So what is this TTL and can non-Spanish speakers join in the fun? The answer to the first question is simple:

• April 24th at 6pm-8pm GMT we will be opening and tasting 4 wines from around Spain
• The wines are as follows: Caves Gramona, Imperial Gran Reserva – Pazo de Señorans, Albarino – Celler Espelt, Sauló -  Dinastia Vivanco, Cuatro Varietales
• For 15 minutes we’ll be showing a short video about the winery/wine, tasting the wine, and then twittering about it
• We’ll be streaming video from an event in Barcelona (if you want to come DM @catavino) held at: www.hotelabskipper.com
• People in Spain, Portugal, London and the USA will be joining in
• Follow all the fun at: Twitter Taste Live

Now to the question of language! Fortunately, we know some pretty awesome Spanish language educators. Our friends Ben and Marina run the wonderful site: Notes in Spanish, where they teach people how to speak the language. Ben has promised to join in Friday night and offer some tips in both English and Spanish. Also Gabriella and I will be tweeting a bit in both languages to help bridge the gap.

So what do you need to do? Well, if you’re in Spain and can get a group of 10+  Bloggers/Twitters together, we’ll try to get you some samples to open up on that given night. If you’re in London, or the US, you can either DM @catavino and we’ll see if we can find a way to get you some wines. If not, you can alway buy the wines, or just follow along and see what we all think of them.

We truly hope you all can join us!

UPDATE: The Notes in Spanish PDF on helpful Spanish wine vocabulary and phrases is now available for download. You can download it here!

Cheers,

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz

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In Spain, the white Pedro Ximenez or PX grapes are normally raisinated before making the wine. The thin-skinned PX grapes were traditionally laid on Esparto-grass mats out in the sun for a few days before pressing. I’m not sure what they lie out on these days, but they still get a few rays before the press. The resulting wine is dark, thick and sweet. The aromas and flavours include “raisin” as a descriptor but can stretch to all sorts of interesting things – especially when the wine has been aged for a long time – including dark chocolate, caramel, smoke, figs, etc.

PX headquarters for Spain is Montilla-Moriles, where most of this variety is grown, and there you find producers of excellent quality wines like Alvear. PX is also one of only two varieties allowed by the Jerez-Xerez-Sherry DO, used to make naturally sweet Sherry. Aged in solera systems just like the other wines of Jerez, PX Sherry is often used in a blend with dry Oloroso to make the Cream Sherries enjoyed by so many in the Anglophone world. Due to its thin skin, the PX grape does not thrive in the relatively humid conditions around Jerez so there is very little grown here and most of the PX used to make Sherry is grown and made Montilla-Moriles, but must be aged in the Jerez DO.

Apparently PX wines have quite a following in Australia. I did a bit of googling and ablegraping and found this interesting PX made by Turkey Flat, made with grapes dried “on trellis” before pressing.

One last thing: PX wines can be turned into very interesting, usually sweetish vinegars. If you ever see an “al Pedro Ximenez” vinegar then get your hands on it – you will be surprised.

Hasta la proxima!

Justin Roberts

Swirling in the glass is a PX Sherry by Fernando de Castilla

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Having received hundreds of questions like these over the years from people interested in learning more about Spanish and Portuguese food, wine and culture, but unsure where to ask such a question on our website, Catavino has created the FAQ (Facts and Questions) section. Our goal is to encourage you to ask any question about Iberian culture, while allowing us to do the research.

How great is that! Ask a question, and we do all the legwork!

Simply click on “FAQ’s” located in the navigator bar at the top of the page, choose a subcategory, and ask a question. Remember: the main category is reserved for questions about Catavino and are generated by us; however the subcategories are designed for you to participate in the conversation by asking a question. If you would  like to ask a question about Catavino, simply shoot an email from our contact page.

How do you Win a Prize?

We are offering an 11?x11? print on Torchon Fine Art paper of the Douro Valley to anyone who submits a question to our FAQ page by February 1st, 2009. One name will be drawn at random from a hat, and a print will be sent off to your home. Please include an email at the bottom of your question where we can get a hold of you. Emails will not be seen by other readers, as all questions must be monitored and approved by Catavino before they are published on the website. Therefore, your email provided with your question will be erased before publication.

