Spanish Vacation: Catavino

Day Eleven continues....

As the afternoon approached, I looked forward to finally getting to meet Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino. They are a husband and wife team that write an interesting and informative blog about Iberian wines, both Spanish and Portuguese. Because of my own love of Spanish wines, I began reading their blog. And over time, I got to know Ryan and Gabriella better, albeit only online. So when my wife and I chose to vacation in Spain, we made plans to meet them in person.

(You can read an interview with Ryan and Gabriella over at Tom Wark's Fermentation).

As we waited for Ryan and Gabriella to arrive, there was obviously a little bit of trepidation. What would they be like in person? Would we like each other? Would we be able to find something to talk about or would there be much awkward silence? I figured they felt the same way as well. Yet I felt that it would go well.

Ryan showed up first, alone, as Gabriella was busy though she was going to join us later for dinner. Ryan had brought a bottle of Portuguese wine made from the Touriga Nacional varietal. This was to honor Wine Blog Wednesday, Portuguese Table Wines, which would occur the next day.

We led Ryan to the rooftop of our hotel to drink some wine and talk, getting to know each other. There was a beautiful view from the rooftop and it was an excellent setting for our initial meeting. And it fit in with Catavino's frequent rooftop tastings, though on their own rooftop.

The conversation flowed quite freely, from wine to many other topics. Ryan certainly was personable, witty and intelligent. It was a pleasure to spend time with him, sipping wine and chatting. As I have said before, wine tastes even better when shared with good friends.

After a time, we went off for dinner. Ryan had chosen a Portuguese restaurant that was not too far from our hotel. But when we arrived, it was closed. So we just wandered around, seeking any place that looked good. A grand adventure. Would we find some place delicious, or would it be a dud?

We chose to first stop at Origen 99.9% for a drink and some tapas. It just looked interesting though none of us had heard of it before. We sat at a table and were brought intriguing menus. The menu was actually a magazine! There were articles in the beginning and then a list of the foods, with photos of each dish. The menu started with desserts, certainly a great way to start a menu. There was also a fairly long wine list.

Ryan chose a Cava for us to try, one he had not had before. It was made with an intriguing blend of grapes and was very tasty. It had a crisp, fruity quality. A very good choice.

We ordered three tapas, and split them all so we could try the different dishes. We had slices of a lamb sausage which were excellent, with good spices and a meaty taste. We also had a stuffed baked apple, containing minced veal and pork and various spices. This was also excellent, a nice blend of flavors. There was plenty of meat inside the apple. The third dish was Majorcan sausage, atop bread, and covered with a thick layer of cheese. Though it was tasty, the cheese did overpower the sausage.

We all thought this place was very good. We got lucky when we stumbled into this restaurant. It is a place I would recommend. Prices were reasonable and the food was generally very good.

Gabriella showed up near the end of the meal and she was obviously very bubbly and personable. We decided to find another place for dinner so we left Origens 99.9% and wandered off to find another restaurant.

We decided to eat at Restaurant La Ferreria. It was relatively quiet there but it seemed nice and the menu had many enticing choices. My wife and I began with the Gambas Al Ajillo, garlic shrimp in sizzling oil. That is one of my favorites and it was very good, with plenty of garlic. Ryan and Gabriella split a goat cheese salad and had one of the largest pieces of goat cheese I have even seen. It was like a huge ball of cheese, and it was very creamy and tasty.

For my meal, I chose the duck breast with a fruit sauce. There was plenty of lean duck and the sauce went very well with it. I was very pleased with my meal. My wife had the steak tartare and it was a huge pile of raw beef. Again, it was one of the largest steak tartares I have ever seen. It was also very delicious. Ryan and Gabriella enjoyed their meals as well. Portions were all good-sized. We had found another good restaurant. The conversation went very well and we had a fun time chatting about a variety of topics, from wine to how each couple met. Gabriella was also witty and intelligent. We all got along very well and had many laughs. Especially about someone talking with their hands.

After dinner, we returned to my hotel and decided to have some wine on the rooftop. We did take a couple pics before going to the roof.

On the rooftop, we continued our fun and conversation. We opened a Talai Berri Red, a very nice wine with a bit of effervescence. I got to know Ryan and Gabriella much better and I very much liked what I learned. They were genuine, down to earth people. They were passionate about Spain, Portugal and wine. They were very easy to talk with and I could have spent the entire night talking with them. It felt very comfortable.

Ryan and Gabriella helped create another fine memory of Spain for me. It was a great pleasure to spend time with them and I wish we could have spent more time together.