Located just off Plaza de la Reina in the Gothic section of the city of Valencia, snuggled within the tiny courtyard of La Plaza del Arzobispo sits Enopata – a two month old restaurant devoted exclusively to wine. On the first night of our three day trip to Valencia this past weekend, our hope was to discover a fun and wine centered location where a group of wine bloggers could gather to share our passion and stories about wine. And although none of us had either visited or heard much about Enopata, we banked on the sage advice of Joantxo Llantada, the Regional Tourism Director of Valencia, that this restaurant was worthy of impressing even the most knowledgeable of wine geeks.

With mustard yellow walls, exposed wooden beams and enormous photos of fall grape leaves, mounted on poster board and taken by the owner himself, Juan Ferrer Espinosa, Enopata embraces you as a warm, family run wine bar, rather than a sleek and modern wine alter. With waiters suited up in black with names like Maximo, and a shiny streamlined bar, its primary goal is not to impress, but to expand both our palates and our adoration of unique wines from around the world.

What makes Enopata so unique beyond the welcoming and cozy atmosphere shadowed by the enormous stone Cathedral sitting right outside its hidden doors? It prides itself on three cardinal wine rules:

Gabriella fondly remembers when she was a child, sitting in front of the TV listening to Cookie Monster teach the alphabet, and on this particular day, words that started with the letter “S”. This episode is firmly ingrained in her head, because unfortunately, she couldn’t pronounce the letter “s” as a child, handicapped with a severe lissssp. Therefore, words like snake became th-nake and summer became th-ummer. Clearly, this doesn’t bode well when you’re watching your brother happily sipping on his vanilla shake and all you can come out with “Mom, I want a thake too!”

Well, today, we’d like to thank Grape Juice for hosting Wine Blog Wednesday, by celebrating anything directly related to a bottle of wine that begins with the letter “S”. Considering that we are in Spain, we thought there would be no better opportunity than to feature our favorite “S” word, Sherry! Eric Asimov recently published an article on this much under appreciated style of Spanish wine, claiming that, “… certain wines require more of an effort to appreciate than most people are willing to give and therefore are consigned to a form of marginal status.” We wholeheartedly agree with him, and are hoping that today, we can motivate you to get off your keester and enjoy a delicious and thirst quenching glass of sherry.

Osborne’s Coquinero is a wine that we both immediately fell in love with. Incredibly delicate, with a honeyed nose, while the palate packs more of a punch. We seriously want to drink this on the beach in Cadiz with a plate of fried marine creatures! The salty air on the …