We look foward to researching all your questions!!

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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As for us? Growing up, I remember how much fun we had when mom made breakfast foods for dinner, or when we had lazy Sundays where brunch didn’t make it to the table until well past noon. Either one was a treat, and though they were not paired with wine, today, with some years under our belts, we love to pair this type of cuisine with various wines.

So last night, Gabriella and I did a nice tapas style dinner of various breakfast foods, probably none of which is “traditional” from an American’s perspective, but all of which are things we enjoy. First off, some refried beans with bacon (actually pancetta, but it’s still bacony good!), a treat I always had growing up for breakfast with a 1/2 Mexican mother. This was accompanied with toasted Catalan bread and tomato with good olive oil, our favorite adopted breakfast item. Two soft boiled eggs sat alongside, just to round out the breakfast “look”. And finally, a favorite of mine, but not so much of Gabriella’s, assorted tinned fish, including: sardines, tuna, and one unidentified fishy treat. Fish is pretty common for breakfast in most of the world, and I personally love the oily goodness with my toast!

With an eclectic meal, such as I just described, we most definitely had to pick a equally oddball wine. We chose the 1997 Viña Tondonia Rosado Crianza. For those of you who have not had a Tondonia wine, we urge you to rush out right now and get one. These are some of the most special wines Spain has to offer. No one makes wine like they do, and drinking a 12 year old rosé with this dish couldn’t have been more ideal, mainly due to the wine’s insane acidity and richness, which fills and coats your entire mouth. In the mouth, pure fruit mingles and dances with old cobweb filled with vanilla in the palate. I know this descriptions is full of contridictions, but so is the wine. Personally, it’s a match made in heaven, especially for the oily sardines, which I relished enjoying them together.

So now I hand over the breakfast reins to our friends and special contributors! Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

Justin Roberts
Breakfast for 9? For 9pm that is… WBW #53 hosted by elbloggotorcido.com is all about breakfast. We were asked to steer clear of Sunday brunch, so I guess Champagne and Orange – that sort of thing. There is a list of wines not allowed, but this does not include fortifieds, so I hope sherry is going to be OK…

In my book, there is only one proper breakfast and that’s the “Full English” version. Normally, and traditionally, this is built around a foundation of bacon, egg and toast (or fried bread) and usually includes some or even all of the following: Bangers (pork sausages), baked beans, black pudding, grilled kidneys, steak, mushroom and grilled tomato. The eggs can come fried or scrambled. There are regional variations. I’ve had fried banana in East Africa – which pairs particularly well with bacon.

Not all the ingredients for a “Full English” are available in provincial Spanish towns, so I did have to improvise, but only slightly and I managed to produce a credible result. The Spanish don’t do anything like a banger, so I used Longaniza sausage instead and it worked very well. Spanish bacon does not cut it either, so mine came from Gibraltar, where they sell the real thing. I could not for the life of me find a can of Heinz Baked Beans (although I have seen them in Spanish shops before), so that was missing but otherwise all the other ingredients were bang on.

On my plate I had toast, fried egg, mushrooms, grilled tomato, steak, bacon and sausage.

Now, usually, a “Full English” comes with a steaming mug of strong, milky tea, but as I’m sure you’ve already guessed by now that this plate was paired with a copa of sherry. First I tried an old, and very good Palo Cortado, “Apostoles” by Gonzalez Byass, thinking its touch of sweetness would work well with salty bacon. This was not a success with the bacon or anything else on my “breakfast” plate. I moved onto a dry Amontillado by Valdivia, which went down well with everything. I’ll be sticking to the dry sherry with breakfast from now on…

