Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 01:27AM 
A Rioja wine (100% tempranillo) made by the Donostian and soumillier Manu Méndez, owner of La Vinateria.
’4 besos’ is made without filtering or treatment. Easy to drink, interesting and intense, the first edition (made from the 2006 harvest) is about to be sold out. Sumptuous
Part of this week's 365cities project.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 12:35PM 
Personal oddity, if I purchase or even think about purchasing alcohol before 3pm embarrassment and shame come into play. America seems to place this guilt factor on drinking. Back home I constantly hear 'it's five o'clock somewhere' and ' I've been so good, I've only had 3 glasses of wine this week.' Yeah, so? We tend to 'need a drink' which usually leads to over consumption/abuse rather than a healthy social habit. Europeans culturally live healthier (personal opinion), with more emphasis on daily routine. Days here are in units and everyone partakes in the same activities during that particular unit. Well, a slightly looser description than that, but you know what I mean.
This tangent is leading us back to the road, I promise - Last week I decided to 'save time' while walking home (how American of me) and stop in at the grocer for some wine. Unfortunately, my timing hit the siesta unit. Shops are closed, markets packed, shutters down, everyone is home or out feasting on lunch. However, the local 'chain' grocer stays open. When I casually strolled in, it was a ghost town. The lounging about staff turned their heads all together and winced at the now flashing neon tourist sign above my head. I continued on through the low saloon gates, which I felt should have been locked? Envisioned a tumbleweed passing before me while the eyes of the townspeople were locked upon this stranger. Then I quickly shot myself back into reality. After picking up three apples and a bag of bitter greens I made my way to the wine. There, I remained for 12 minutes pacing back and forth, examining bottles, comparing prices obsessively, with new regions in mind. Then I finally figured why I was having such a difficult time deciding. I'm a label person. Poor wine labels are a turn off. It's kinda sad but true - but I had to play reasonable. So, I checked out with a 7 euro, pleasant face from a new region then trotted off with a wildcard in hand.
THIS WEEK'S BOTTLE:
Vineyard: Bodegas Bilbainas
Name: Vina Pomal
Region: Haro - La Rioja
Year: 2008
Grape: Tempranillo
La Rioja is a province of northern Spain. It lies just south of this Basque country. The town Haro is in the northwestern region of La Rioja, where this vineyard inhabits. Haro is known for it's annual summer wine festival. 'Battle of the Wine' where drinking competitions take place and what's our throwing of Mardi Gras beads is their throwing buckets of wine on one another.
Bodegas Bilbainas is the largest vineyard in northern Rioja and the largest to have all it's vineyards in Haro. Vina Pomal is a single-vineyard wine, which is a concept used by winemakers who desire a distinction. The word Crianza seen on the label means that the wine is in it's 3rd year and has spent at least 12 months in cask.
The Tasting:
After a few swirls and a couple sips, the heavy pigment and dark fruit flavors left me with a purple smile. As we know from last week, tempranillo is a full bodied black grape - a plum looking beauty. This wine had a definite dryness and acidic-like twang - or as I like to call it...a hyper hypo wine. I prefer one which has simmered down. More mellow, smooth, no punch that makes your eyes water. Though, pair this baby with some cheese and bread, you'll have a fine table wine. But really, who am I kidding? It's not bad, just not one to lust for.
Even though my random siesta rendezvous wasn't a complete discovery, it was well for knowledge. By the bye, no 'label theory' next week - Marti will be back perusing bottles as well!
Toodles,
-lulu
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 06:25PM You can read another take on Outstanding in the Field at The Glutton Club's website.
They call me the Dame of Alabama....ha. Never has a redneck sounded so regal.
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 06:00AM 
Outstanding in the Field. If you've never heard of it, it's basically dinner in the field. With lots of people, most of whom you don't know. That, of course, is an absurdly simple summary of this event that has basically conquered the United States, selling out in venues from California to Alabama. It's been going on for almost 15 years, and its mission is to spotlight farmers and the people and places behind our local food systems.
