More and more I´m reading and hearing about the Tempranillo grape being planted outside the Spanish borders. Tempranillo is Tempra Tantrum’s main variety and the most well known indigenous grape planted in Spain. It is present in 27 wine producing regions and in each region, this grape variety has different characteristics that makes a wide […]
Yesterday was the Vinoble 2010 kick off, the International Exhibition of Noble Wines that takes place every two years in Jerez. This is the only wine fair exclusively dedicated to fortified, dessert and natural sweet wines. The venue is amazing, as it is between the doors of an old Álcazar, an Arab fortress from the XI […]
Are you tired and stress? Then, as more than half of the population, you may need a year of sabbatical and the Rioja Government is willing to pay you to do so in their region, obviously to promote tourism and awareness of Rioja. To get this cushy job you have to go through a pretty tight […]
By now you might have noticed that I have quite a sweet tooth, so I couldn´t be happier to find out that one of the newest trends in Madrid are fancy cupcakes! There are a lot of bakeries that now offer delicious and cute little cakes. Spain´s specialty is not about icing and baking, so […]
Have you ever tasted a wine from India? Maybe it´s the first time you even know they make wine there too. Don´t worry, most people don´t know either. India has debuted this year at the London International Wine Fair with 9 different producers. They were all in the same tent, so the image of India as a […]
I´m so thrilled!! Two of our wines were awarded with medals at the “Concours Mondial de Bruxelles” 2010, a very important and one of the most prestigious wine contests in Europe. Every year the contest changes location, and this one was celebrated in Palermo, Italy. Our Osborne Pedro Ximenez (PX) 1827 was awarded the Great […]
Starting today, the Rioja region will launch a campaign in the USA to promote Rioja wines. The campaign will focus mostly in NY, Florida and Chicago, as these are the states where Rioja is better known. Today wine journalist Leslie Sbrocco, will conduct a tasting in Chicago´s Ivy Room of 12 Rioja Wines, priced in […]
Would you call a wine drink made without alcohol –0.5 or 0.0% — a wine?? I’ve just tasted a new range of these products: white, rosé and red with 0.5% alcohol and another red with 0.0%. I´m pretty open to new things so I tasted them to see if they were anywhere close to a wine. […]
This week Spain has put on its flamenco dress and gotten into the Feria mood. Every April since 1846, the Feria de Abril –also known as the Feria de Sevilla –takes place in this city. During 5 days, Sevilla is colored with music, flamenco dresses and joy. Hundreds and hundreds of stalls –casetas in Spanish– with […]
Chocolate and wine together are two simple pleasures that can really complement each other. When I get a box of assorted chocolates I love to grab a few friends, a couple bottles of wine and let the taste testing begin! When pairing chocolate and wine, the wine should be as sweet as the level of […]
This winter in Malpica has been pretty cold and wet. In the last 2 months it has rained as much as it usually does in the whole year, and not to mention we had a couple of big snow storms that left the vineyard completely white. Because it doesn’t happen very often, I have to […]
With the Winter Olympics about to start, people from all over the world will be arriving in Vancouver this week to experience the local flavor and tastes of western Canada. This could mean a big surprise for some, as British Columbia is an emerging and pretty serious wine region they may not have expected. Although […]
The latest crazy thing I read about wines is a cellar under the sea. To promote sea activities the City of Vizcaya in northern Spain has just settled 4.500 bottles in an iron cage at 14 meters below the sea. To avoid neoprene pirates from stealing the precious treasure, the cage is surrounded by cameras and […]
I wanted to share this wonderful article from Mary Gorman on TheKitchn.com. I met her last November in NY where we talked about Tempra Tantrum. I really enjoyed talking to her about the wines, the vineyard, the winery, the philosophy behind the wines, etc. I had a very nice time as she is very insightful, […]
Continuing my fascination with unfamiliar wine regions, here is another one. Though with such a long history of winemaking, I can’t really call it “new”!! Along the eastern border of the Black Sea, beautiful countryside, deep valleys and flourishing vineyards define the Republic of Georgia. The nearby Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea both influence the […]
On Monday I did an interview with Simone Diament and Carole Kotkin on their radio programme Food & Wine Talk, of South Florida Gourmet. I met them originally at a dinner in Miami last November, and it was a wonderful talking to them again about the Tempra Tantrum wines, Spain, winemaking, etc. You can check […]
Alternative closures are now common for still wines, but I’m starting to see this trend in sparkling wine too. Sealing sparkling wines is a very important step, as the closure must be able to withstand the pressure pushing against it, while providing an airtight seal to lock in the bubbles. I have seen sparkling wines […]
During these special days everyone can use some bubbles in their life. In Spain we celebrate Christmas until January the 6th, the day the three Kings of Orient come, and during these holidays we drink Cava, a wine made by the Traditional Method, also known as the Champagne Method, one of the different ways to […]
In continuing with our previous theme of unexpected wine regions, and since Hanukkah is around the corner, I decided to look into producers of kosher wines in Israel. To most of us, kosher means to just not mix milk and meat products. But kashrut [kosher] laws are concerned not with the content of the wine; […]
Usually when flying, I like to catch up on my sleep, or catch up on reading my book. But on the last airplane, I met my seat neighbour, and somehow ended up talking about wine! She told me about an organization called Korks-4-Kids which I think is very special. Korks-4-Kids is a non-profit that collects […]
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