$10 Tuesday: Rioja Dry White

I wish I had some shrimp scampi or fried clams for this week's $10 Tuesday. Tonight we have a dry white Rioja made from 100% Viura grapes.

This is the kind of wine you want to pair with briney seafood period. To serve anything else is to do this wine a disservice (not to mention yourself!)

On the nose we find ample pineapple, a little mushroom, and a hint of butter (actually, it's closer to the residual memory of the idea of butter). There's also an overall citrus theme cutting straight through from the zesty attack to the orange peel pith finish. I wouldn't call the finish velvety because there's so much tongue-dancing citrus going on but, the overall texture is moderately viscous. It's supremely dry--a real tongue duster.

I don't recommend anyone buying this wine willy-nilly for an average Tuesday night. I mean you can but, I think it's a recipe for disappointment, and I hate to see a wine dismissed due to improper context. I would hope that the majority of this wine will be consumed in Spanish seaside tavernas where it can be properly married with sun, salt, sea, and copious little plates of tastiness.