Marc Lascorz

In Catalunya, there is a meal called “esmorzar de ganivet i forquilla“; which literally translates to “breakfast using a knife and a fork”, as opposed to finger foods such as croissants. A traditional Catalan breakfast dish would would consist of “cap i pota” – a stew made with the head and legs of a veal, but you have to be daring to start the day with that. Since I know my limits, when I have a heavy breakfast, I tend to stay to more classic “pa amb tomàquet” (bread and tomato) with jamón, cheese, a potato omelette, and on the very rare occasion, butifarra (catalan sausage), which is a more prudent approach to kick start a day. And as you imagine, I cannot see myself drinking a warm mug of English breakfast tea with milk and sugar with said fare. So instead, I marry it with a fresh young red, as it is a much healthier approach (hey, it is good for my heart!). I tend to enjoy young merlots or garnatxas, which are refreshing enough to welcome a warm, new day, while powerful enough to lubricate my guts after the “light” meal.

Vitor Mendes

• Green Olives
• Dark Corn Bread (Broa)
• A variety of “enchidos” (sausages) such as: Chouriço (meat or blood), Salpicão (large sausage made with pork meat), “Lombo” or “Presunto” (Ham).

The other suggestion, also in the Trás-os-Montes and Douro region, as well as in the upper Minho region, is enjoy a breakfast soup called, “Água de Unto” (Fat water). Although it is not as common anymore, you can still make it in the following way:

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Sometimes I don’t have the answers. Ask Gabriella, and she’ll deny this, replying that I always have one even if it’s wrong, and most likely, she’s probably right, but that’s between you and me. Today, I have 3 questions for our lovely and loyal readers. Please help me out so that I don’t have to pretend like I don’t know something!

#1 About a year ago, we were traveling through the Priorat looking for information on a wine called Salmos. Having stopped by the Torres wine shop, we first stumbled across these “spritz” vials, located in the picture to the right, that allow you to add a squirt of brandy, both ten and five year versions, or a Moscatel to a beverage, dessert, etc. Yesterday, I came across this vial a second time, but now in conjunction with a bottle of Torres 10 year brandy. Now I personally love a bit of brandy in my coffee, or a snifter or two at night before bed, but in the end, I can’t see why I would need to “spritz” it on. The packaging is sexy, well-designed, and the idea is interesting, but is the product of the spritzer the end goal or the sale of more brandy? Thoughts? Not really a question that needs an answer, but I’m a bit puzzled as to what to do with my new spray bottle of brandy!

#2 Wine Mnemonics – I listen to NPR podcasts religously, and I came acros this story the other day on Mnemonics. The story got me thinking, what are the best Wine Mnemonics? I quickly did a search over at everyone’s favorite wine search engine AbleGrape, and promptly found very little. So I tried “google” again, but came up empty-handed. So all you MW’s out there, or WSET students, any good Mnemonics for remembering your favorite wine facts? Post your answers or favorites in the comments below!

#3 Wine Fiction – Lately, I’ve been enjoying reading more than usual. Lot’s of books about building Cathedrals and some fun mindless fiction to take my mind off work at the end of the day. The problem is, I have a stack of wine books to read, and well, while interesting (Wine Politics
is one I’m looking forward too from Dr.Vino), I want to find some wine fiction! Do you know of any great fiction that is wine themed? Dr Debs is doing great getting us to all read more about wine, but her book club selections tend to be non-fiction (correct me if I’m wrong). I want to find/hope to find some historical fiction that takes place in the vineyards, or a tale of two lovers amoung the vines, who knows! Anything to let me live in my world of wine, a place I love, but also allow me a touch of escapism. Anybody have a suggestion? I found a mystery novel about 5 yrs ago about a murder amoung the vines, I wish I could remember the name, but since then nothing of great interest. Help me out!

Ok, that’s enough for now…Thanks in advance for the help

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

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Last night, Ryan and I ventured out to our quiet streets of Terrassa to take in our first La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos. Having spent the last three holidays abroad in either the States or Norway, we’ve missed the festivities and felt that time had finally come for us to bundle up tight against the frigid wind and embrace the biggest night of the Spanish New Year: the celebration of when the 3 Kings – Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar - arrive into town with their entourage of pages to bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.

