Everyone can appreciate a “wine of place.” Wine people throw this term around a lot, and I can attest that there’s no better way to really understand a wine than to taste it in the place where it is grown. But not all wines deliver on this promise to transport you to their place of origin: there’s plenty of well-made, if not especially evocative, wine out there, which is why I’m so excited to offer this authentic, expressive (and astonishingly well-priced!) Albariño from young California vintner Ian Brand.
This is not to say that Ian is just aping the Spanish style with La Marea (or the French with P’tit Paysan). He’s channeling the spirit of these wines while staying true to his Californian source material. His winemaking style maximizes transparency – he tends to pick at lower potential alcohols to preserve acidity, and prefers neutral oak barrels for aging (if he uses oak at all). These are honest wines from unique vineyards, of which the Kristy Vineyard Albariño is an energetic example: it’s medium-bodied and substantial, with flavors of white peach and green apple overlain with salty minerality. The acidity is bracing and so refreshing. I would suggest decanting this structured gem for about 30 minutes before serving it with some crudo drizzled with good olive oil and some Maldon salt. Or, if you really want to get into the Galician spirit, check out this super-simple Octopus recipe.