Garlic dishes pair well with Albarino wines
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Wine is more than a drink and garlic is more than merely a seasoning. Both have ancient roots and historically have been prized for both medicinal purposes as well as their unique flavor.
Native to Central and Near Asia, garlic was first cultivated or farmed during the Neolithic era making it one of mankind’s earliest domesticated plants. A species in the onion genus Allium, garlic was worshiped by the Ancient Egyptians who used it more for medicinal purposes than for food or as a flavor enhancer. Like wine the ancient Greeks and Romans revered garlic and extolled its health benefits and culinary uses.
They also fed it to their soldiers believing it gave them greater courage. Early Chinese and Indian cultures used garlic as a digestive, preservative and male potency enhancer. For thousands of years this bulbous plant has been a mainstay of great gourmet cultures, enhancing dishes and providing health benefits. In fact, the story and traditions of garlic are similar to wine.
A delicious way to illustrate the natural affinity between garlic and wine is to pick two garlicky dishes and match them with embellishing wine partners. One is a tapa from Spain and the other a timeless Chinese dish.
Gambas al ajillo
Garlic shrimp or gambas al ajillo in Spanish is something garlic lovers really should try. Depending on the region of Spain there are a variety of ways to make this tapa.
The most traditional version comes from Andalusia in southwest Spain, where an empty pottery or iron pan is put into a well heated oven. When removed, extra virgin oil, shrimp and ample amounts of garlic are added to the scalding pan often with a splash of Sherry or white wine and served sizzling hot.
Sometimes a little chili pepper is added and the dish is usually served with bread that’s used for dipping into the garlic scented olive oil. The result is one of the world’s most popular and delicious tapas.
A fantastic wine companion to this garlic shrimp tapa is the dry Spanish white wine Albarino from Rias Baixas in northeastern Spain. Mountainous and lusciously green, this Atlantic Ocean coastal region features deep inlets that traverse many miles inland. Decorating the hills are rolling vineyards of Albarino that thrive in the damp climate. In this challenging environment, the small thick-skinned Albarino grapes slowly reach their optimal ripeness while retaining a high level of acidity.
These fresh and lively white wines with lovely aromas and flavors of citrus, apple, almond and grass with bracing acidity match beautifully with garlic shrimp tapas. The acidity in Albarino whites nicely cuts through the oiliness of the dish, cleansing and sensitizing the palate. This allows the more subtle natural flavors and textures of the shrimp and roasted garlic to be highlighted.
Martin Codex is one of the foremost Rias Baixas wineries with a range of Albarino wines. Their flagship Albarino offers a lively nose of citrus fruit and wild flowers and fresh white and yellow fruit flavors with a bracingly dry finish. Other fine Rias Biaxas Albarino producers with wines available in Shanghai include Vionta, Pazo de Senoras, Lagar de Fornelos, Adegas d’Altmira and Pazo de Barrantes.
Another fine match for gambas al ajillo is the fortified Sherry wine Manzanilla. The most delicate and dry of all Sherry styles, Manzanilla also has a wisp of saltiness that’s quite pleasant with the garlic shrimp tapa.
Sliced pork in garlic sauce
The literal translation of “suan ni bai rou” is garlic white pork. By any name this is one of the world’s most tasty garlic dishes. Commonly served as a cold starter to a Sichuan meal, the dish consists of thinly sliced poached pork belly that are chilled then drenched in a pungent garlic sauce.
This is a traditional Sichuan dish with a long history. Long before chili peppers where introduced by Portuguese and Spanish traders in the 16th century, Sichuan gourmands were savoring garlic dishes like sliced pork in garlic sauce. It goes equally well with a robust white wine or zesty red wine.
I suggest a white or red wine from the southern Rhone. Both styles offer desirable qualities of freshness, spices and fruitiness that stand up to the garlic. One of my favorite southern Rhone producers is Chateau Mourgues du Gres.
Located in the Costieres de Nimes appellation, they make wines that accurately reflect the history, tradition and unique terroir of the southern Rhone. Two of their best wines are the Terre d’Argence white wine and Capitelles des Mourgues red wine. The former is a white wine made from old-vine Viognier and Roussanne grapes. This rich gold colored wine offers lovely apricot, citrus and honey aromas with hints of wild herbs and concentrated elegant fruit flavors that complement the pork and pungent garlic flavors in the Sichuan appetizer.
The Capitelles des Mourgues red wine is predominantly made using the fruit of 70-80 year old Syrah vines with about 10 percent Carignan added to the blend. The wine is aged in large 600 liter oak casks that impart very subtle notes of oak.
When enjoyed with a full flavored dish like Sichuan sliced pork with garlic sauce, the ripe red and black berries and spicy notes of the wine embellish this already delicious dish.
Region & Style at a glance
Variety:
Albarino is the most famous variety of the Rias Baixas DO region in northwest Spain where it makes fragrant dry white wines.
Key Term:
The word Rias refers to the numerous estuaries in the region that create a special climate where the Albarino vines thrive.
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