Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Meanwhile, Across the Pyrenees…

Winery: Las Colinas del Ebro
Cuvée: Garnatxa Blanca
Appellation: Terra Alta (Catalan)
Type: White
Vintage: 2018
Grape Varieties: 100% Grenache Blanc
Alcohol: 13.5%
Average Retail Price: Spain €7, U.S. $14

Between Valencia and Barcelona you can find the wine growing region of Terra Alta in the western part of the Province of Tarragona. It is only recently that wines from this region have come abroad for our pleasure… and today’s wine is indeed that — a pleasure. You may be wondering why, on a blog about wines from Provence, I am writing about a Spanish wine. Well, there is good reason. I am soon about to embark on my first trip to Spain and so much of everything in my kitchen these days is related to the trip — that means the wines and food. And today’s wine is a Garnatxa Blanca — a Grenache Blanc — which is a grape variety found in many Provence wines. It seemed like the perfect wine to share with you.

Spain produces a lot of good wines and offers some unique culinary experiences, truly different from neighboring France. Today, my recipe is Gambas al Jerez — Shrimp in Sherry — a tapa that hails from the southern shores of Spain in Andalucia, where we will be going. Check out the recipe at Cocoa & Lavender. Andalucia is a bit far from Terra Alta, but the wine is a perfect pairing with the briny shrimp and rich Sherry sauce.

The soil in Terra Alta is predominantly clay with lime sediments making it a very well-drained environment in which to grow grapes. In 2006, in the village of Batea, the winery of Las Colinas del Ebro was founded, making red and white Grenache wines, as well as Syrah. The Garnatxa Blanca is the color of pale straw, with a nose of pear and lychee. On the palate — pre-food — I tasted pear, honeysuckle, and kumquat. It has a wonderful mouthfeel — very round and seductive. With food, it seemed less fruit-forward to me — darker and smoother than on its own. There is a of touch of honey on the finish.

This is definitely a wine that I enjoyed more with food than on its own. We also had it with a kale and date salad with tahini dressing — another really good pairing. It is perfect for salads, fish and seafood, and light poultry dishes. 

I leave you with this Spanish toast: ¡Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’ dentro! (High, low, to the center, to inside! — or “Bottoms up!”