And although I am not a religious person, the idea of joining the community together in celebration is always appealing to me. I love when barrios pool their funds and resources together for the benefit of their citizens, so that everyone may find a ounce of hope and joy, and god forbid, imagination in their day. But what I failed to grasp, watching cold little mittened hands hold out their knitted caps like nets was the barrage of brightly colored hard candy being thrown by the bucketful at the crowd. While minding your own business, you’re suddenly pegged with hundreds of hard candy from each and every passing float. And we’re not talking, “here’s some candy little one”, with hands held out in gentle acceptance. Nope, we’re talking full on machine gun raid of candy hitting you like a rain of hail.

This year, Barcelona spent 400,000 euros to create a caravan consisting of 350 artists, 70 technicians, 310 students from the music and dance schools to travel a 650 meter route throughout the city throwing…..15,000 kilos of candy. And if this isn’t mind boggling enough, Madrid spent 950,000 euros, 350,000 less than last year as a result of the recession, contracting 257 cleaning machines and 300 employees to clean up the piles of hard candy smashed into the pavement.

Ahhh, but that’s not all, not only do you have welts from sky falling candy, making you sorely wish you had brought goggles and helmet, but you also have a nice long line of camel, elephant and horse poop to complete the adventure. But does that disway parade goers of vacuuming up the city with a desire to collect as much candy as humanly possible? Not a chance! The only places where you actually see candy is where they have been laid to rest by smashing animal hooves, car tires or stampeding feet. Whatever else looks relatively edible is quickly swiped up by grandparents, parents and children alike into heavy plastic sacks of loot. If I were a candy girl, I swear this would be my favorite day of the year!

For those of you viewing the photos or Youtube video link of the parade, you may be a little curious why 1/3 of the caravan is painted in black faces. As Americans, we can tell you that this moment was a little disturbing (history of Black Face), despite the gaiety of the celebration. As legend has it, Rey Baltasar was of Egyptian descent, making his entourage of similar origin. Now, as many Spaniards have much lighter skin, they can either ask for volunteers among the hundreds of thousands of Africans, or Middle Easterners, who are hanging out in Spain to take the part, or they can paint their skin dark. And although I realize that no harmful intentions were displayed in their costuming, it does make me wonder why they wouldn’t want to invite their southern brethren to join in the festivities? Then again, maybe they did extend the invitation, but there were no takers – doubtful but possible.

The rest of the celebration consists of kids running back home, laying out their shoes (no stockings) on the window pane where the kings will magically teleport themselves through the window with their camels and fill up their shoes with small gifts. I trust the smart kids have collected Dad’s moonboots from the back mudroom in desperate hope that size will matter. Then, so as not to piss off the kings, children lay a leaf on the table under a bottle of cava and Turrón (traditional almond dessert), followed by a bowl of water and fruit peelings for the camel. The issue comes to my mind, however, which Cava do you give the Three Kings, and how agile are they to get through your window after drinking the 2,345,000 bottle.

Come morning, children historically expected the Kings to leave presents around the creche, but with the commercialization of Christmas, most families now place their gifts under the tree. Mind you, Christmas is still celebrated here, but traditionally small gifts are exchanged on the 25th, while your big mother of all gifts are exchanged today. This is then followed by the Roscón cake, which is a round egg and flour cake filled with dried fruit and two charms. Although variable, one charm is a figurine which gives the founder the title of “King” for the day. The second figurine is the “haba” or bean, which determines who will buy the rocio next year.  Evidently, there is a common practice of descretely swallowing the bean as well

So there you have it, La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos and El Dia del Reyes, two traditions that have afforded us even more holiday time in Spain. Lucky us!

For more photos of La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos, check out Ryan’s photos here.

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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Cheers, and here’s to even better pics in 2009!

