La Puerta, Torrontes, 2010, La Rioja, Argentina

I'm in the rank armpit of a Canadian heat wave. People here are simply not accustomed to dealing with intense heat. They get quite unhinged. I choose to look on the bright side of things - white wine tastes amazing when you are glazed with varnish of sweat. And the wine drinking makes the state of being unhinged a lot more entertaining. Finally, hot weather also trims your criteria for white wine down to a very manageable list: it must be ice cold, clean, acidic, and possess delicately refreshing fruit. So long live the heatwave. I'm a big fan of Argentinian Torrontes. It pulls through on all of these key indicators and is especially forgiving with respect to price. This is one of my everyday wines. La Puerta is no glory-boat. It's salt of the earth. Sub-$10. Your nonno would approve. I'm matching it with some mussels with double smoked bacon, blue cheese and more Torrontes.

Mussels with Smoked Bacon and Blue Cheese

Ingredients for 2:

- 1 pound of mussels, scrubbed and bearded 

- 4 slices of double smoked bacon, sliced

- 1 cup of dry white wine (torrontes! You're already drinking it)

- 1/2 cup of blue cheese

- 1 small onion

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- a few green onions, diced.

- a spring to thyme or oregano 

1) Clean your mussels. If you've never done it before, check this out: 

 

2) Saute bacon over medium to high heat in a pan and set to a side plate once cooked. Add onion and garlic to the same pan and sweat. 

3) Add mussels. Add wine and thyme or oregano. Return bacon to the pan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and give it a good shake. Cook for 2 minutes, giving it another good shake. Once the mussels have opened, it's ready. 

4) Add crumbled blue cheese and green onions to the broth. Serve with bread.     

Tasting Notes for La Puerta, Torrontes 2010: 

First off, this is such an easy and satisfying recipe that everyone who doesn't suffer from a debilitating allergy to shellfish or really weird texture phobia should give it a try. Really. It's absolutely fool proof. Insofar as the wine is concerned, La Puerta is stellar for the money. It won't change your life, but what do you want for $8.95? Easy on the eye when you're sweating off pure city grit. Pale straw in colour with hints of green. Very pretty. Just looking at the frosted bottle in the lead-photo up top makes me want more. And more. But enough about my problems. On the nose, some apricot and peach, vanilla floral like honeysuckle, and some lemon peel. Fruit comes through on the palate but it is quite dry, with citrus heavy at the start, minerals and a green apple rounding out the tail. It sounds like a lot, but truthfully it's quite a simple, straight-forward wine. Delicate. Pairs nicely with the sweetness of the mussels. Exactly what I need to re-hinge. Stock up, I say.