This week I had the tremendous privilege of having lunch with some friends at Coque, Mario Sandoval’s one Michelin Star Restaurant. It’s not an easy place to find, as is the case with most treasures. The restaurant is located in Humanes, a small village south of Madrid, approximately 40 minutes from downtown. The restaurant was founded […]
On Saturday, the second day of the EWBC, I woke up early and showered before heading to breakfast — by the way, I love hotel breakfasts, there are usually many foods to choose from, and the fruit is peeled and cut. In the shower, I made the mistake of using the complimentary Hermés body wash. […]
This weekend I had a fantastic and unforgettable experience at the European Wine Blogger’s Conference. This second edition took place in Lisbon, and I felt the excitement the minute I got to the hotel. Many of the people knew each other from last year’s conference, and they were hugging and laughing, it really felt like […]
I just got back from Malpica where I tasted the 2009 Tempra Tantrum wines. They are still developing so I can’t quite choose my favourite, but they are getting close! Most of the wines have finished malolactic fermentation, and are entering the micro-oxygenation process. Micro-oxygenation is a relatively new technique used to introduce oxygen into […]
Yesterday I went to a Champagne Show at the Palace Hotel, where guests could enjoy and taste the bubbles from various Champagne houses. The Palace Hotel is one of the best hotels in Madrid, so the expectations were pretty high. The room was classy and elegant, and so were the stands that showcased the different […]
In Spain, our vocabulary is full of many old sayings, we literally have sayings for almost everything we do. One of my favourites is “Te la han dado con queso,” “They’ve fooled you with cheese,” and it is used when someone has been swindled. The origins of this popular expression go back to when wine clerks […]
The 2009 wines are still evolving and surprising us. Some of them have already finished malolactic fermentation, also known as second fermentation and colloquially known as malo. Other wines are still going through alcoholic fermentation, first fermentation, which is great because it is very interesting to taste the wines in different stages. During malolactic fermentation, […]
This year we have installed beehives in our Malpica estate in an effort to promote a sustainable development of our land. The beehives, which we’ve placed close to our Tempranillo, will help with the pollination of the vines in a natural way. It will also help increase the biodiversity of the region. Each of the […]
On Saturday, harvest season hit the city as a very well known wine bar, Lavinia, threw its second edition of Ortega y Gasset’s harvest event “Las Vendimias de Ortega y Gasset”. The Ortega y Gasset Street was blocked off, and more than 3.000 squared meters of asphalt was covered in a red carpet. Along the […]
Yesterday I was talking to my English teacher about the Denomination of Origin (DO) Rías Baixas and its pronunciation (r-ee-as by-shas), and it got me thinking about how little people know about this Spanish wine region and its wonderful wines. The name of the region is from Galician dialect, which is a mix of Portuguese […]
“Noches con Nombre Proprio” or Nights with First Names is the latest initiative by the Rias Baixas Denomination of Origin Board. This very creative initiative is meant to promote the Albariño wines from this region, and at the same time, help give a little boost to the restaurant industry. For one night each, 40 bars […]
One of my friends is planning a bachelorette party trip to Rioja, and asked me for tips on wineries she should visit. This made me think about the options available. I have to admit that after visiting some wineries in Napa Valley, the wine tourism in Spain seems quite underdeveloped. Recently though, it has been […]
Last night I went with some friends to a new place in Madrid called La Gabinoteca. It’s a modern tapas bar with some very cool and original ideas. The wine list is very different than in most places, specially in Spain where wine lists tend to be quite boring with very little originality. La Gabinoteca […]
Have you ever heard about the San Sebastian Film Festival? It’s not as big as the Cannes or Sundance, but here in Spain, it is kind of a big deal. On Saturday, Brad Pitt was invited to the festival for the presentation of Tarantino’s last film “Inglorious Bastards.” Sadly, he left the day before I […]
As you can see, during this stage of winemaking, we get to do a lot of tastings. In this video, I am tasting the 2009 Merlot which is almost over the alcoholic fermentation process. Though the wine is still very young and has a long way to go, it’s already showing a preview of what […]
As we move forward with the harvest, we are tasting and analyzing the 2009 wines in different fermentation stages and following their evolution. Some of the varietals are still tasting very sweet as they are early in the fermentation process. Also, their color is quite pinkie since they haven’t been in contact with the skins […]
Last week, we harvested the plots of Tempranillo, Merlot and Shiraz, now I’d like to tell you about the rest of the making of the Tempra Tantrum 2009 vintage! After we pick the grapes, we move them into stainless steel deposits (being careful not to smash them), where the grapes are cooled to 14º Celsius/ […]
All of the work that takes place in a vineyard is fascinating, at least I think so! I thought I’d share a video about what goes on behind the scenes in Malpica, sorry for my English mistakes!! In this video, we taste the grapes and analyze the texture of the juice, the flavors of the […]
The 2009 harvest has finally arrived!! Last week I couldn’t write as much as I wanted to because we were very busy at the vineyard picking the Tempranillo, Shiraz and Merlot grapes. This year, the summer has been very dry and hot, causing these three varietals to be ready for harvest at the same time […]
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about food that pairs with dry sherries. The Bloody Sherry post inspired me to the perfect food pairing combination: Gazpacho and Fino! Gazpacho is a cold tomato soup, very popular in Spain during the summer. Although a cold soup may sound a bit strange, this is definitely a recipe you […]
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