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Matching wine and tapas
Lucy Bridgers selflessly devotes herself to finding the perfect pairing for tapas on a tapas crawl through some of London's leading tapas bars
"Finding a good wine match for tapas doesn’t sound that difficult. However, last week on a ‘Tapas Safari’ organised by Wines of Rioja, I was reminded just how tricky it can be to find drinks that suit such a broad range of flavours and textures. You need something sufficiently refreshing and versatile to handle all this.
Currently there is a burgeoning tapas scene in London, but unlike Spanish cities, you can’t stroll from bar to bar. We were ferried around in taxis to several exciting new venues and were only able to make it to three of the five on our itinerary. Nevertheless, it gave us a great opportunity to compare dishes and drinks and reach some interesting conclusions.
At our first port of call – Bar Esteban in Crouch End – a Decenio Rioja Crianza was an easy, juicy partner to ham and cheese croquetas and little tiny chorizos cooked in cider. I always find that pimenton augments the spiciness of Garnacha and Tempranillo and this was certainly the case here, giving the wine a zippy lift. One of the specialities of the bar, the Canarian potato dish, papas arrugadas, was another hit with the Rioja, with its peppery sauces, as was the romesco sauce served with grilled chicken.
Following owner Stephen Lironi’s advice, we also tasted a couple of sherries, Gonzales Byass’s 12 year old Palo Cortado Leonor and Fernando Castilla’s 30 year old dry Oloroso. Tangy and nutty, both worked brilliantly with the food and I particularly loved the Palo Cortado with the chicharrones (pork belly cooked with cumin, lemon and salt). The complex savoury Oloroso deftly cut through the rich fattiness of the jamon and chorizo. No wonder sherry is often seen as the default choice for tapas.
From Crouch End we moved the new branch of Camino’s in Blackfriars where we were ushered downstairs to their lively basement cava bar. Here we enjoyed Conde de Haro cava with some very spicy patatas bravas. The elegant refreshing fizz was ideal – very happy with the crunchy fried potatoes and spicy heat.
Back upstairs in the main restaurant, we had another stand out dish, Iberico pig burger with caramelised onions and Idiazabal cheese. This was partnered rather classily with Remelluri Rioja Reserva 2009. Compared with the crianzas we’d been drinking, the reserva had a more defined structure with fresher acidity that tapas cries out for.

Our final destination was the newly opened Bravas Tapas in St Katharine’s Dock. We were tiring by this point (ahem), but genial owner Bal Thind presented us with some distinctive modern tapas from chef Victor Garvey. Highlights here included morcillas de burgos sliders – deliciously charred and crunchy; crispy foie gras stuffed quail with Iberian pork belly and syrupy PX sauce in an egg for dunking; decadent foie gras ‘Crema Catalana’ topped with cherries and Belota ham; patatas brava with whipped-to-order alioli and, most memorably, gazpacho ‘truffles’ – encased in solidified olive oil with cocoa.
With this extravaganza, it was a shame we didn’t have more of the cava handy to keep the palate refreshed. Apparently at El Bulli, cava was often regarded as the safest option to see diners through an evening of Ferran Adrià’s creations.
My conclusions from this long and entertaining evening? If you’re with a group of friends, why not order a bottle of each colour and share them around? Crisp dry whites work well with fried and cheese-based tapas e.g. a personal favourite – the ever-versatile Torres Viña Sol. You won’t go far wrong with Albariño either.
Classic gutsy rosado is at ease with strong garlic, tomato and red pepper, as well as chorizo and prawns (maybe the colour comes into play here).
With reds, as we discovered during our ‘Safari’ Rioja reserva has a firmer, more defined presence than the easier drinking crianzas and is worth trading up to, particularly for grilled meat and smoky pimenton. Alternatively, follow the Spanish examples of sherry and cava.
You can try out different riojas with tapas yourself at the Tapas Fantasticas festival on London’s Southbank on the weekend of June 14th/15th. A number of London’s leading restaurants will also be offering a complimentary tapa with every glass of rioja purchased in the run-up to the festival* including Ametsa, Anise at Cinnamon Club, Bread Street Kitchen, Fino, Merchant’s Tavern, Oxo Tower and Sager & Wilde.
* until June 16th 2014
Lucy Bridgers is a regular contributor to matchingfoodandwine.com and has her own blog Wine, Food & Other Pleasures. She visited Bar Esteban, Camino Restaurant and Bar and Bravas Tapas as a guest of Wines of Rioja.
Top image © pat_hastings - Fotolia.com

