Spanish Wines for Thanksgiving

The holidays will be here before we know it, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s when my entire family gets together, and we have great laughs and fun over lots of food and wine. Everyone has different traditions on Thanksgiving and has that one signature family dish; at our home, everyone brings theirs.

Of course, I supply the wine at Thanksgiving. I try to pick wines that are not mainstream. Lately, I’ve been enjoying Spanish wines, and I feel wines from Spain will pair nicely with Thanksgiving, no matter what is on your plate.

One grape you probably haven’t heard of is Godello. One that should be on your Thanksgiving table. If you don’t like Chardonnay, you will like Godello!

The Godello grape is mainly grown in Galicia, the northwestern region of Spain. Some neighboring regions also grow the grapes. The wines made from the Galicia region tend to show lots of minerality. If you don’t like Chardonnay, you will like Godello. If you like Chardonnay, Godello will be your next go-to white. Another Spanish wine to have on your table is a Tempranillo or a Tempranillo blend with other red varieties grown throughout Spain.

I want to introduce you to two Spanish wines for your Thanksgiving table that won’t break the bank.

Pagos del Galir Godello 2020 SRP$21- The Godello for this wine comes from their premier cru A Malosa vineyards, in the Valdeorras area of Galicia. The vineyards grow on terraces between 400 and 600 meters in altitude. The wine is aged for 6 months on its lees in stainless steel tanks, foudre, and 500-liter barrels.

Floral notes and lots of salinity aromas come from the glass with hints of lemon rind. It’s fresh on the palate, with a nice silky texture and a medium + body.

Cune Organic 2020 SRP $17 - This wine is organic and vegan, 60% Granacha, 30% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Fermentation took place in stainless steel vats with wild yeast. It was then aged in 300-liter oak barrels for 6 months.

Aromas of fresh red raspberries and red floral notes. The palate is soft with medium tannins. Notes of red berry fruit, leather, and a nice touch of spice on the finish.

These wines are imported by Arano Imports. If you don’t see them on the shelf at your favorite wine store, just ask them to contact the importer. Both wines will be outstanding for Thanksgiving!

Kitchen Wine: Pagos del Galir Godello 2018

Godello isn’t a grape or wine your will automatically reach for in the wine store unless you are going in specifically for it. It’s a great wine and you shouldn’t overlook it. I especially like bringing in wines like this to taste with Chef because it’s a great learning experience for him too. He’s been in the business for over 25 years, like Paul and I are learning about food, food prep, methods and presentation, Chef is expanding his knowledge on wine.

Godello is a white wine grape grown in the Valdeorras region of Galicia, Spain. If you don’t care for Chardonnay but are looking for a white wine to pair with your seafood or chicken, this is the grape I would look for.

Pagos del Galir Godello 2018 spends 4 months aging on its lees in stainless steel tanks. It’s fresh and sliky, light bodied with medium to high acidity. You can taste a bit of the salinity along with lemon curd and a touch of creaminess on the mouth feel. That comes from the aging on the lees.

When we drank this wine, Chef had just brought some fish in, in anticipation of us opening up the dining room. While that didn’t happen, he test drove a piece of North Carolina Sea Trout and Georges Bank Scallops. He just seasoned it up and put it on a plate for me to try. Nothing fancy. OMG was it great with the wine!

This is what the dish looks like plated with clams over jasmine rice with poached leak and carrots in a tarragon miso fumet. Entree price $33, wine price $21. (dinner plated for my son who came in to visit)

2 Spanish White Wines to Quench Your Thirst This Summer

The weather is getting warm and we are going to be looking for some nice white wines to cool us off. Whether you are going to the lake, the beach, the boat or your back deck or balcony, I have two white wines you should stock to quench your thirst.

The first is from the Rioja region and is made with the Viura grape. The Viura grape is the most widely planted white wine grape in Rioja. Viura is also known as Macabeo in other parts of Spain. (that is one of the grapes in Cava)

Monopole 2019 SRP $15 - Monopole is part of the CVNE Compania Vinicola del Norte del Espana that was founded in 1879 in Haro, Rioja.A gentle pressing release of the free run juice that was put into stainless steel to conserve the primary fruit and floral aromas. The aromas escaping the glass are lime, white flowers and green apple. The palate, medium bodied and acidity, showed some minerality, lime and stone fruit. 

 Chef Gus said “this is an nice everyday wine.”

Now we move to a different part of Spain, the northwest region of Galicia. You might be familiar with Galicia with Albarino, but Godello is another nice white wine grape grown in the region that doesn’t get much attention. It grows very well in the Valdeorras region, which is a semi-forgotten region with extraordinary vineyards.

