Two White Wines

The next two grape varieties on my list were Airen and Albarino. I decided to share my taste testing on a Sunday afternoon with my wine friends Steve and Virginia. Of course we had to wait until after the Dallas Cowboy's game as wine always tastes better with a Cowboy win. Our first grape was Airen, which according to Steve DeLong (www.delongwine.com) " .... Airen isn't grown anywhere else but Spain and in Spain isn't really grown outside of the arid plains of La Mancha. To be sure, most people haven't heard of this bigger than life eccentric as they have La Mancha's other bigger than life eccentric, Cervantes's Don Quixote." ( remember Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren in the movie Man of La Mancha). I purchased a bottle of 2007 Marques De Caza Airen at the Addison Goody Goody store for $5.99 and also a bottle of 2007 Vizconde de Barrantes Albarino from Rias Baixas, Spain for $12.99. First we tasted the Airen and found it light with subtle citrus notes, no oak and low acidity. It was very pleasant. We then tried the Albarino which Steve commented had a bigger nose (more aromatic) with a hint of floral (lilac). It was softer than the Airen, with good acidity and of the two, was a better food wine. Can't forget the food! and since we were sipping Spanish wines, Virginia put together a beautiful table of tapas....artichoke and spinach dip, scallops wrapped in bacon, olive tapenade, crab rangoon, and of course, Manchego cheese. We learned that there are 2 different types of Manchego cheese. One is the Mexican variety which is softer and good for melting and the second type is from La Mancha, hence Manchego. You can find this variety, Manchego el Trigal at Whole Foods.
We decided that these refreshing wines would be great summer patio wines and while sipping, we'll rent Man of La Mancha and nibble on Manchego cheese.