Spanish Vacation: Update

Spain continues to thrill me!

In Rioja wine country, I had the pleasure to visit the winery of Fernando Remirez de Ganuza, one of my favorite producers. It was a great tour and I was able to buy some wines that are not currently available in the U.S.

Then, we went to the Basque region, and visited Talai Berri where we got to try Txacoli, a white wine with a little fizz. Such a wonderfully crisp wine and a new joy. Will have to seek more when I return to the U.S. It is inexpensive and delicious. Perfect with many foods.

As for food, it continues to be fantastic, though we still are eating lots of pork products. Last night's dinner was at Martin Berasategui, a Michelin three-star restaurant. It was outstanding and I even got to meet Chef Martin himself, as well as get a picture.

Now I am in Barcelona and will be visiting 4 wineries, including two in Penedes and two in Priorat. Plus visiting more good restaurants.

The weather was beautiful today and hopefully will remain so for the rest of the week.

Salud!

Spanish Vacation: Some Photos

Just a few photos from my ongoing vacation.



The "Ham Museum" which is not really a museum at all. It is a butcher shop, with tons of Spanish ham, plus a place to eat. Lots of tapas, especially with ham.




Wine cellar of Taberneros, a very good Tapas place in Madrid.


A Tapas bar near the bullfight arena. Had some great sizzling garlic shrimp there. You can get rib of bull there too.

Poll #11 Results

Poll #11 has now ended and the poll question was: How Often Do You Attend Wine Tastings?

The most popular response was that people went to wine tastings 3 or more times a month, with 1-2 times a month a close second. It is good to see that people are attending wine tastings. They can be a great opportunity to learn about wine, especially wines that you might not normally buy.

I will wait to post a new poll until I return from vacation in Spain.

Stoneham Sun: More Wine Stores

My new column of "A Passionate Foodie" can be found in the October 3 issue of the Stoneham Sun newspaper. This is a weekly column that concentrates on reviews of local restaurants though it may also touch on a few other food and wine topics. The new column was published today and is also available online.

The new column contains more wine store recommendations and is a follow-up on a previous column. If you have any questions or comments about my column, feel free to add them here.

Next week, my column will be a restaurant review of a local Japanese restaurant.

Dine with passion!

Spanish Vacation: Update

Hola!

My third day in Spain and things have generally been very good. Madrid was a lot of fun and we ate and drank much. I have had so many pork products that I may come home with a curly tail. And I did eat roasted pig´s tail!

The bullfight was enjoyable. The men in the ring were both skilled and brave. The bulls certainly were dangerous. Now I know why I would never run with the bulls. You do not mess with a 500-600 pound beast with two sharp horns. The arena was packed and it sure seems bullfighting remains popular in Madrid.

Hit my first winery today, Abadia Reteurta. It was a good visit and got to taste some very good wines, including the superb Pago Negralada. I also got my wine salts!

Dinner today at a grill in Valladolid. Maybe try some suckling lamb tonight.

More updates will follow, as well as full reports, with pictures. Probably have 200+ pictures already and still many more days to come.

Adios for now.