Aromatic white wines perfect fit for summer

Food was part of everything Patrick Mata discussed.

The affable owner and co-founder of Olé & Obrigado, an importer of wines from Spain and Portugal, tied food and wine together in passionate, unique and genius ways in a wide-ranging interview that covered his beloved albariño/alvarinho wines.

Known as albariño in Spain and alvarinho in Portugal, the crispy white wine is celebrated on Aug. 1 with International Albariño Day. Acknowledging it as the longtime favorite of wine sleuths and industry professionals, Mata said albariño’s time has come to rise above being a trendy, cult wine reserved for wine geeks or restaurant professionals.

“This is one of the most versatile wines in the world,” Mata said. “The world a few years ago was crazy about pinot grigio, then it was sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Now people are on the Sancerre bandwagon. What is next is albariño, that’s what is next.”

Success for albariño traditionally has come where the vineyard can “see the sea.” The cool climate, maritime influence and even salt from the proximity to bodies of water are evident in the wine.

“You have some inland expressions,” Mata said. “But, I personally think it does well by the coast. It’s a grape that likes fog, water and rainfall.”

Its characteristics make albariño a playful partner to a wide variety of foods.

“Acid and saltiness amplify flavor,” Mata said. “It’s like cooking. You add acid to amplify flavor. What is pizza without tomato sauce? You need to upset the starchiness of the pizza dough. Or what is ceviche without lemon? Or an oyster without a lemon, what would it be? Personally, I prefer a little acidity there. Albariño with a meal is the lemon on an oyster, the sauce on the pizza. Salt amplifies flavor, too, and because albariño has a salty flavor, it’s like the salt of your steak or the soy sauce on your sushi.”

Because food and wine are so intertwined, Olé & Obrigado published “El Camino del Albariño: In the Kitchen.” The cookbook with recipes from world-renowned chefs can be downloaded for a donation of which 100% goes to Wheeling Forward, which assists people with disabilities; visit oleobrigado.com/elcaminodelalbarinocookbook.

“We spoke to celebrity chefs to volunteer a recipe that pairs extremely well with albariño,” Mata said. “We’ve raised over $180,000 since we started, and want to get to $250,000 this year.”

Nortico Alvarinho 2022 ($14.99) is from coastal Portugal, and had a natural effervescence; a peach flavor rose above lime and citrus elements. There was a long finish with sea salt and lemon oil.

The Lagar de Pintos Albariño 2022 ($37.99) is made by a winery that has been family run since 1884, and today has two sisters at the helm. Located in northwest Spain, the vineyards are only 300 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. Mata said it is, unofficially, a “Grand Cru of Rías Baixas.”

Because the wine undergoes partial malolactic fermentation, it’s a bit rounder, but still has a snappy energy with fleshy lime and sea salt.

Also from Rías Baixas, Leirana Albariño 2022 ($44) is one of over 20 bottlings made at the winery. It’s vinified according to very specific lots to showcase how albariño can change drastically in different terroir, and Mata said this is his everyday albariño.

“It’s what I drink every day at home,” Mata said. “It’s more Chablis-like than Pintos, there’s more acid and no malolactic fermentation takes place, so the texture comes from the late harvest. It’s a wine made in the vineyard and had a beautiful texture and fatness, yet a great acidity and Meyer lemon flavor.”

Olé & Obrigado will mark International Albariño Day with a sampler six-pack that’s normally $200, but will be sold for $160 for a limited time.

Which makes it the perfect time to discover albariño.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.

TASTING NOTES

Bouchaine Carneros, Napa Valley Riesling 2022 ($45): With honeysuckle, wet rock and ground ginger on the nose, an oily lemon flavor emerges.

Franciscan California Chardonnay 2022 ($12.99): Fleshy peach, toasted almonds, hints of tropical fruit and vanilla. There’s a weight on the mid-palate that makes it feel like a wine that’s a savvy foil for grilled chicken, pork chops or asparagus.

Hillick and Hobbs Finger Lakes Riesling 2022 ($35): Winemaker Lynne Fahy returned home to New York where the lure of her favorite white wine called. With yellow apple, wild fennel, electric-lime acidity and a sometimes chalky texture, this white over-delivers. A future column will feature the winery.

“Riesling is my favorite variety,” Fahy said. “It makes some of the most ‘ah-ha’ wines in the world. It can be like a white Burgundy, and aromatically there’s a chalky, mushroomy, toasty note. There’s all the different things outside the realms of fruit. It’s a wine with a lot of tension and mystery.”

IXSIR, Altitudes White 2023 ($19.99): This Lebanese white grown at high altitude had peach and nectarine on the nose; there were tart flavors of grapefruit and lemon zest. A blend of the indigenous obeideh and Muscat and viognier.

Lifevine, California Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($13.99): A whiff of fresh chopped green herbs on the nose before the wine turns slightly tropical in flavor with green herbal undertones made with organic grapes and zero sugar.

Tasca d’Almerita Tenuta Capofaro 2022 Didyme Salina IGT ($30): Sage, white jasmine flower and bay leaf on the nose with peach and marzipan flavors.

Tasca d’Almerita Tenuta Tascante 2022 Buonora Etna DOC ($24): This 100% carricante was grown in volcanic soils on the eastern slopes of Mt. Etna; it has Granny Smith apple, pear and pencil shavings on the finish. There are thousands of indigenous Italian varieties, and the wines of Sicily continue to offer intriguing flavor profiles.

Xanadu, Margaret River Chardonnay 2023 ($24): A zesty, snappy white with pear, green apple, a lively lemon-lime mid-palate and a ringing acidity. A spectacular chardonnay – the most impressive one tasted this summer.

Winemaker Glenn Goodall said the clusters might not be totally uniform, but the wine is a powerhouse when it comes to flavor and acidity.

“I like it when our chardonnay has a lovely tang about it, yet a good level of intensity,” said Goodall, who will be featured in an upcoming column. “Our Gingin clone has a lot of power. There are a lot of ‘hen-and-chicks’ in the clusters. It’s a Margaret River heritage clone, and has an enormous amount of intensity and structure from its skin-to-juice ratio. Phenolics isn’t a dirty word – with enough flavor profile, it retains acidity, it’s a wine that just comes out with a slightly under-ripe green apple flavor.”