“What wine is your favorite wine?”

Our answer: “The one we’ve never had before.”

It is because of this frame of mind, this mentality, this passion for life that Ryan and I are together as a couple. It is also the reason why Catavino even exists. Every project we embark on is typically one that we’ve never done before in our lives. Create a blog? Host an international conference? Educate on Spanish and Portuguese wine? Move to Spain and have no money, no contacts, no language skills and no job?! Any of these questions will typically be followed with, “Yup, we learn as we go along and rely on the community, both local and international, to lend us a hand when needed.”

I say this because Dr Vino recently posted an article regarding a pamphlet his 6 year old son received from school equating pot and wine as dangerous drugs. To be clear, I agree with Dr Vino that this statement is heavy handed, but I would go further to say that it is also a gross exaggeration. Not surprisingly, work, sugar, pharmaceutical drugs, fast food and various other things can be just as “dangerous” when taken to the extreme. So the argument here shouldn’t be whether wine and pot are dangerous drugs, but whether we should be calling the substances themselves dangerous, or appropriately, the behavior associated with their abuse?

Life is about experimentation and balance. Experimentation is one of the most important values I not only pride myself in having, but is a trait I look for in each and every person I get close to. It is also one of the values that Europeans tend to accept as being human. Therefore, rather than hiding :”tabooed” subjects such as nudity, drugs, money, religion or alcohol, they generally talk openly about it to the point of 4 hour heated debates.

Life is not hidden, it’s accepted for what it is.

“When I was about 4 years old, I first started sipping wine. It was normal to dip bread into a glass of wine mixed with water after school. Aged 2 was the first time I actually remember tasting wine for the first time. It was normal for our family to always have wine around.” - Angel Torbio from Spain

“The first time I tasted wine was with my family was when I was 4 or 5 during a meal. Wine was always a part of my family, so it was quite normal to have it with food.” Filippo Ronco from Italy

“I first tried wine when I was around 12, when my mother and father offered to me some on a Saturday evening. However, I didn’t drink it regularly until I was much older.” Lasse Rouhiainen from Finland

“I really cannot remember exactly, but it must have been somewhere between the ages of 6 and 9. My parents were living in Brussels (Belgium) at the time (1969-1972), where my father worked for three years. Since it is much more customary in Belgium to drink wine with the meals then in the Netherlands, certainly in the sixties and seventies, my parents had wine at their Sunday diners regularly. In those years, (early ’70s) we went on holiday to France too. And my parents bought wine there. Cheap Corbières, I think. So either on one of those Sunday meals, or on holiday in France, I must have enjoyed my first sip. My parents allowed me to share in the wine, but diluted it with water.”- Mariella Beukers from the Netherlands

If we as Americans fear that our children will become addicts, then the route to a healthy and normal relationship with wine (sex, work, relationships, money or religion) is to teach them critical thinking skills. A “war against alcohol” will only tempt a child to find out what lies behind the black curtain of social fear, while conversation and good role modeling provide tangible examples of how one makes a healthy choice for themselves as they actively participate in life.

…enormous cross-cultural variations in the way Europeans behave when they drink exist. In some societies, alcohol misuse is often associated with violent or anti-social behaviour, while in others drinking behaviour is generally harmonious. These differences are partly related to inconsistent cultural beliefs about alcoholic beverages, expectancies regarding the effects of alcohol, and social norms regarding drunkenness (ECAS final report, 2002). – Wine in Moderation.eu

This past summer, when stepping off the plane onto Spanish soil, my very traditional brother unexpectedly announced, “Gabby, I just want to let you know that I want the kids to visit wineries with us. I would like to provide them with the cultural experience of being in Spain, meaning speaking a bit of Spanish, eating cured ham, and trying a little Spanish wine.”

