03/17/06 New favorite wine.

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. I always say my favorite wine is usually the wine that I am drinking at the time. Last week I had a fabulous dinner with Spanish food and wines. I want to tell you about a Spanish white wine served at that meal called Albarino. Spain is a literally a land committed to wine. It is a country with more of its land devoted to planting grapes vines than any other. In the northwestern region of Spain is grown the grape Albarino, a grape variety that only until recently was one of the world's most obscure grapes. For me this grape produces is a perfumed elegant wine that, depending on the style that it is made in, can sometimes resemble a Sauvignon Blanc but more often to my experience it resembles a Viognier. The fragrance can be fleeting and you find yourself swirling the wine in your glass in a desperate attempt to recapture that first whiff of its perfume. The wines made from the Albarino grape are some of the most sought after white wines in Spain and with their increased export they are becoming quite popular in the United States. Although they are rarely wines to drink by themselves, they are a perfect wine for seafood. I also like them with drier cheeses olives and almonds of course. They may be a bit hard to find in the grocery store but most wine shops will stock a variety of differing styles. Ask your wine merchant for a few recommendations and start trying out a some of the potentially great summer wines, and my new favorite wine Albarino, and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.