I just love it when wine makes babies.  No, really- they can!  If you don’t believe me- you must try this Avinyo, and I’m sure you will be convinced that this wine is truly the love child of the Opala Vinho Verde and a Cava Brut.  This was truly a marriage made in heaven if you ask me!  In no way am I taking away from the genius and popularity of the Opala- it still remains my most visited and commented blog post- but kids, if you were looking for a worthy contender to match the Opala in almost every facet- this just may be your lucky day.

First, how to pronounce- it looks like a mouthful, I know-  the winemakers must have seen this coming because they have a handy little phonetic guide on the back of the bottle for us!  “Vee-da-goo-ya” Avinyo.  See- we’re only on the second paragraph of this entry and already you can sound smart when you come in looking for this wine.  Repeat a few times to yourself so it sinks in.  Vee-da-goo-ya-Vee-da-goo-ya.  It’s fun!

Next, on to this wine’s many uses.  This wine is so versatile it’s practically preposterous.  Like the Opala, it’s extremely low in alcohol- 10.5%- which makes it a perfect AFTERNOON wine!  That’s right- as the last 6 weeks of this Columbia summer is prepared to rear it’s ugly head, you know there’s nothing better than a chilly glass of white wine with lunch.  It’s aromas of spring flowers, tropical fruits, green apple and citrus zest are followed up by perfect minerality and a brisk, frothy, fizzy and thirst-quenching finish.  Perfect with any kind of light fare, in my mind- salads, anything involving citrus (ceviche, a citrus marinade or vinaigrette, etc), and I think it also a perfect apertif wine-  a clever fellow wine writer that I discovered this morning calls it a perfect “close the deal” wine.  Kudos to that one- I wish I’d thought of it myself!  Check out his website here.

Wine Advocate gave this wine a cool 88 points!  Not bad considering it’s only 12 bucks a bottle!  Gotta love that.  In case any of you wine nerds were wondering- the grape in this wine is Petit Gran Muscat- that might make it seem like it’s a sweet wine, but trust me, it’s not- it does, however, have some lovely muscat-like aromas- ie honey, flowers, etc.  But it’s allll fizzy-clean-crisp-deliciousness on the inside. 

I’m not trying to start a War of the Wines here, BUT- I do challenge all of you Opala-drinkers out there to give this one a try!  It really is Spain’s answer to a Vinho Verde, and Spain can make some good wine, y’all.  But you already know this, since you read my blog and you know that I’ve written about more Spanish wines than anything else.  What can I say?  I love ’em.  You can snag this bottle at the Wine Sale TOMORROW- August 7th for the aforementioned price of $12.  Yes, it’s two more dollars than the Opala, but still it’s a steal. 

One more thing- if you’re out and about and shopping for a sparkling wine and you see the Vee-da-goo-ya’s sister wine, the Avinyo Cava Brut– definitely give it a try, too.  It’s a consistant go-to sparkler that always scores well.  Basically these people know what they’re doing.  Hope to see lots of faces at the sale tomorrow!  And PS- we’re going to have LOTS of awesome reserve wines open tomorrow!  Paul Hobbs Pinot (94pts), Swanson Chardonnay (winery only) and I am anxiously awating the arrival of a few cases of EL NIDO this afternoon!  That’s CLIO’s big brother!  Serious stuff.  And who’d have thought- it’s Spanish, too!   Gotta come check this one out.  Cheers!