The last winery we visit in Spain is Gramona in Sant’ Sadurni d’Anoia, the capital of cava in which 93% of all cava is produced. DO Cava is allowed to be produced in many regions all over Spain, but most … Continue reading Gramona: Cava and Still Wines in Penedès
El Celler de Can Roca is the restaurant in Girona (Spain) of three Catalan brothers: Joan (chef and inventor of sous-vide cooking), Jordi (pastry chef), and Josep (sommelier). It is difficult to get a reservation. You can only make a reservation … Continue reading Dining in Spain: El Celler de Can Roca*** (2016)
We pass more DOs (Denominaciónes de Origen) on our tour of Spain than we can visit. (This is also supposed to be a vacation for Kees, after all 🙂 ) And so choices have to be made. I decided to … Continue reading Estancia Piedra: Full-blooded Red Wines from Toro
Our discovery of Spanish wines continues in the denominación de origen Valdeorras, a bit more inland but still influenced by the Atlantic. The climate is between Atlantic and Mediterranean with significant vintage variation. Wet vintages such as 2014 are called “atlantic”, … Continue reading Valdesil: benchmark Godello and Mencía from Valdeorras
Rias Baixas is a wine region in the north-western corner of Spain in the autonomous region of Galicia, north of Portugal. The rias are inlets of the Atlantic that are a bit like shallow fjords. Rias Baixas, which should be … Continue reading Wines of Rias Baixas
The first winery we visited in Rioja is a very new one: Nivarius. The first vintage produced was only in 2012. It is unique in Rioja because it is the first and only winery in Rioja that only produces white … Continue reading Nivarius: Rare White Wines from Rioja
Rioja is the oldest and most famous wine production area of Spain. It has been famous for centuries, and in 1991 it was the first (and for quite some time the only) production area with the highest rank in Spanish … Continue reading Wines of Rioja
Azurmendi is a restaurant in a futuristic building by the freeway near Bilbao in the Basque country in Spain. The restaurant of chef Eneko Atxa has three Michelin stars and ranks highly on the World’s 50 best restaurants and Opinionated … Continue reading Dining in Spain: Azurmendi***
The Spanish wine region of Navarra is famous for its moscatel de grano menudo, and the benchmark producer of moscatel is Bodegas de Camilo Castilla in the town of Corella. Navarra is on the northeast of Rioja in the North … Continue reading Moscatel from Navarra: Bodegas Camilo Castilla
Etxebarri is a restaurant unlike any other restaurant I’ve ever eaten at before. It located in the Atxondo valley in the Basque country between San Sebastian and Bilbao. Etxebarri is an “asador”, a grill restaurant that cooks on a wood-fired … Continue reading Dining in Spain: Etxebarri*
The Basque city of San Sebastián boasts one of the highest densities of Michelin stars in the world. We went there for a few days to try the local cuisine, and one of the highlights of our trip was our … Continue reading Dining in Spain: Martín Berasategui***
Since we were in Spain to eat at El Celler de Can Roca anyway, we decided to use the opportunity to do some sightseeing in Barcelona and have a nice dinner in that city as well. Our neighbors had recently visited Barcelona and recommended two-Michelin starred Lasarte, so that’s where we went. There is a smaller “Lasarte” menu for lunch on weekdays, but apart from à la carte we could only choose the 10-course tasting menu for 125 euros. We weren’t so sure whether the 78 euro “harmonia de vins” would be such a good idea, as that is quite … Continue reading Dining in Spain: Lasarte**
El Celler de Can Roca is the restaurant in Girona (Spain, 1.5 hours from Barcelona and close to where El Bulli used to be) of three brothers: chef Joan Roca, sommelier Josep Roca, and patissier Jordi Roca. Since for me the wine and especially the wine pairing is very important for a great dinner experience, the combination of a famous chef with a famous sommelier was already a good sign for this restaurant. (My favorite restaurant in the Netherlands, and one of my favorites in the world, is the Librije in Zwolle, run by chef Jonnie Boer and his wife sommelier … Continue reading Dining in Spain: El Celler de Can Roca***
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