Blend/Grape Varietal: Viura (aka Macabeo)
Region of Origin: Rioja DOC, Spain
Taste: Clear with medium intensity and lemon color. Nose is clean with medium intensity aromas of citrus fruit and stone such as peach and apricot and soft mineral notes. Palate is dry and fresh with medium body stone fruits and a long finish.
Pairing: Pairs very well with fresh pasta, rice dishes, lemon and aromatic herb seasoned poultry & other white meats. That all inspired us to share a recipe for Vongole Mediterranio (Baked Clams & Rice with Saffron) by B. Kato. It’ll be ready in about 40 minutes and will yield 4 servings.
The grape.
There’s a lot to unpack about Viura/Macabeo, too much to get into for our purposes today. To give a little context about its potential as a varietal, we’re sharing a little blurb from an article Jancis Robinson wrote titled Macabeo/Viura – the Cinderella grape?
“Over the past few years I have been increasingly impressed by wines made from a grape that is hardly ever written about and of which the authorities in the region where it is most important seem rather ashamed.
This historic vine variety is known as Macabeu and Maccabéo in Roussillon in southern France, Macabeo in much of its homeland Spain, and Viura in Rioja, where it is by far the most planted white wine grape. It has the unusual virtue of being capable of making dry white wines, often blends, with real nerve and character that improve with age.”