My 8 year old niece eventually did taste a bit of the barrel samples from Bodega Mas Molla and loved the experience, while on other occasions, politely turning away wines that gave off an aroma she disliked, such as cava and port. Her common response to any wine she tried was, “weird”, which is a comment we cherished. Why? Because it meant that she trusted herself to know what she liked and what she didn’t like. And beyond all else, she was willing to be open to life, experimenting in the safe haven of a community that loves and trusts her.

Allow me clear, I am not saying that we should pour a glass of wine for a child and say “belly up”, but I am saying that we cannot make a direct correlation to addiction when a child dips their finger into a glass of wine, smells it, or god forbid, ask questions about it. If anything, it could be argued that the process of being introduced to wine as a child, as seen by the comments above, can help prevent abuse by associating it with positive stimuli rather than negative. Wine becomes an everyday experience, a substance who’s mystery lies in its story, rather than its cultural taboo.

Wine is not the villain. We make wine the villain. Wine is not inherently dangerous and to teach a child such doctrine will only lead to ignorance, fear-mongering and gross generalizations.

Teach children healthy boundaries: to have enough confidence in themselves to know when to experiment. If they feel depressed, frightened or overwhelmed, they should turn to someone they love and trust for help, rather than rely on wine (food, sex, drugs, work, etc) to fill the gaping hole in their soul.

As we wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to take a roadtrip to Rioja for the internationally heralded event, Wine Future, I can only hope that we as a global community will start to take responsibility for the way we teach children about life’s choices. Allow us to give them the tools and the confidence to know how to set personal limits, while still remaining open to the magical feeling of discovering life to its fullest. Life is experimentation. There is no manual, and the best we can do for one another is to be honest and open with our experiences.

Please don’t make life black and white for children. Let them learn to choose balance in everything they experience.

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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• Iberian Links around the Web

Last week, we had spent the better part of a 6 days touring wineries on both the west and east coast of the United States. And during this time, we had a very unique opportunity to see how Americans create and manage wine tourism programs in order to promote not only their own wines, but the wines of the entire region.

As many of you know, although we adore the wines of both Spain and Portugal, we feel that effective wine tourism is one of the greatest areas lacking in Iberia. From wineries that won’t pick up the phone or return an emails to small, family run wineries who close their door to visitors, making it close to impossible for anyone outside their region to try their wines.

What we’ve included below are 5 ways EASY and CHEAP ways in which Spanish and Portuguese wineries can change customer service and/or their wine tourism program:

1. Merchandising: Generally Iberian wineries tend to shy away from merchandising, choosing instead to offer foodstuff, instead of branded scarves, hats, aprons or pins. And although fresh olives, homemade cheeses and canned jam are wonderful items to include in your store, they are difficult to travel with and tend to influence a smaller group of people. While clothing items, and the like, branded with your logo will not only last for years to come, but will be seen by a larger number of people. By simply providing your customers with a wider and diverse range of merchandise branded with your logo, you’re giving them an opportunity to promote you internationally.

2. Signposts: Unlike California, where signposts dot the landscape telling interested wine lovers in what direction their favorite winery lies, many regions throughout Iberia do not allow you to do the same. This was perfectly exemplified in our most recent trip to DO Montsant where we passed the Dosterras winery 3 times before we realized exactly where it was. When asked why they don’t put up a clearly marked sign telling us where to pull in, we were told that it was illegal to do so, and that the only sign the owner was allowed to display near the road was hidden behind the shrubbery alongside the driveway – clearly not the ideal location. Wineries need to collaborate (see #5) and lobby your local government to have this changed! If governments want wineries to survive and profit from the ample tourism opportunities available to them, then they need to put up clearly marked signs that help communicate exactly where the wineries are. Mind you, signs can be both small and classy, but they still need to exist!

