Happy Anniversary - ¡Ole!

We celebrated our 8-year anniversary today and I decided to make a nice dinner and bust open a nice wine. A beatiful filet, some quinoa, and some (more than usually spicy) padrón peppers constitued the accompaniments to tonight's "main course" - a 2001 Quinta Quieted from the Toro region in Castilla-Leon (in north central Spain). This 100% Tempranillo (called Tinta de Toro in this D.O.) was very true to Toro character. Deep, red colors were embraced by aromas of tobacco, chocolate, and ripe red and black fruits. On the palate much of the same comes through with the addition of black pepper. A smooth, long finish makes this a perfect choice for tonight's anniversary meal.

The Toro region sees little rainfall and experiences much sunshine making for extreme temperature variations during the day (sometimes as much as 20ºC) and year. One can almost taste the 14.5% alcohol as you "chew" through this meaty wine. Toro has become an area where true quality wines are being produced and I would highly recommend seeking some out. Prices range from extremely affordable to relatively expensive. You can easily get good, quality wines at reasonable prices.

¡El vino es vida!

Wines from Spain - Let's Get Started!

Three days - 79 wines. Yes, I said 79 (this does not include the 14 wines from the tasting on Sunday). I must say that one of the most difficult things to do for someone who loves wine is to move to the mindset that "I am tasting these wines, not drinking them." Spitting out wines that I really liked was not easy at first; but one manages - as long as there is another one following it! I just kept reminding myself, "Pace yourself, Rick. You have three days of this!" It was absolutely worth the experience. I will post quite a bit on what I have learned and try to pass along as much information as possible to help you experience some tremendous wines that are a great value. I thought I would start out with a video from Wines from Spain. This is a great site promoting and informing consumers about Spanish wine.

The Tasting To End All Tastings

I just returned from the The Wine Academy of Spain's Masterclass & Tasting of Legendary Spanish Wines at Bacchus Wine Market in downtown San Diego. Amazing! Of all the descriptors I heard flying around the room tonight this is the one that continues to resonate with me. We were treated to a welcome reception, presentation/tasting, and closing reception by Esteban Cabezas of Madrid, Spain. To say that he is passionate about these iconic wines is most certainly an understatement! I am looking forward to learning from him over the next three days as I embark on the Spanish Wine Educators course. I will try to post daily but after hearing that we'll be tasting 70+ wines I'm not sure if I'll have my faculties with me! Here are the 11 "Legendary Spanish Wines" that were tasted this evening. Any one of them would be a tremendous addition to your wine collection - and I would recommend holding them for another few years:

1. 1998 Gramona Celler Batlle Cava

2. 2004 Remirez de Ganuza (Rioja)

3. 1998 Vega Sicilia "Unico" (Ribera del Duero)

4. 2005 Félix Callejo Selección de Viñedos de la Familia (Ribera del Duero)

5. 2005 Bodegas Aalto Pagos Seleccionados (Ribera del Duero)

6. 2004 Castillo Perelada Finca Garget (Empordá)

7. 2006 Viña Magaña Calchetas (Navarra)

8. 2005 Vall Llach (Priorat)

9. 2006 El Nido (Jumilla)

10. NV Gonzalez Byass Amontillado Del Duque VORS (Jerez)

11. NV Perez Barqueo Gran Barqueo Pedro Ximénez (Montilla-Moriles)

I'll try to catch up with you tomorrow!

Albariño - Spain's "Golden" Boy

The past couple of weeks in San Diego have been scorching and uncorking a bottle of white wine just seems the right thing to do. So, that's what I did (and am continuing to do). Spain's premier whites come from the D. O. Rias Baixas on the northeastern coast of Spain (just above Portugal). The primary grape of this D. O. is Albariño and accounts for 90% of all plantings in the area. The grape is small, green, and thick-skinned making it ideal for resisting fungal diseases in the extremely damp climate in which it grows. Because of the close proximity to the Atlantic the area sees approximately 59 inches of rain a year.

Wines made from Albariño tend to be very aromatic with aromas of apples, peaches, citrus, flowers, and grass. They are well-suited for seafood dishes due to their acidity. These wines should be consumed while they are young as the longer they stay in the bottle the more the aromas fade.

Over the last three years the vintages of Rias Baixas have been rated "Excellent". I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a bottle of a 2008 Rias Baixas (thanks, Michael!), and I can tell you that it is just as good. I recently opened a bottle of 2008 Pazo de Galegos. At first sniff I knew I was in for a treat. Aromas of citrus, kiwi, and fresh straw were followed by flavors of kiwi, apricots, and citrus. I paired this with an appetizer of roasted peppers. The acidity of the wine worked superbly with the peppers. At 13% alcohol you don't feel as guilty having "just one more glass." Happy Drinking!