DISQUS

Mmmmmm Nelly loooks so good in these pics. He should just quit rapping and be a full time model.

COOL!

Just a note, And its a sad one, Cien Vinos has closed as of Spring or summer 2007 and another bar, more modern and "cool" has opened in its place. Its truly sad to have lost such a gem!

Hola Gabriella and all,
I was just in Rioja this weekend over the "Semana Santa" holiday and went to the Museo de la cultura del Vino at Dinastia vivanco and I must say that it is truly worth it. However, I must note that the exhibit descriptions are entirely in Spanish, except most of the names of objects are translated into English, if you want to know what the thing does you have to read it in Spanish. Fortunately I speak Spanish. The museum is facinating, we went thinking we could see it in about an hour. NOT so. We were there at least 3.5 hours going through the different exhibits seeing how wine was made throughout history, how barrels were made by hand and corks, and bottles. Watching cinema which relates to wine, seeing roman mosaics and other artwork from ages past reflecting wine, grapes, and vines. They have several antique machines and different wine presses on exhibit, the one that floored me was the stone wine press which was taken from 20 meters underground in Zamora, Spain and has the trunk of a tree about 10 meters long. We humans are really very ingenious when we want to be! And of course the whole area, and the town of Briones where the Museum is located, is so beautiful, with vinyards everywhere and romanesque churches dotting the countryside and their spires standing over the villages. A great experience, and a fun way to learn about the culture, process and history of winemaking.

Saludos ,

Janelle

Ps. it was cold drizzling which was turning to snow when I was there so I left the visiting of the gardens for another day.

more up tight whitey bigotry!

I just bought this wine last week. I will have to try it and see what I think. It was the Maceracion Carbonica that interested me it since I had first seen this process with a couple of wines from Bullas in Murcia, remember? You had to write it down for me before my trip so I could remember what to look for.




Saludos!





J.

Hola Guapos! You both look great on camera. Have a great time in Rioja! I am especially looking forward to the wine spa report...And to hearing about all the great wineries to visit. Un gran beso,




Janelle

Great article Gabriella and the education program by Bodegas Castiblanque sounds interesting, educational and fun.
I wanted to join in on the debate with a few of my own comments on the subject.

1. Culture

As an American who has lived the last 7 years in Spain amongst Spaniards I feel I can say I know both American and Spanish cultures quite well. I can see that wine making education would be a hard sell in many US school districts, although not sure how it is handled in California since I have never been there. (any Californians have comments?)

In Spain, wine (or beer) is rarely seen as a taboo thing. No one even thinks twice about if they should order wine during a business lunch. Normally they do! Wine in moderation is very much a part of the psyche in Spain. Its is classified as a food, not in a list with other alcoholic drinks. You don't need a special permit to buy it. A 16 year old in a restaurant will have no problems from the waitstaff when ordering wine. The age to enter a bar and order an alcoholic drink is 18, which is a much more socially responsible law than 21 in my opinion. Since wine is never prohibited by the culture, its never seen as something that should be desired becaue its hard to get.

And as Sr. Castiblanque says, wine is part of the culture in Spain. So its important for children to learn about it.

I know that because of the alcohol stigma in the US it would be difficult to get the parents and school boards to agree to something like this

2. Business

This point has not been addressed and I think one of the main ideas behind educating children about wines in Spain is to interest them in possible career choices. Wine is an important business in Spain, and so what better way to interest people in wine and convert them into future winemakers to continue the business in the future. In Minnesota where I am from, winemaking is more of a curiosity than anything else, not a future career choice. When I was young I learned about local businesses and career choices which were available locally. Therefore I never learned about grape growing or wine, but I did see how maple syrup is made, how wild rice is harvested, and learned other things that were important for living in my northern region, like cold weather survival techniques, and nature conservation.



I think the main problem for this in the US is that alcohol is a problematic subject and people may not openly welcome wine education for their children. Yes, if you want to change something in a culture, you start with the kids, but how can you even begin teach children when their parents and culture don't allow it?

Regarding future posts on this issue...I dont know if I would want Gabriella giving me advice on how to correctly pack wine in suitcases! :) Great post, and sorry about your disaster!




When getting out wine stains I have used baking soda mixed into a paste with hydrogen peroxide, Worked like a charm on my boyfriends shirt which I spilled wine on while we were at a restaurant. oops. When in the States last month I got a little wine remover stick thing, but haven´t spilled wine yet to try it.





