The origins of Tapas comes from the small plates that accompany delicious wines. In some parts of Spain they actually give the food away free as long as you purchase glasses of wine.
That said, one of the areas we must look at closely when we enjoy our Tapas is the wine that goes with our food. This is even better if these are to be found at a reasonable price-point, in this case under $15.00 USD.
Let me start out to loosely quote a book I read about enjoying wine… “What really matters the most is if it simply that it tastes good to you.” So, that is what I as going to share here, my opinion about the qualities of these wines.
I am very fortunate to live in a part of the US that I believe produces some of the finest wines in the world, The Great Northwest, in particular, the Willamette Valley area. This has allowed me to savor my favorite Pino Noir readily. I tend to use them as my benchmark for comparison. I am a huge believer of the importance of the “Terroir”, the environmental factors that effect the qualities of the crops grown in these regions.
Today, we are going to sample a couple of wines from Modesto California. Modesto is located about due east of the Bay area and south of Napa and Sonoma. Situated in the Central Valley, this area has rich farmland and excellent grape weather with mild winters with and very hot, dry summers. Modesto is the home to the world’s largest winery, the E & J Gallo Winery.
We are going to focus or efforts on two smaller wineries from Modesto.
Based on our sampling, we can recommend both the Dark Horse Pino Noir 2014 and the Apothic Dark 2014 as excellent choices for your tapas celebrations. They are very predictable, quality wines within a very reasonable price range. After all, affordable wine makes it perfect for everyday tapas enjoyment!
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