A treat from Argentina

Wine: Torrontes 2007 Giminez Riili Perpetuum

Paired with: Panko-crusted chicken tenders.

Comments: Torrontes is Argentina's most famous white wine. The grapes love the dry climate that characterizes much of Argentina's wine country. We had never heard of the wine before our first trip to Argentina, mostly because we really knew nothing about Argentine wines. They're still a well-kept secret and an amazing value, so really, we're not doing ourselves any favors by blabbing about them here, are we?

Anyway, Torrontes is a very light, fragrant white wine, well suited to drinking in the hot weather where it grows. Stick your nose in your glass, and you'll smell flowers and/or tart fruits like green apple. Take a sip (well, two sips, since it takes two to really be able to taste a wine), and you'll find a refreshing wine that's similar in body and taste to a dry riesling.

Tasting Notes - pre-food: Very refreshing with crisp green apple as the predominant flavor. The wine had a respectably long finish for a white.

Tasting Notes - with food: This wine didn't change too much with food, which was unusual. A mistake on our part was the honey-mustard dipping sauce we made to go with the chicken. The mustard turned the pleasant tartness of the wine into an astringent, unpleasant quality. Lesson learned!

Color: white gold

Price: approximately $15 (it's part of a wine club, so I don't have an exact price)

Verdict: Tuesday for this particular torrontes. We've had some with a little more personality that qualify as Friday, but this one didn't stand out too much, so just a pleasant accompaniment to a weeknight meal.