Last weekend I went to San Miguel market in Madrid, one of the coolest places in the city. It was crowded but also a lot of fun!! People went from one stall to the other tasting cheese, olives, tapas, wine, beer, champagne, etc. The market was a very old building recovered last year after it […]
Here I am back again after the Christmas holidays! Our Christmas holidays are pretty long and last until the 6th of January when the “three wise men” come with presents. During the break I watched a lot of TV, and I got a really nice surprise when watching the show The Big Bang Theory. Out […]
Today in Spain is the equivalent of April´s fools day. In Spain and in other countries the 28th of December is called “Dia de los Inocentes.” People play pranks on each other and it’s always a good laugh. Everybody looks quite suspicious as you get wrong news on TV, newspapers and the radio with live […]
I just realized Christmas is around the corner (more specifically 2 days away) and I haven’t wished you a merry Christmas…. so MERRY CHRISTMAS and I hope your holidays have been great!!! For now I’ll leave you with this video of an incredibly gorgeous Madrid showing its Christmas glory. You have to agree it looks really beautiful!!! […]
Lately I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to write as much as I would like to, but here I am again, excited to share with you a great piece of “art”. The New York Times has made a small collection of videos, where actors and actresses play a roll without any dialog. A tribute […]
Check out this cool video of the Longboard Girls Crew skating around Madrid on a beautiful Saturday morning. Great way to check out the city! Longboard Girls Crew from Juan Rayos on Vimeo. Enjoy it!! –Rocio
I’m beginning to think that I’m a chocaholic, and for some reason, my addiction increases during the winter time. If you are one too, don’t be ashamed to say so as there are few things better than a good piece of chocolate. There is a chocolate brand that I like very much called Pancracio. It´s […]
One of my favourite things to do in my spare time is to read through food blogs to find new recipes, especially twists on traditional Spanish cuisine, such as this California Gazpacho recipe. I’m always so amazed at the number of blogs out there, from the very involved and professional Chef blogs to more simple […]
Doesn’t it seem like every year Christmas preparations start earlier? As soon as November 1st arrived, I started to see the first signs of Christmas: decorations, advertisements, special Christmas foods, etc. As I was thinking about this, I realized that starting Christmas earlier gives me the excuse to enjoy one of my favourite Christmas treats […]
Only in the past recent years– maybe 10–15– has the American-style Halloween celebrations become very popular in Spain. Growing up, it wasn’t a custom to dress-up or throw parties. The Halloween celebrations I attended were mostly in the homes of my American friends, but I always thought they were so much fun! Now with the […]
Time is getting closer… two of the most waited-for bars in Spain will open their doors in Barcelona in a few months. After taking El Bulli to the maximum level, Chef Ferran Adriá, along with his brother, are starting their new adventure with “La vida tapa” (The Life´s Tapa). According to the website, “this project […]
As an exceptional movement, the European Union has authorized the use of chaptalization in 11 European countries. Chaptalization is the use of sugar or concentrated musts in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation, and in this case, help these countries achieve the least minimum alcohol percentage established for each wine category. The countries […]
A few weeks ago, the Consulate General of Spain in New York along with the Times Square Alliance and Coolture Spain, presented Spain Art Fest 2010, an initiative to bridge the gap between Spanish culture, art and technology. For two days, Times Square was filled with the works of Spanish artists living in NYC and […]
On Monday, I traveled to Paris for a wine tasting where we were to showcase some Osborne wines. I was a bit worried, as I’d heard about the strike problems happening in the country due to the government wanting to delay the age of retirement to 62. The strikes are affecting the gas supply, so […]
One of the things most people think about when they think about Spain is the “Siesta” ( nap), and people still think we take one every day. The truth is that we have changed our way of life, and we’ve become so busy — especially in the city — that we can´t take siestas everyday […]
In a couple of weeks, harvest season in Spain will be done. From what I hear, it´s been a good year but vine growers are complaining that they’ve had to sell their harvests for nearly free due to the drop in wine consumption in Spain and the difficulties for most wineries to export their wines. 15 years […]
I have to say I couldn´t help but smile when I learned that the Royal Spanish Language Academy in collaboration with Youtube are inviting people from all over the world to upload videos of themselves reading excerpts from the book Don Quijote.. In case you don´t know, El Quijote is one of the most important […]
The weather is cooling down more and more, so the end of the harvest is getting delayed. There are still some plots of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Graciano (an indigenous Spanish varietal typical from Rioja) that we expect to be done next week. So far the 2010 vintage is looking very good. And due to […]
Last Saturday was the opening of the “new” Serrano street in Madrid. It´s one of my very favourite streets in Madrid and it has been going through restoration for 2 years!! If I had to compare Serrano to other streets I would say it´s Madrid´s Fifth Avenue (NYC), or Regent Street (London), or the Rue Saint […]
With things being so busy at the winery right now, I haven’t had as much time as I would like to blog. The weather has cooled down so the end of the harvest is going very smoothly. We expect to finish at the end of next week, and so far the wines are looking good […]
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