Ryan Opaz

PS

PS: the photo in this post is hands down my favorite shot this year. I hope I have more of them next year!
PSS: Click the title of this post to see the slideshow if your in your feed reader or reading this on the homepage.
PSSS: You can even buy prints of a few of these by following this link: Buy my art at ImageKind.com. Otherwise just contact me if you are interested and we can work something out.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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Although I am no John Radford, I’ve toured a few Iberian wineries in my day, and have always pondered if there was a sacred oak barrel cemetery for all those great wooden vats that have dedicated their lives to a wine’s evolution.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with how a wooden barrel is made, allow me to give you a very brief intro. Let’s call it “Wine Barrel Making 101″. A large slab of wood is delicately cut into staves (the pieces you see in the picture to the right) and allowed to season in the bare elements over the course of 10-36 months, which allows the tannins from the wood to slowly leach out onto the ground forming a dark, almost black, residue. Other coopers use a kiln to dry out their barrels, and although this process tends to be more efficient, it doesn’t provide the same softening and texture that the nature elements tend to give the wood.

After the seasoning process, the staves are traditionally held over an open pit fire, where the wood becomes malleable and easy to work with. This pliability permits the cooper to then bend the staves into their desired shape within two iron rings that are slide around both the top and the bottom of the barrel. And like seasoning, their are alternatives to making the wood malleable, such as steaming the wood, but this technique also loses the rich flavors that can be imparted to the wine from charred wood.

How long does a barrel last? This question must be presented to each winemaker, as only they can tell you how long or short of a time period they will keep each barrel, but typically, after 3-5 years, a barrel loses its desired flavors and is sent on to either make liquors such as brandy, or are sold off to various artisans or dealers.

As a wine lover, I have always dreamed of having a few barrels decorating my home. From shelves for our various wine books, or as gigantic pots filled with vines and flowers, the notion of having weathered barrels is enchanting. However, in my four years here in Spain, never once have I seen old barrel staves used in such a unique manner as they have done in Talca Chile.

Design Boom posted an article regarding a huge recycling effort in Maule Valley to reuse fifty French oak barrels in their local park. The “dead” barrels were crafted into tables, awnings and lounge chairs for locals to sit back and relax in a natural environment. Clean, efficient and highly sustainable, I’m all for it! Living in the heart of Catalunya, I would love to see our local parks filled with sculptures and lounging furniture made with proud barrels who have served their liquid brethren well!

What are some creative designs you have seen with old barrels? Any that you’ve done yourself?

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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Interestingly, our most popular post on Catavino.net to date describes this tradition. Yes, we are sad that an article on Sherry still has not reached massive popularity as of yet, but maybe one day. For now, we’ll celebrate the world’s united interest in grape consumption, and hope that any of you who choose to participate in this tradition will remember 2 very important secrets: 1. do what most Spaniards do and take out the seeds before midnight strikes, and 2. make sure all of your wishes are written down prior to the first grape consumed. Note: not everyone can make wishes and inhale grapes at the same time.

So without further adieu, here are our 12 wishes for 2009!