German wine and Scandi food - natural born partners
Scandinavian food is becoming increasingly popular but what type of wine should you drink with it? Lucy Bridgers reports on how German wine fares.
With their clean, pure, precise flavours and geographical proximity, German wine and Scandinavian cuisine sounds like an obvious partnership, but until recently, one I hadn’t had the chance to try. That was until earlier this week when I was invited to do just that by Wines of Germany at their Scandinavian supperclub led by cook, food anthropologist and author Signe Johansen of Scandilicious.
We kicked off the evening with some tasty canapés: spiced Norwegian veal and lamb meatballs, mini toast Skagen topped with prawns, caviar and lemon mayonnaise and with goats cheese, pomegranate and vanilla salt. Two Mosel Rieslings and a Pfalz Pinot Noir were served with these: Dr Loosen Urziger Würzgarten Kabinett 2011, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Trocken 2011 and Palataia 2011.
The versatile Von Kesselstatt worked with all the canapés, especially the mini toasts and made a mouthwateringly fresh, zesty aperitif. The Urziger Würzgarten (‘Spice Garden’) was more fleshy, spicy and honeyed which chimed nicely with the sweetness of the prawns. The Palataia Pinot Noir selected to accompany the meatballs was a good match, but lacked the appetizing zip of the Rieslings at this stage of the meal.
The starter of cured salmon with wild dill pollen, Peter’s Yard sourdough crispbread, Scandinavian pickles and horseradish crème fraîche was served with Weingut Winter Riesling Trocken 2009 (Rheinhessen) and Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer Schutzenhaus Riesling Kabinett 2011 (Rheingau). The Rheinhessen, deeply coloured with lush peachy fruit, yet dry, stood up magnificently to the spicy horseradish and pickles and had enough weight on the palate to balance the richly textured sashimi-grade fish (the ABV was a full-strength 13%). In contrast, the lighter and more traditional Rheingau (10% ABV) was overwhelmed by the dish.
The main course, a wintery spread of braised finnbiff (Norwegian venison) with mushrooms and pearled spelt, salt-baked celeriac, beetroot salad with fruit vinegar and seasonal greens was served with two Pinot Noirs, Peter & Peter 2011 (Pfalz) from Zimmermann-Graeff & Muller and Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Blauschiefer 2010 (Ahr). Both showed well with the earthy flavours of the dish, but the complex, Burgundian Meyer-Näkel was a more memorable partner than the easy-drinking and juicy Peter & Peter.

After a refreshing palate cleanser of blood orange sorbet, we were served a two-part dessert of rhubarb and almond torte and freshly baked citrus and nutmeg madeleines with Studert Prüm’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2009 (Mosel) and Schloss Johannisberger Riesling Spätlese 2011 (Rheingau). Neither wine was obviously sweet, but they worked brilliantly with the desserts which were far from sugary themselves. The vibrant, almost tropical Schloss Johannisberger was a particular treat with the torte, its tingling acidity beautifully highlighting the rhubarb.
With such a range of styles now being produced in Germany – drier whites and an increasing proportion of reds – it was fascinating to experience their renewed versatility with food. (Historically in the UK German wines were more highly prized than French).
And, as expected, there is a great synergy between Scandinavian cuisine and German wine. It’s perhaps not surprising that Germany’s most important export markets include Sweden and especially Norway where they are market leaders.
Lucy Bridgers attended the event as guest of Wines of Germany
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