The wine-pairing suggestions that accompany recipes in this book are limited to wines from Spain, the Basque Country of Spain and France, and California. Many incredible wines are now being produced in wine-growing regions around the world, so why the exclusivity? The answer is a venerable culinary axiom: what grows together goes together. It is a sound philosophy not only for matching foods, such as fava beans and asparagus, or beets and potatoes, but also for matching foods with wines. Think of foie gras with Sauternes, Bolognese sauce with Sangiovese di Romana, and, of course, tapas with sherry. The wines from Spain and the Basque Country are natural matches with the gutsy, flavorful ingredients that go into all of my dishes. And because the agricultural riches of my adopted home continue to inspire me with new ideas in the kitchen, California wines and my recipes are an equally felicitous marriage.
Spaniards have always enjoyed wine, drinking it with nearly every meal—sometimes even taking a sip of sherry after breakfast. Thanks to the British, sherry has enjoyed centuries of worldwide recognition, but few other Spanish wines have matched that glory, other than the red wines of Rioja and the cavas, or sparkling wines, of Catalonia. Historically, the rough, high-alcohol reds and low-acid whites of Spain were drunk—and appreciated—only by the Spanish.
But in the mid-nineteenth century, when phylloxera devastated many of their vineyards, French vintners began migrating to Spain, where they planted grapes, mainly in the areas of Navarre, Rioja, and Catalonia, and introduced more modern production techniques. Slowly the quality of Spanish wine began to improve, only to have the political turmoil of the twentieth century bring progress almost to a halt. However, with the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, which ended nearly four decades of iron-fisted rule, Spain began the transition to democracy, and Spanish vintners once again set about improving the quality of their wines.
Today, Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world, behind France and Italy, with the United States fourth. Of course, marvelous wines are being made in every corner of the country, but the Basque region, with its three historical provinces in France (Labourd, Lower Navarre, and Soule) and four historical provinces in Spain (Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Araba, and Navarre), is an up and coming player on the world wine stage. The most notable wines from the Spanish side are the classic Rioja Tempranillos, the wines of Navarre (especially those made from the Garnacha grape), and the sprightly Txacolí, made just outside San Sebastián. The French side offers robust alternatives with its white and red Irouléguy wines. The best wines of Spain have an appellation designation, or DO (Denominación de Origen), of which there are currently sixty-six, and there are two regions, Rioja and Priorat, that have a higher designation, DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada).
The U.S. wine industry has also come a long way in recent decades. In 1970, California was home to only 110 bonded wineries. Today, there are more than 1,300, and the state is the fifth largest wine producer in the world, with almost 1 million acres of vineyards. Much of that land is planted with familiar classic French varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, but California vintners are also experimenting with grapes from every corner of the globe, such as Tempranillo from Spain or Gruner Veltliner from Austria. Not all of these experiments yield outstanding results, but they do reflect an American idealism that encourages trying new things—an idealism that has advanced the California wine industry in a relatively short amount of time and has produced a diverse array of wines along the way.
When you are selecting a wine, your choice is often in large part subjective, and is influenced by where you are dining, whom you are dining with, and your state of mind (in love, stressed out, tired). Sommeliers, in contrast, typically consider just three primary factors, all less subjective, when determining the best wine: the taste, smell, and feel of the food.
At the end of most of the recipes in this book, you will see a brief section titled To Drink that includes one or more Spanish, Basque, and/or Californian wines, selected according to a sommelier’s three primary considerations for pairing. The exceptions are the recipes in the Pinchos and Montaditos chapters. It is customary throughout Spain to pair these small plates, which are typically no more than one or two bites, with wines that are versatile enough to mate well with a variety of foods. That’s because customers are moving almost constantly from one plate to the next, from one flavor to another. Manzanilla and fino sherries from Jerez, rosés from Rioja and Navarre, and Txacolí from the Basque County are the most popular choices with these dishes.
Use the wine-pairing recommendations as guidelines to help you pick out a wine at the wine shop or from your wine rack. Although a specific winery is often named, it is not because it is the only one that makes a compatible wine. Instead, consider the winery as a starting point to finding a similar wine. To that end, a simple legend identifying the wine qualities that make a good match has been included with each recommendation. That means that you can walk into any wine store and ask, “Do you have a Claiborne & Churchill Riesling? And if not, what would you recommend that is medium bodied, dry, and fruity?”
| L | Light bodied or delicate |
| M | Medium bodied |
| B | Bold or full bodied |
| D | Dry or lacking any apparent sweetness |
| F | Fruity* |
| *You must distinguish between fruity and the sensation of fruit and sweetness, which refers to the residual sugar in the wine. In other words, a wine that is fruity can also be dry. |