1. Visit the USA at least once this year: Although Ryan had the chance to see friends and family last August, Gabriella is still aching for a USA road trip. Maybe a coastal ride from San Francisco north to Washington may be in the cards?! Anyone want host two friendly bloggers?
2. A Visit to Galicia and the Dao: These two regions have been on our to do visit list for quite some time, as both can lay claim to producing some absolutely incredible wines.  We look forward to discovering and sharing more wines from these regions with you!
3. Have a successful and fun Wine Blogger Conference. It’s true that we had a ridiculously fun time last year with our 40+ participants from 11 different countries in La Rioja, Spain, and we trust that this year will be no different. As wine bloggers tend to be a rather fun and interesting bunch, we’re already gitty with anticipation for the 2009 edition. Hopefully, we’ll see lots of new faces among our old friends. More details to come….
4. Cook more food with friends! Sometimes it’s difficult to keep that artistic flare burning inside you when you don’t have enough foodies in your life. Hence, come 2009, we’re planning on getting what few foodie friends we do have together on a monthly basis for some no-holds-barred meals!
5. Health. Between a broken hand and the Delhi Belly, we’ve seen way too many hospitals in 2009. Add massive congestion and you have very poor conditions for drinking wine. Therefore, we hope and pray that the coming year will be filled with happy and healthy wine bloggers, eager to taste more wine and food from the big peninsula!
6. Have more friends and family visit us in Spain. Although Gabriella’s entire family has hinted on a visit in 2009, among many quasi commitments among friends, we truly hope that we can share Iberia with others. It affords us the opportunity to share all the things we love about these countries, not excluding their amazing wine and food culture. If you happen to be coming this way, please don’t hesitate to contact us, as we love any excuse to explore more of Barcelona.
7. Spend an entire week exploring London! Like Paris, we’ve been severly teased with airline transfers, but not time to actually play in London. For us, this is like putting a plate of fresh oysters and cava infront of us and saying, “you can look, but no touching”! Thus we are committing to a week of fun and adventures with the hope that we will meet several of you upon are arrival!
8. Frame. Frame. Frame. Although we’re embarrased to admit this, we have had gorgeous maps, pictures and posters sitting in our closet for years without getting the attention they deserve on our walls. We’re going become framing fools starting January 1st, and with any luck, will get at least a few pieces framed before the end of the year! (PS – Why is framing so damn expensive anyway?)
9. 40 Hour Work Week! When you start a business, 80 hour work weeks are not the exception. You toil and fluster over every detail in hopes that you can slowly grow what started as a tiny thought, a seed in our brains, into something tangible and large. But come 2009, we would love to experience something called a “personal life”.
10. Expanding our Cultural Palate: You know when you live someplace, you tend to avoid all tourist traps that actually make your location interesting? Although I grew up in Chicago, I never went up the Sears Tower until a visit with Ryan in my late twenties. This coming year,  we will definitely plan to visit the Picasso and Dali museum, take a historical tour of the Gothic district, see a concert at the Palau de Musica, and experience at least one outdoor concert. Life is too short not to take advantage of all that Barcelona has to offer!
11. Improve our Spanish and Portugal. It’s bad. We won’t lie. We can stumble through just about any conversation just fine, but are we graceful…nope. Hence, the coming year’s weekly schedule will include a chunk of time dedicated to foreign language study. Mind you, we’ve never actually studied these languages, having picked our babble through street conversation. So who knows what kind of magic we can pull off with some grammar study.
12. Find more Foodie Writers for Catavino!!!!!!!! Although we are ecstatic to have such wonderful writers for Catavino, we are still on hunt for more. We know there are some foodies out there who just so happen to love Iberian wine as well. If you are in the wine or food world, and are interested in writing for Catavino, please contact us!

So there you have it. We’ve got our 12 wishes out of the way, allowing us to put our full attention on some serious grape eating. However, we would still love to hear what some of your wishes would be for the New Year!! Where would you like to go, eat, drink or experience come 2009? Plus we want to know how many of you dare to eat the grapes! (see below)

With that, we sincerely want to thank all of our readers and fellow bloggers for your support, and wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year!

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

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That’s right, with the economy being what it is, we thought we could create another source of income by founding the Opai Christmas Construction Company, building Gingerbread houses for one and all. For a very reasonable fee, much less than those ridiculously priced Gingerbread Kits, the Opai Christmas Construction Company can build custom homes within a day! Incredible!

• Three story castle complete with a princess in distress? No Problem!
• Small two bedroom bungalow complete with elves and a toy working bench? No Problem!
• Gigantic edible life size  house to live in when you’re laid off work? No Problem!

With a little dough (literally) and a lot of creativity, we can put up your walls, adhere roof tiles and landscape the yard. Granted, it may look like crack den for hyped up elves on sugar, but hey, at least you’re saving a few pennies in the process!

If you need a custom made Iberian Christmas house this Holiday season, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-800-yum-mmmm.*

But in all seriousness, we wish you all a Happy Holidays from the Opai Construction Company! We’re home in Terrassa this holiday with our two cats, a wild turkey, a handful of wild mushrooms, a cellar of wine, and Skype. Have a great holiday, stay safe and let us know what your drinking!

Till soon,

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz

P.S. If you’d like to check out Chef Mark’s interview with Ryan, just go to the Remarkable Palate!

P.S.S If you want tomorrow we’ll be live streaming our Calçot grilling and any other fun cooking activities that we do. Check it out here.

*Disclaimer: Not all houses are guaranteed to be habitable though they for sure will be edible.

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