Pagos del Galir Godello 2018 SRP $21. The grapes used for this Godello come from their premier cru A Malosa vineyard in the village of Entoma. It spends 4 months aging on its lees in stainless steel tanks. Fresh and silky, this wine is light bodied with medium to high acidy. Aromas of lime zest, salinity and minerality of crushed stones escape the glass. In your palate you can taste a bit of the ocean with some lemon curd an a touch of creaminess on the mouth feel from aging on the lees. Drink this instead of Chardonnay and you’ll never go back.

Last Look at Summer with Pagos de Galir

And boom it’s November! I can’t believe how fast time flies sometimes. As crazy as the summer has been the fall is a time of winding down. The restaurant is only open weekends and I can focus on my wine and get back to the gym among other activities. I look back at this summer and remember the wine friends that came down to visit and the time spent at the pool and on the boat. So here’s one last look at summer with Pagos de Galir.

Pagos de Galir is located in the D.O. Valdeorras appellation that is located within the Galicia region of Spain. In this appellation, they grow Godello and Mencia in soil that consists of schist and slate.

Virgen del Galir was founded in 2002 and it sits in the Galir river valley. The climate has Atlantic influence with cold winters and warm summers.

Wine is meant to be enjoyed with friends and I love to share! So when my friend Kathy came all the way to visit me from Virginia and I hosted her at the restaurant with Pagos de Galir Mencia. If you are not familiar with Mencia, it is a medium-bodied red wine, not to heavy, not to light. It actually goes well with quite a bit of the menu at Kitchen 330.

Kathy ordered the Veal Medallions with goat cheese and horseradish mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and I ordered (yes I got to eat with her) Monkfish wrapped in Prosciutto with paella style rice, chorizo, mussels, clams, tomatoes and gremolata. At first you might say fish with a red wine, but the prosciutto, chorizo and paella totally paired with the Mencia as it paired just as well with the veal too.

Pagos de Galir Mencia 2016 SRP $17.00

Aged in American and French oak barrels for 6 months and then it spent 6 months in the bottle before being released. Dark cherry in color with hints of boysenberry and violets leads to a palate of dark fruit and layers of black cherry. As it open up notes of black licorice become apparent with soft tannins and hint of acidity.

Summer has come to an end and so has boating season. The last ride Paul and took, we took with Pagos de Galir Godello. It was a beautiful day as much of the summer and fall was. There is something so relaxing about boating and having a glass of wine at the end of your ride.

Pagos de Galir Godello 2017 SRP $19.00

Light like summer with a fresh attitude. Floral nose with hints of lemon and lime. Fresh on your palate with hints of passion fruit, pineapple and citrus nuances. Couldn’t have shared the end of boating season with a better wine.

Exploring the Godello and Dona Blanca Grape with Godelia

We all have a first. It’s always exciting when I try a wine that is made with grapes I’ve never tasted before and or knew about. This wine - 2015 Godelia Blanca was a first for me. It was a first with the Godello grape and the Dona Blanca grape.

Exploring Godello, it is an indigenous grape grown in the north west part of Spain known as Galacia. It is thought to have originate from the banks of the Rio Sil River in Galicia. In the 1970’s the Godello grape was close to extinction. A small number of growers have made a resurgence of grape to save it and inspire winemakers to produce wine with it and see what they can achieve.

Today Godello is a key grape varietal in Spain. You will find them grown in the appellations of Valdeorras, Monterrei, Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo.

The Dona Blanca grape also grown in the Galicia region of north west Spain also goes by the name Valenciana in the Valdeorras area of Spain. It is the indigenous grape of the Bierzo appellation.It is also known in Portugal as Dona Branca and is grown Portugal from the Douro northward.

I received the 2015 Godelia Godello-Dona Blanca as a sample and it’s the first time I’ve tasted wines from this producer along with the grape varieties. Bodegas y Vinedos Godelia is located in the district of Pieros in Bierzo between Galicia and Castilla-Leon. The 35 hectare estate has soil consisting of slate, quartzite, clay and sand which ads to the minerality and acidity of the wine.

All the grapes are picked by by hand an chilled for 24-48 hours. This causes them to split and begin maceration on the skins. The grapes are lightly pressed while still semi frozen, then settled off the gross lees. Fermentation happens in stainless steel tanks. The Godello and Dona Blanca remain in the tank on the lees with stirring for 5 months and then is bottled.

En Papillote

Tasting Notes: 2015 Godelia Blanco - Pale yellow in color, my first sip led to a big smile on my face. Not knowing what to expect, it reminded me of a Sauvignon Blanc and then I looked to see what the grapes were in the bottle. There was a hint of salinity and freshness on the nose along with aromas of white flowers and just cut honeydew melon. The palate was crisp with bright acidity. Flavors of Meyer lemon, orange blossom and pineapple. A delightful wine, that would pair well with most shellfish and white fish. Very reasonably priced at $17

Join me on Monday, June 18 for Winephabet Street at 8pm as we learn about the Mencia grape and I taste Godello's Mencia. Another indigenous grape to the region. Click here to sign up.

Explore Bodegas y Vinedos Godelia in this short video.