3. Think of Your Customer’s Needs First: We understand that it’s not easy, or financially feasible, for all of you to open your winery to the public. We also understand that you may not have the resources, staff or desire to create an enotourism program for international tourists passing through your town. However, even if you can’t create an extensive program, you CAN make a wine lover feel appreciated when they inquire about your winery. Simply tell them that although your flattered that they want to come visit, you unfortunately do not offer tours, but that they can try your wines at “X” restaurant or purchase them at “X” store. If you do have a tourism program, make sure that each and every visitor is greeted with a smile when they walk through your front door. On a hot day, offer them some water, maybe have some international wine magazines available in the lobby while they wait for the tour to begin, or have some local dried fruits or nuts available to taste. These are small, cheap and effective details that allow your visitor to feel both considered and appreciated. In both New York and California, wineries were open during lunch and on the weekends; offered tastings in conjunction with concerts or classic movies; and placed suggestion boxes near the front door so that visitors could request particular services if they weren’t provided. Show your consumers that you care about their needs by remaining open and receptive to their inquiries and requests. And above all else, make it easy for consumers to both find and try your wines!

4. Offer FREE WIFI! One the greatest perks about being in the States was the unlimited access to WIFI at any given winery. More specifically, when attending the American Wine Bloggers Conference in California, the wineries that didn’t have WIFI initially, assessed their audience and chose to install special WIFI spots in and around their winery to accommodate the wine bloggers needs; which in turn, only helped to promote their winery and their wines. Even deep within the cellar, we could still use our iPhones to take and send pictures, Tweet our experiences or enter our impressions into our chosen social tasting note site. Thus, wherever we were in California or New York, we could promote the winery in real-time by using social media tools. The question being, can I do that at your winery in Spain or Portugal? Can I find a fast, free connection to share photos of your cellar on my flickr account? Can I conduct a live Ustream interview with your winemaker in your vineyards? Can I take a 12 second video of your harvest and immediately upload it to Twitter? If I can’t, then your winery is missing out an incredible opportunity for me to promote your winery and wines. Make sure you have a WIFI. Make sure your connection is sound. And make sure that your visitors know that they can use the WIFI at their discretion.

5. Collaboration is the Key to Success: One of the most important things Ryan and I experienced in the USA was watching how wineries joined forces to promote their wines as a team. Whether they hosted a dinner at a winery, pouring a wide range of wines from various wineries across the region, or simply talked about their neighbors in a very respectful and humble manner, collaboration was weaved into the fabric of their relationships. Here in Iberia, we tend to be fearful of our neighbors. We tend to shy away from collaboration fearing that our neighbor may steal business from us, or potentially harm us in some way. This fear mongering has, and will continue to, splinter and weaken our efforts. Through teamwork,  with your neighboring wineries and with your regional wine commission, you can help consumers learn about your wines more effectively. As Ryan has continuously points out during his talks about social media: Wineries who work together save money and resources. Don’t wait until your regional government sets up an effective tourism program or wine related activities. Talk to your neighboring wineries, or regional government, and get the ball rolling yourself! Remember, the rising tide raises all boats! (Photo of 4 different wineries hosting a lunch together)

What other ways can Spanish and Portuguese wineries cheaply and effectively improve their wine tourism programs? Please share your ideas and suggestions in the comments below.

Cheers,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

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Today will conclude the last day of our Montsant stay, having spent 3 days visiting approximately 10 wineries, tasted well over 60+ wines, met with over a dozen winemakers, and have enjoyed a beautiful, albeit curvy, drive through this absolutely breathtaking region.

In the coming weeks, we’ll do out best to give you a full report on all the wineries we’ve visited, the wines we’ve tasted, our general impression on the “style” of Monstant, foods of the region, places to stay and tourists spots to pay attention to.

What we can tell you for sure is that Montsant is NOT Priorat’s little brother and should get the respect and attention it so rightfully deserves for not only crafting some amazing wines, but for a region full of spectacular nature that should be appreciated and enjoyed.

Sorry for the teaser, but do stay tuned in the coming weeks for more photos, videos and articles!

Cheers,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

Catavino in Siurana from ryan and gabriella opaz on Vimeo.

I get Gabriella to go out on a ledge literally in the small town of Siurana!

