There is no doubt that the pairing of wine and food is often associated with a certain amount of snobbery, arrogance and elitism. Having said that, there is no doubt that the correct choice of wine can substantially enhance the enjoyment of your meal, and it is also true to say that a wine that you drink by its self may taste different when served with a particular dish, proof, if it were needed, that food is capable of refining the balance, and therefore your perception of a wine.
Without overcomplicating matters it is still worth trying to recognise why certain combinations work better than others. For example, our palates are actually only capable of tasting five elements, but this is more or less reduced to only three that determine our preferences when it comes to wine – sweetness, acidity and astringency… It is these basic elements in a wine that can either be balanced, exaggerated or perhaps even distorted when put together with food.
In the case of Albariño, that has intense fruit flavours and a zesty natural acidity; there are some very food obvious matches that come to mind. For example, it is absolutely no coincidence that the region of Galicia, where the Albariño grape finds its natural home, is also the base for a large proportion of the Spanish fishing fleet, and there can be no greater pleasure than washing down a plate of fresh oysters with a chilled glass of the local grape.
This ‘marriage’ can easily be extended to the huge selection of local fish, shellfish and molluscs, which owing to their supreme freshness, requires only the absolute minimum of culinary intervention. In fact, with no cooking at all, Albariño lends itself perfectly to sushi (although it has to be said that this is not a regional speciality!)
The success of Albariño as a food wine (and all other wines for that matter) depends largely on the base ingredient and how it is prepared. In fairness we cannot claim that it is really a wine to be enjoyed with red meat, although it will sit quite nicely with grilled or pan-fried white meats. It may help to cut through and ‘lift’ certain butter or cream sauces, and could work with some ‘sharp’ or citrus flavours such as lemon, tarragon or mustard.
Albariño can also work well with some types of cheese, more especially those made with goat’s milk, but take care with blue cheeses, as they will simply overpower the wine and render it tasteless. Some more optimistic producers even claim that it can be drunk with dessert, although I believe that excessive sweetness may only serve to exaggerate the acidity.
And please don’t forget of course, that Albariño can be enjoyed on its own as a refreshing aperitif…
The fact that we all have individual palates makes our choice of food and wine a very personal matter.
So, let’s summarise by saying that the appreciation of different food and wine combinations is purely subjective, and that, in the end, you should drink what you and your friends enjoy…. as long as it’s Albariño!