“What’s for dinner?” A question we often ask our guests that they are already asking themselves. Picture this, it’s Friday evening and you’re coming in to your local ABC for special bottle of wine, but you also have to make dinner. Who wants to be bothered with preparing a big meal? I have a perfect quick meal option that you can pick out of any ABC Fine Wines & Spirits’ cheese cooler. The theme is Spanish—think tapas.

Recently, we brought in a couple of new Spanish products that lend to a quick European-style meal of assorted noshables. From Campofrio, we have a selection of pre-sliced “tapas meats” including jamòn serrano, lomo and chorizo clàssico. Serrano is a Spanish prosciutto-like ham, while lomo seems more like Canadian bacon dried out like salami, and chorizo is Spain’s spicy sausage. Just open up the package and set it out, or if you want to get creative use the serrano to wrap some melon, figs or dates, or whatever you happen to have in the fridge at home.

We also have a new selection of Spanish cheeses from Garcia Baquero, called tapas de queso. This includes a small wedge of iberico, queso de cabra and manchego. Iberico is a mixture of cow, sheep and goat milk and has a cheddar-like bite but with a saltier, Spanish flair. The queso de cabra, called the “Tipsy Goat,” though I’ve seen it called “Drunken Goat” elsewhere. This goat is a medium-hard cheese, where dunking in red wine cures the rind, giving it a purple color and a subtle balancing flavor to the tartness of the cheese. Manchego is the classic, salty sheep’s milk cheese from Spain (almost their version of Romano) that pairs so perfectly with fresh grapes or a selection of cured olives. You’d be surprised how many more olives ABC carries than just good old martini olives. Take a gander at the gourmet food section and you’ll see a vast array of olives and cured vegetables, tapenades and crackers or flatbreads. There is certainly enough to make a quick tapas meal.

What Spanish wine to pair with this collection of small bites? We could go either white or red with this assembly of flavors, so I’ll give you both. Though an Albarino might be one’s first thought when it comes to Spanish whites (and our new Orballo Albarino is divine), we have a really special wine with a difficult name: Rezebal Txacolina. Made from 100% Hondarrabi-Zuri grapes (only slightly easier to pronounce). Think green apple, fresh citrus zest and minerals on the nose and tongue, which fatten up slightly to kiwi fruit on the palate and finishes with limestone and slate. There is just a hint of fizz to this wine, like its Portuguese cousin Vinho Verde, but it finishes a little drier. A very classical, Old World-style wine from a grape almost unknown to most Americans, that pairs very well with seafood and shellfish dishes, though I love it with manchego and iberico.

For a red option, let’s think of Spain’s own noble grape, Tempranillo. Though best known from Rioja, there are also outstanding Tempranillos from Ribero del Duero and the Toro region of central Spain. Called Tinta de Toro, the Sabor Real Crianza 2007 is all Tempranillo and has the classical spicebox, cedar and fresh tobacco notes we’d expect. In the warmer climate, Tempranillo hits a juicy ripeness that differentiates this version from its cousin in Rioja. I get black cherry and loganberry mingled with mineral notes. Loads of complexity for just $12 per bottle and a Parker 91 score. He describes the wine as having “brooding depth and outstanding concentration” and I’ll have to agree. Best yet, the orange and black label can work for any Halloween décor. This is a wine to pair with the serrano and the chorizo, as well as the “Tipsy Goat” or any grilled meat options. The Sabor Real would also pair well with roasted eggplant, marinated artichoke hearts and ratatouille. It’s an incredible deal of a wine.

So, for a quick, last minute, no cook, meal, take a gander at ABC’s fine food selection after you pick up a wine. Ask the wine consultant for a wine or cheese pairing, and discover what you like to pair best (and try something different next time). Some of our best celebrations are everyday celebrations, which help us to understand the European food and wine model (quality over quantity, everything in moderation, the French paradox). Now all you need is really good conversation and you’re golden!

Cheers!

Dan Eddy, North FL Wine Supervisor