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Approximately a month ago, Wink Lorch contacted me in reference to a new online travel guide she had recently launched on La Rioja, Spain. For those of you unfamiliar with Wink, she is the founding member of the Association of Wine Educators and a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. As if this isn’t time consuming enough, in 2007, Wink founded the Wine Travel Guides website, which offers detailed regional wine guides in Old World wine producing countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and now, Spain – all available for download in PDF format. A meticulous, passionate and thorough individual by nature, Wink’s guides speak to her personality, covering: places to stay, wineries to visit, restaurants to dine at, wine shops, wine related festivals and events, outdoor activities, maps, travel directions and general wine making information of the region.

Having conducted a regional report on Rioja ourselves, we’re rather sensitive to quality content. But these guides are well laid out, easy to read, and convenient when you’re interested in hopping in a car and getting quality information on the fly.

The La Rioja Guide is broken down into two seperate PDFs priced at 7.50 pounds each. One focuses in and around Haro, in the north of the region, while the other focuses on Logroño, the capital of La Rioja located in the center. Both guides have been authored by the Rioja expert himself, Tom Perry, and are approximately 15 pages in length when printed.

Another added benefit is that the information is at your fingertips. Meaning that you can access these PDFs via your gadget of choice on the road, and literally be a click away, as all websites and emails are provided for suggested restaurants, hotels, wineries and tourism offices. However, if you’re like me, and need a hardcopy by your side, each location also has a current telephone number and address associated with it, so you can pick up a phone and schedule an appointment without having to search for a signal or internet cafe. Each winery entry also lists when the winery is open, how much a tour costs, a general history of the winery and whether English is spoken (mind you, “English spoken” in Spain is highly relative).

Wine festivals are also covered in the guides, such as the famous Haro Wine Battle on June 29th, which commemorates the battle between the Castillians and the Navarrese during the Middle Ages. Although we have yet to experience this “all out wine war” in the streets of Haro, from my understanding, it’s supposed to be an incredible experience, and one worthy of scheduling a trip around.

You will also find gastronomical terms listed in Spanish, with explanations in English, for delicious foods such as: Chuletillas de Cordero, Leche Frita and Bacalao a la Rioijana. And to taste these culinary treats, flip to her page on suggested restaurants, listing hours, general pricing and a recommended items to try on their menu.

However, as Rioja is quite small, I do wish that both the Haro and Logroño guides were sold together in one guide as most people visit both areas over the course of a few days. Additionally, although Wink does a great job covering the basic wine  styles of the region and native grape varieties, I personally, would appreciate a section on common wine vocabulary and expressions in Spanish. As a lover of culture, I like to know basic language terms in the region I’m traveling in; hence a section on simple wine and food vocabulary would be a great addition for me.  Another suggestion pertains to the Two-Day Itinerary for touring Logroño, where she mentions going on a tapas crawl in the evening – a suggestion I highly recommend as well – but it doesn’t mention where to go on Calle Laurel or some of the history behind this regionally famous street. Finally, I wonder if anyone would be interested in purchasing a small laminated spiral version of these guides as a keepsake of their trip, or as a future reference. As the guides are updated once a year, I can understand the hesitation behind creating a bound version, but I think many people might be tempted if the choice was available.

My personal suggestions aside, the La Rioja wine guide is worthwhile checking out, and hopefully, she’ll expand into other regions within Spain and Portugal in the future. To purchase the guide, you need to register on the Wine Travel Guides website and choose your level of subscription. Each level of subscription – Gold, Silver and Bronze – allows you to access up to 50 micro-region travel guides, as well as an interactive Michelin map. To learn more about the guides, go here: www.winetravelguides.com. If you have any questions regarding the guides, drop Wink a question on Twitter at: @WineTravel

