When one thinks of Spanish wines, Rioja immediately springs to mind but that’s not the only game in town. I visited the region of Navarra which is just north of Rioja last Autumn and found a diverse and exciting wine region. A region that is producing great value for money wines. Navarra has been producing wines for centuries...
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Last Autumn, I visited the region of Navarra in Spain. Navarra is a bit off the beaten path except for the annual St. Fermin festival, better known as The Running of the Bulls, which takes place through the streets of the capital of the region, Pamplona. Pamplona has a lovely Palacio in the main square as well as great medieval...
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Michel Rolland was in town recently to launch his latest wines, a joint venture with Spanish wine “entrepreneur”Javier Galarreta. In a nutshell, Michel makes the wines and Javier sells them. They have chosen 3 premium wine regions, Rueda, Rioja and Ribera del Duero to show what they can do from the vineyards of the...
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Yesterday I had a masterclass of sherry with the recently appointed president of the Sherry Institute (or Consejo Regulador as it’s known in Spanish), Beltran Domecq. Beltran’s family has been involved in sherry for literally centuries, his father is from the Gonzalez family of Gonzalez Byass fame. Beltran was in town...
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Last Autumn, I was invited by Celebrity Cruises and Vinopolis to join their Immersive Wine Cruise. The cruise featured Oz Clarke and, from Vinopolis, their head educator, Tom Forrest. They were on hand to not only lead masterclasses on board but also joined guests every evening for wine chats and led the vineyard tours which were...
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It’s that time of year when Gran brings out the sherry. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. I was invited to La Tasca recently in Covent Garden to taste their sherry matching menu. I’m a big fan of sherry and food matching already but I wanted to see what they had put together. Manuel, our waiter, hails from...
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