I received today a press release that I want to discuss with the caveat that you please provide feedback and thoughts in the comments.

FEV, The Spanish Wine Federation, is a private group dedicated to tracking, promoting and defending the image of Spanish wine both nationally and abroad. In Spanish, they emailed me a decent newsletter full of information on Spanish wine sales and conferences which they host to discuss issues relevant to the industry.

In today’s press release from the FEV:
“Márgenes y Estrategias en la Industria del Vino” - Las empresas del vino analizan en Madrid los efectos de la crisis en el sector

“Margins and Strategies in the Wine Industry” - Wine Businesses analyze in Madrid, the effects of the economic Crisis on the Wine Industry
The “crisis”, as it is called in Spain, refers to the downturn in world markets that we are all surely aware of. However, it is far beyond a crisis here in Spain, and getting worse. High unemployment, expensive housing and immigration issues are all starting to take a toll on the Spanish economy. So far, we have not seen this become a huge issue within the wine industry, but it will eventually, so any preemptive talk is welcome in my opinion.

To the release: It states that 150 businesses in the wine sector helped support a study at the international level, focused on both the competitiveness of the Spanish wine sector and the current key markets for wine sales. They first took a look at a new report presented by Rabobank on the need for wineries to balance profitability and investment to ensure a healthy future. I believe you can find information on the report here, though there is no …

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 …

Last January, the UK based wine writer and Committee Member of the Circle of Wine Writers, Christine Austin, suggested that we apply to the organization housed in England. Having had several people offer a similar suggestion for over a year, it seemed ridiculous for us not to get off our hides and do something about it. So, we figured we’d experiment a bit, where I would apply and test the waters, followed by Ryan’s application soon thereafter.

As taken directly from their website:
The Circle of Wine Writers is an association of authors, broadcasters, journalists, photographers and lecturers who are professionally engaged in communicating about wines and spirits. It was founded in 1960 by the late Cyril Ray and now has more than 280 members and, although most of the membership is based in England, the Circle has members in countries around the world.

The objectives of the Circle of Wine Writers are:

* to improve the standard of communication about wines, spirits and beers
* to contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in wine
* to promote wines and spirits of quality and to comment adversely on faulty products and dubious practices
* to establish and maintain good relations with the news media and the wine trade
* to provide members with a strong voice with which to express their views
* to provide a forum for the exchange of information
* to provide a programme of workshops, meetings, talks and tastings

A month has now passed, as seen by the lush green blanket of leaves hanging right outside my office window, and …

According to this article UK is number one market for Spanish Wines - Talking Retail, there is good news for Spanish wine in the UK. Sounds great. Sounds important, but I would say that this is only half the story. Spain is the third largest producer of wine in world, but we also have the largest land area under vine. Granted, a large chunk of this land consists of low density plantings in areas such as La Mancha, with less then stellar wine varieties like Airen. That said, we do have the capacity to grow and produce more, and after talking to many producers at Alimentaria, I realized that there a lot of room to expand sales. The UK may be the biggest market for Spanish wine, but with America poised to become the largest wine consuming nation, this statistic could change quickly.

Questions for Readers: If you are in the UK, do you see Spanish wine occupying more space at your local wine shop? Are restaurants offering more Spanish wine choices, both low and high end? If you are seeing Spanish wine in your area, are they from a handful of regions, or is the UK exploring the vast and diverse Spanish wine landscape?

If your in the US, or elsewhere, what do you see? Is Spain becoming more accepted? Are you seeing one region denominating or is there considerable diversity? I ask because, I fear that while sales increase, we aren’t finding anything new, just more of the same. What do you want to find on your local …

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 …