The pick: Luzada, a white wine born for pairing with seafood and tapas on cool, sunny, slightly breezy afternoons
Has spring finally sprung? Maybe. Depending where you are, it’s not that uncommon to still see snow into May. Which is exactly why it’s important to seize any day the sun is shining and celebrate the promise of better weather on a deck or patio with a glass of Luzada, a lovely, fresh Albariño, a white from Rias Baixas, Spain.
Backstory: Rias Baixas is a wine region in Galicia (the northwest corner of Spain), that’s often tapped as one of the next big food and drink destinations, thanks, in part to its tasty bar snacks and delicious white wine. The area enjoys a much cooler climate than the rest of the country, thanks to the winds and currents of the Atlantic Ocean—only perfect for the cultivation of Albariño, a white grape that tends to make for lighter-alcohol, highly acidic, crisp wines with a hint of salt and stone fruit.
Why you’ll like it: Luzada, which comes from the hilly Val Do Salnés sub-region of Rias Baixas, is a spot-on perfect expression of this unpretentious, food-friendly and exceptionally easy-drinking wine, meant to be enjoyed as soon as the thermometer cracks the 10-degree mark. Fairly widely available in Canada, it’s also pretty affordable ($15 in Ontario; $18 in B.C.) and, if you can’t find this specific label, you could always look for another Albariño from Rias Baixas. Since Albariño wines tend to be medium-bodied, you’ll want to serve it a touch warmer than other whites (say, six or seven degrees Celsius) so that you can fully taste this wine’s light, fresh lychee flavour.
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