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 …

I love cookbooks, but I hate to follow recipes. I know I’m not alone, however. For me, a recipe is a suggestion, while a cookbook is an inspiration - a thought that makes many of my friends cringe. For them, recreating the traditional techniques and nuances of a historic dish is the goal; whereas, for me, I want to improve it! Vane, yes, but I also know that I’d rather eat a traditional dish in its home country with someone whose been making it for decades.

I begin with this introduction because “Cook España, Drink España”, by John Radford and Mario Sandoval, appeals to the adventurer in me. Mario Sandoval, a rising star in Spanish cuisine, partners up with John Radford, arguably, one of the most knowledgeable Spanish wine authorities on Spanish wine, to make a cookbook that covers the vast diversity of Spanish wine and cuisine.

If you enjoy beautiful pictures in your cookbooks, by all means, pick this up. Displaying fantastic photography, coupled with a nice, simple layout, make this a book a joy to sit back and peruse at your leisure. All 17 political regions are comprehensively covered, beginning with a short explanation on both the food and wine culture. This introduction is followed by 3-4 recipes and then a short recap of the wines, or in many cases, sidras, drunk in said region. A …

There is a site that from time to time I pluck out of my “slush sites” in my google reader. They’re the sites that you really don’t enjoy reading daily, but from time to time, have a nice little tidbit or two to talk about. This particular one is called Noticias del Vino, which translates to “Wine News”, more or less. Today, in an effort to keep up a personal New Year’s resolution to read more information in Spanish, I stumbled across a fairly well written article titled “Claves del Exito para Vender en los Mercados de Exportación“, which translates to, “Keys to Success in Selling to Export Markets”. What follows is a list of 10 keys listed in the article that appear in no particular order:

1. The Vineyard
2. The Winemaking
3. Packaging
4. Quality Control
5. Commercial Department
6. Know the market
7. Stable Prices
8. Service
9. Marketing
10. Innovating and to Renew

After giving some thought to the article, I figured I would chime in with my own ideas and explanations about what matters in selling to an export market from Iberia and why, while at the same time, attempting to put them in some semblance of order. Now to be clear, these are my suggestions to a winery that is new to the game. Maybe someone with some money who just bought a plot of land with a dream to make wine, or a local producer who figures they can make a little extra money by trying to export. This is not meant to be a guide for established brands or brands that have a name that sells their product, ie. Vega Scilia. Rather, this is for the startup winery, and I’ll assume that they are in …