Read all about Bob’s experiment with pairing wine with cod.
Vieira de Plata Albariño & Gómez Cruzado Rioja
Ever try to pair a wine with a meal, and it just doesn’t work? I’m usually pretty good at it, even when you stretch the rules, but here I stretched a little too much and did a red with cod and it just didn’t work. I thought my smoky Spanish romesco sauce would bridge the gap and make the dish work with my Spanish Rioja. It was obvious that this was a chance I should not have taken. This old-world Tempranillo just didn’t cooperate with the cod.
Even with my pairing mistake, some good came out of it. I just happened to have a bottle of our new Albariño as a backup, and Oh My!!! It was fabulous. It sang with the fish and the spicy, smoky sauce. And I even got better results from my experimentation an hour later.
After I thoroughly enjoyed my cod with romesco sauce with a little glass of Albariño, I went back to the Rioja about an hour later because I just really wanted a sip of red wine. The Rioja opened up and it too was fabulous without the fish getting in its way.
My wife and I took the Rioja out to the patio and leisurely enjoyed a big glass. Sometimes you just have to break some rules to figure things out. Next time, cod with Vieira de Plata Albariño. Or swap out the fish for a pork tenderloin or a New York Strip and the Rioja will be singing, too: Gómez Cruzado Rioja
Vieira de Plata Albariño
$16.99
Gómez Cruzado Rioja
Friends & Family $19.99 — reg $24.99
(Order online if you’d rather not come into the shop. We’ll have your order ready within an hour, we’ll bring it out to you, and you’ll be on your way.)
(You must be 21 to order and pick up wine — please have your ID ready.)