Should I bring it when I go visit you?





Saludos, Janelle

You know I had never even heard of red Txacoli before writing this article, I would like to try it sometime. I also had an interesting discussion with my boyfriends parents this weekend when we were in the Basque country. It seems that its not as common as I thought to pour the Txacoli from high above the glass "escanciar" as they had not even heard of it being done, to "sidra" yes but not Txacoli, and they are from Bilbao! But I think that they drink much more Rioja than Txacoli so that could be a reason.

I ate all my 12 grapes this year!




The clock tower that is watched nationally is the one in Puerta del Sol, Madrid at the 0 kilometer mark. The plaza fills with thousands of people who toast the new year together with grapes and champagne and cava. This year they were announcing that the police handed out something like 17,000 plastic cups for people to pour their drinks into since they were not allowing glass bottles into the plaza.





I also wanted to note that you have more than 12 seconds to eat the grapes. Its true that you eat one grape for each chime of the clock but acording to the TV news they slow down the chime to one every 3 seconds, which (Thankfully)gives you more time to eat all your grapes without choking.





Also a question for Josh, in Barcelona do you also watch the clock in Madrid? Or is there a Catalonian clock that is preferred?

I have someting to say to David too. Have you ever even been to Spain? Its just so funny to me that people can make these wide generalizations about a country that produces such a wide variety of wines and is full of distinct regions and differences. One of those differences is language, Catalan is a language in the political country of Spain (sorry Catalan readers, please do not take offense, I know you are not "Spanish") I just think its funny that David insists on using the ç in Criança when making a generalization of "Spanish" wines when it is only used in the Catalan language, in Cataluyna, not in Spanish. But I'm sure he saw it on a label and went with that. Ok, a little mistake probably in good faith, we can accept it.
On the other hand, we can invite David to come to Spain, and have the experience of discovery of some great wines. It reminds me of a friend I was talking to another day, she mentioned to a co-worker she had not yet been to Granada, instead of responding that she really must go her co-worker said, "Que suerte!, How lucky! Then you can still have the experience of discovering it for the first time!!"

I just would like to say to Ryan and Gabriella, thank you for making it your mission to try to get the word out about wines of the Iberian peninsula. Its exactly what is needed when there is obviously so little relaible information avaliable in English about the great wines produced in Spain. Gracias!

J.

PS. I would venture to guess that you were able to try some good ones at least, no?




:)

Well, there are lots of other good regions that produce great lomo and hams. But next time ask for Guijuelo, its a real delicacy.

Hi Richard and Emily,




Thanks for your comments. Richard, I just fixed the link on my Madrid Tapas Bars page and it should work now. Thanks for letting me know. I hope you enjoy your time here and you find some helpful tips!





And Emily, glad I could help you reminisce about Spain, thanks for reading! Hope you can come back and visit Spain soon!





Janelle

Just an update on the Pink Cork wine (Palacio de Bornos - Late Harvest) Contrary to what Ryan might say, I like it for more than just the pink cork. Anyway, I found it at a wine shop in Madrid yesterday and while rejoicing, quickly snatched up a bottle which cost was 5.30 Eur. After I got home I decided to read the label and its a 2005 which we all decided wasnt as amazing as the 2004... But anyway, now I know where to buy it at least!




Un saludo!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!




Its settled, I will have to go visit you soon! Prepare the grill!





Janelle

Well, maybe they have got THE formula to becoming a wine expert. Have you actually tried it? Maybe if I followed their advice I really WOULD become a wine expert in just 28 days! You never know if you dont try it! Thanks for the Moleskine link, I'm gonna get one!

I get these feelings too when I come back to the US. But after 5 years going back and forth I guess I am used to most of the differences, but I still get caught off guard. Such as, in Minnesota they speak in English in the stores (surprise, surprise) and I have to stop myself from saying "Hasta luego" when I leave. And I have to stand farther away from people so they don't get uncomfortable and back away. I realize the Spanish language has gotten into my hand motions too, I have to try not to do that finger waving side to side to say "no". I did it to a waitress the other day and then remembered that in the US its a little condescending. Oops!

Hi Ryan, nice article. Its important because these are really quite popular drinks. I wanted to just add something about tinto de verano. Its quite popular with Lemon Fanta or Orange fanta. My favorite is Tinto de Verano con Limon. Nice and refreshing in the summer.




Cheers!