Evuna Altrincham’s philosophy is to bring you three things.
The first is a fine selection of Spanish wines from small, boutique, family-run vineyards who use traditional methods of winemaking.
The second is to demonstrate the diversity of Spanish wine and to educate on all the fabulous regions, grapes and growing conditions that make these wines so unique.
Finally, Evuna wants to provide all the delicious, traditional food to eat along with it in true Spanish style. If you have ever been to the beautiful country, you will know that nobody drinks without eating which is a philosophy I firmly believe in.
We popped down one blustery Wednesday evening to Evuna Altringham to see what it was all about.
Starting with the house red- an Evuna branded 2016 Tempranillo which is grown in La Guardia in the North East of Spain- we settled into our place along the long bar. This made it the perfect easy-drinking wine to begin any meal.
We supped it with a few Marinated Gordal olives (£3.50) and a bit of fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic. Sometimes the simplest things are the most beautiful, eh?
Next was a wine I liked so much I actually bought a bottle home with me. That’s one of the cool things about Evuna- it is a wine shop first and foremost, which means you can buy any of wines that take your fancy. Alternatively, just pop in for a bottle, the friendly staff would be more than happy to give you some advice.
Anyway, the wine I am talking about was a lovely Albarino called Coral Do Mar. This Galician wine is from the North West from a vineyard that is a mere 150 metres above sea-level on slate and granite soils close to the Atlantic coats.
The vines themselves are grown on trellises which gives the grapes ore aeration which leads to less acidity in the wine (don’t ask me why I really don’t have any idea what I’m talking about). The grapes are also harvested by hand.
Honestly, this wine is superb. Full of crisp, light flavours of stone and tropical fruits this makes the perfect match to any kind of seafood – which a Galician wine naturally should. We had it with some lovely Gambas (£8.50) cooked in olive oil with chilli and garlic which really was the perfect pairing.
When I recovered from the excitement of the previous wine, the lovely Karim who attentively served us all night and guided us through both the food and the drink, suggested we try something a little heavier whilst we moved on to some meat. He chose a 2017 Talento Monastrell. Contrastingly to the previous two wines, this came from the mountainous South East of Spain, which brought with it a totally different character.
This had dark cherry notes and lovely woody spice which was so enjoyable. Yet, it was creamy and soft and again, perhaps dangerously easy to drink. We had it with some lovely Albondigas (£6.75) – pork and beef meatballs in tomato sauce- and Slow Cooked Iberian Pig Cheeks (£7.50) which were melt-in-the-mouth divine.
We decided to stick with the rest of this bottle while we tucked into a beautiful Mixed Paella (£18.90) which was a delicious mix of chicken, squid, prawns, muscles, cockles and if you ask them really nicely they’ll put chorizo in it for you too. We did…obviously. It was really lovely and flavourful with plenty of tomatoes and incredibly fresh seafood – it was excellent with the full-bodied wine to boot.
Finally, we rounded things off with some dessert. My dining partner (and designated driver who had to sit patiently as I got perpetually pissed) opted for a Crema Catalana (£4.50) while I went for a simple vanilla ice cream with a snifter of Pedro Ximenez sherry (£4.95) on the side.
If you have never had this combination, you haven’t truly lived – and it was exactly what I needed to take me to my happy place.
In all honesty, Evuna Altrincham completely took me by surprise. It is a name I have seen knocking around Manchester and its neighbouring suburbs quite a bit, but it wasn’t until I actually went in the doors where I realised what it was all about.
I think you should think of Evuna, first and foremost, as a wine shop. However, it is a wine shop that does food – and decent food at that. They have some fantastic wines on offer too, as well as delicious food and an ambience that manages to encapsulate the drinking culture of Spain in the best possible way.
Evuna Altrincham, 84 -86 Stamford New Rd, Altrincham WA14 1BS
0161 928 9898
