If you live in Texas, you certainly eat your fair share of tacos.1 And there isn’t much we won’t roll into a tortilla. Get a little closer to the Gulf coast, and you’ll certainly find more seafood based tacos. I’ve had fish, shrimp, oyster, calamari, crawfish – you name it – tacos. And I generally love them all. So for this month’s white wine paring, I’m going taco. Sort of.
The Wine
2015 Murrieta’s Well ‘The Whip’ White Wine Blend
The Murrieta’s Well ‘The Whip’ White Wine Blend hails from California’s Livermore Valley. I’ve certainly seen my share of wines from Livermore Valley but hadn’t really tasted much from there. This, despite it being one of the oldest wine regions in California. I recall having a wine or two from Concannon and Wente, who are pioneers of the region, but it’s definitely been a minute. For quite a while, Livermore Valley was not known for quality wines, but there seems to be a renaissance of sorts going on. So it’s definitely a great time to discover the wines of the region – many of which are good values. The nice thing about the region is that many of the wineries are still small, family owned affairs.
‘The Whip’ is an interesting blend of 30% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon, 30% Chardonnay, 7% Viognier, and 3% Muscat Canelli. Each varietal is fermented separately and then blended together for aging. The wine certainly puts you in a tropical state of mind. A tad bit off-dry (presumably from the Muscat Canelli), it is dominated by melon, pineapple, pear, and floral blossoms followed by a citrusy, lemon-lime finish. Quite smooth and lively in the mouth. This really is an amazing blend of grapes, but it works. And for $16 its hard to go wrong.2
The Food
Coconut Shrimp Lettuce Tacos
Hopefully the powers that be won’t kick me out of the state for foregoing the traditional tortilla. But sometimes you just want something a bit lighter and healthier, so we’re wrapping our “taco” in lettuce. And yes, the family gave me the side eye. And yes, I had to give Thing 1 and Thing 2 an actual tortilla. But The Husband at least humored me. We topped our crispy coconut shrimp (cooked in coconut oil) with fresh avocado, tomato, and a little salsa. Given the somewhat tropical theme of the meal (coconut screams ‘tropical’), the Murrieta’s Well White Wine Blend was a nice accompaniment. The sweet coconut and creamy avocado had a similar profile to the tropical fruit in the wine as both had some richness. And the extra heat from the salsa was nicely offset by the off-dry nature of the wine. Now if only it was spring and we were sitting on a tropical island.
Happy pairing and cheers y’all!
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