firstly expect to pay between £10 and £16 per bottle, any more and it would really have to change your life. But the price alone is no guarantee. This is where you have to go in to a proper wine merchant and ask the staff what they’ve tried recently.
Veiga Naum and Lan Santiago Ruiz are both very good, and you’ll also see them on wine lists in nice bars and restaurants. Ordering one of these while out with friends is sure to impress. Especially as not everyone has discovered this little wine gem when paired with paella, fish stew or lobster bisque.
Here are a couple of crackers (including one from a supermarket) to seek out this weekend.
Albarino Faustino Rivero Ulecia Rias Baixas DO 2016 (Sainsbury’s, £12). This is presented in a tall, fluted blue glass bottle with a funky fish on the label. Back in the day, blue glass was used to denote poisonous contents (as well as Harvey’s Bristol Cream), but this wine is absolutely delicious and not dangerous at all.
Albarino Fillaboa Rias Baixas DO 2016 (Inverarity One to One, £14.99). This is an exceptional wine, beautifully aromatic and incredibly food-friendly. Some lighter wines are best suited to summer glugging, but this one works for me all year round.
Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow www.inveraritymorton.com
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