Good Wine Cheap (and good food to go with it)

By John

If you have not noticed, the price of wine seems to be going up steadily. That is why the discovery of a good $6 bottle of wine is such a surprise. The wine is from the Toro Region located in the Northwest of Spain, bordering on Portugal. Like so many Spanish white wines, the first taste calls out for seafood, garlic and fresh lemon.

The wine is Marques de la Billa 2000 from the wine maker Bodegas Covitoro, located in the Town of Zamora. It is made from the Malvasia grape, which is often found in sweeter wines such as Madiera. The first sip was like biting into a fresh, fruity table grape right off the vine. But, then it becomes clearly a dry wine with the nice hint of acidity. The nose is slightly aromatic. Finding a wine with this much character and this little price was a pure pleasure to this Scotsman. The Boss happened to make Crab Cakes the night that we had this wine. It was a very good match.

Maryland Crab Cakes

8 oz. lump crab meat (fresh or canned); 1 egg; 1 tsp. Worcestershire; tsp. dry mustard; 1 tbs. mayonnaise; ½ tsp. lemon juice; 1½ tsp. Dijon mustard; 1½ tsp. melted butter; ½ tsp. parsley flakes; ½ tsp. Phillips or Old Bay Seafood Seasoning; ¼ cup bread crumbs. Combine all ingredients except crab meat. Mix in crab meat. Shape into cakes (probably six). Pan fry. Serve with fresh lemon wedges and Tartar sauce.

John is a member of Mensa of Northeastern New York. He lives with his wife in the Hudson Valley.