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending OITF in La Rioja with two very good (too good) friends. This OITF took place on the grounds of the bodega Remelluri, a winery whose mention draws nods of approval and respect from locals. Sancho, the son of the owners, is good friends with Jim, the founder of OITF, and the dinner felt more like a family celebration than an 'event'.
After socializing in the garden, framed by the family's personal frontón and hermitage, we moved into the vineyards for the dinner.
The menu? After aperitifs of almonds, gazpacho, jamón ibérico, and bruschetta, we sat down to toast with truffle from the mountains and butter. Then a vegetable soup with veggies from the family garden, Terreña veal with tomatoes and pisto.
It was sort of surreal and really interesting to be part of OITF in Spain, and at the side of my friends, born and raised here. The part of OITF that is novel in the United States, the hours long meal with love and attention lavished on both products and diners, the luxury of spending time talking at a table and savoring every dish, giving it your full attention, all that is something that is NORMAL here. Instead, I found that the novel part of OITF for people from here was the fact that it was such an 'event'. That it was so 'cool'. That a meal could be something worthy of such introspection and for lack of a more positive word, navel gazing. Really interesting.
The last course was grilled lamb, both incredibly tender and unbelievably crispy, potatoes, and salad. It was accompanied by a red that, after tasting, prompted me to dump my previous glass of Remelluri Red 2004 Double Magnum and fill it up anew with the 1999 Remelluri Gran Reserva. So good. Even Absemio Andoni pronounced it 'drinkable'.
As the sun set, cold started to get the best of everyone. We moved inside to watch a video of Jim, founder of OITF, doing some of his landscape sculptures on the beach of Urdaibai, in Vizkaya. Remelluri family friend/famed Basque musician Mikel Laboa had composed a song especially for the video.
After the movie, we moved into the bodega for drinks and desserts. The post dinner drinks were a highlight....champagne, riesling, port and sherry. And, of course, more red wine.
Then on to dessert, classic and correct, oranges with walnuts, leche frita, and almond cake.
Berei Good.
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 01:50PM ;)
The Rioja wine region is one of the most famous in Spain, and perhaps even in the world. It's the region that most people know by name, due to their popularity in the States and reputation as delicious yet affordable. A couple important points for those without much exposure to Riojan wines: as in the rest of Europe, and unlike in the States, the wines are classified by region, and not by grape. So here, you wouldn't order a glass of merlot (or garnacha, or tempranillo, or whatever), you would order a rioja, or an albariño.
In the Rioja, in particular, you have four classifications. Young wines are called 'del año', and they are meant to be drunk straight away and typically not for saving. The next step on the wine classification is 'crianza', which has been aged two years (one in barrel and one in bottle). If you speak passable Spanish to a bartender when ordering a red wine here, they'll ask you 'crianza o del año', a question to which there is no correct answer.
;)
I went to Bodegas Roda, a family-owned winery that produces an interesting line of wines, with an awesome company from here called San Sebastian Food, which organizes gastrotours of the area.
It's a fairly young winery, started in the 80s. They have two signature wines, Roda and Roda I, and the number of bottles produced of each varies because each year the grapes change according to the climate. Our guide told us about the microclimate of the region, and how she always drives the 15 minutes to work in cold, or clouds, or rain, but ends up in a sunny mild valley of Rioja.
;)
They age all their wines in new and semi-new French oak, and clarify them in the traditional manner, with egg whites. They have a very special del año called Cirsion, which was the runaway favorite in the tasting. With deep notes like tabacco, it's full of character although it's only been in oak for 6 to 8 months and in the bottle for another 8. We followed the wine tasting by tasting two olive oils, made by the same family with olives grown on some of their property-and, of course, helping ourselves to another glass or two of the Cirsion.
basque country, daytrip, drinks, gastronomy, la rioja, wine 
