07/24/08 Spanish Tapas

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is food and wine pairing day. Earlier this week we talked about the wines of Spain. On today's program I want to share some of the foods that pair well with the better known Spanish wines. Tapas  it is truly a tradition in Spain. Tapas are appetizers served with beer or wine before lunch and before dinner. It is like a cocktail party every day. But the word tapa means lid or cover and in the past referred to the complimentary plate of little bites of food set on top of your glass when you visited a tavern. However, now the meaning seems to have evolved, and anything served in a small portion is considered a tapas. Tapas can be a simple serving of olives accompanied by fried and salted almonds. It can be elaborate marinated garlic shrimp, shrimp pancakes or batter fried shrimp. Mussels and clams are either sautéed or stuffed and baked all fall into very traditional tapas that pair well with the Spanish white wine Albarino or a chilled Sherry. When it comes to the meaty tapas like pork balls and chorizo stuffed mini cabbage rolls you can pull out the Sangria or the Spanish red wines like Rioja. If you ever find yourself traveling in Spain plan to make a meal of moving from one tasca to another and experiencing many different taps. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.