ALBARIÑO AND CRAB CAKES
The Mood Wine tasting model is something we are very proud of. From the start, we've always had reception wine with nibbles, followed by the focused tasting of the current club wines along with a paired appetizer for each one. As a chef, this is a key part of the Mood Wine experience. In the most recent Mood White release we had three exceptional wines. This post is dedicated to the Albariño along with the crab cakes we paired with it....
Pazo Barrantes Albariño - Rías Baixas, Spain
Albariño wine is considered by many to be the most popular white wine in the world, especially when paired with seafood.
Jake Stanford always elevates our events with his amazing photography; now he's using his MAD graphic design skills, combined with his teaching skills to create way cool information sheets. Each of the wines we include in the club comes with one of these beautifully designed sheets. Welcome to RÍAS BAIXAS, SPAIN....
Welcome to RÍAS BAIXAS, Spain
Jake's intent (based on our mission to provide international education on wine and wine regions) is to NOT focus solely on the label, but to focus on the region, to learn something about the place the wines come from. The idea is that in the long run you may not remember the label, but when visiting a wine store you will be empowered to seek out wines from the place... in this case Rías Baixas, Spain, the home of Albariño.
The bite for this wine was a NO-BRAINER, I (humbly) believe this is a fantastic method for excellent crab cakes. It is simple and full of wonderful crab cake deliciousness. I created bite-sized cakes for this tasting...
Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
These cakes are loaded with chunky Dungeness crab, diced red peppers, fresh corn, scallions, and seasoned simply with kosher salt, pepper, and a touch of smoked paprika. They are bound with eggs and just enough flour to hold them together. I used a gluten free Quinoa flour so our gluten sensitive wine lovers could enjoy... it worked perfectly.
So, now for your next wine party, you have a perfect starter, especially if serving an Albariño! The recipe is simply a basic outline. You can adjust based on personal preferences easily. Just make sure you don't over mix and breakdown the chunks of crab, there's nothing worse than a doughy, mushy crab cake!