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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But before I go I delve into the gastronomical treasures, allow me to digress and chat about the etymology of the bar’s name. “Terroirs” is meant to express a sense of place of the wine through its terroir. Put in layman’s terms, the wine is not trying to be anything other than what it is; and consequently, is called natural. Therefore, wine growers will use organic or biodynamic methods in their vineyards to support the vine’s natural development. Then again, I could argue that burying cow manure and ground quartz in a vineyard stuffed in cow horns may not directly aid in a wine’s natural development, but that’s a conversation for another day (read more on biodynamic wine here). I will say, that the wineries on the menu also use minimal treatments in their wines, avoiding cultured yeasts, new oak, excessive sulfur dioxide or the addition of tannin, acid or sugar. In short, you have a diverse and exciting array of wines from primarily France and Italy. That is not to say that our famous wine producing country of Spain was not mentioned. With Guia Penin’s bright green spine sitting proudly on the coffee table behind us, the wine menu did list one, and only one, “Token Spanish Red”!

Although tempting, we skipped the Spanish red and enjoyed a carafe of Gaillac Blanc alongside a bottle of Bergerac blended with Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Both wines were excellent; however the white floral and pear notes on the Gaillac were especially enticing after being submerged in Iberian wines over the past year. With our meal, we chose Loire red whose funky herbal notes seemed to invoke large grins from everyone at the table, despite our dishes ranging from white fish to braised meats.

Regarding the food, it was exceptional. I had the Grilled Cornish Red Mullet, Scallop and Artichoke for £14 that was delicious. Although I found the Red Mullet a little on the tough side for my tastes, it was more the fault of the fish itself than of its preparation. But the delicate sauce and tender scallops well made up for the red mullet’s stubborn flesh. Ryan went the complete opposite direction with the Bavette, Shallots and Red Wine for £12, which was absolutely divine. Bavette, a well-trimmed skirt or flank, is a typical cut of meat in France, but was clearly well received at our London table.

And as neither of us have encountered a rhubarb that we haven’t liked, Ryan and I shared the Panna Cotta, Pistachio and Yorkshire Rhubarb at £5. Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert preparted by simmering together milk, cream and sugar. Gelatin is later added to the mix to give it a more cohesive consistency. Consequently, the result was a creamy and silky concoction that when placed on my tongue, I literally found myself cradling it for as long as possible so that the juicy stripes of rhubarb melted together in perfect harmony with the rich creamy pistachio flavors. Sigh…it’s not often I find myself daydreaming of Panna Cotta

Mind you, the menu doesn’t stop here. You have a wide range of cured meats and sausages – including the Jamón de Teruel “Gran Aragón” D.O. – which is spoken at greater length on Jamie Goode’s blog. Additionally, Jancis Robinson recently visited Terroirs, swooning over the “‘potted foie gras mi-cuit for 2/3′ and the squid, chick peas and romesco sauce”. Not to mention the incredible looking Cheese plates that boasts of Gorgonzola from Lombardia, Italy and the Maroilles from Pas de Calais, France – to name a few. Ricard Giner recently reviewed Terroirs as well, mentioning inconsistent service and confusing wine menu consisting of tiny font and poor organization, despite the high quality wines available. Several other reviews also spoke of slow service and lack of privacy; but since we’ve only visited Terroirs once, I can’t attest to the service, but I can sympathize with the lack of privacy, as the tables are cramped together, rather tightly.

But despite a few hiccups here and there, we found Terroirs to be a must visit location in London!

If you’ve been to Terroirs Wine Bar, please pipe up and let us know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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When we redesigned Catavino, we felt a need to expand our conversation, while allowing for a more diverse array of topics. One of our choices was to create a tourism category. We love helping to promote travel to Spain and Portugal, but in all fairness, almost everything we cover contains an element of tourism. If we write about a restaurant, it would to go under ‘food’ and ‘toursim’. Wines often talk about include elements of the winery and its availability to host tourists. Culture is almost always about an event that tourists should attend, or a social norm tourists should consider during their visit. Thus we realized, having the extra category does us little good and takes up space for what we want to call “explore“.

When we started this blog, we thought we would stick to one subject, Spanish and Portuguese wine. As anyone who lives in Iberia knows, this is far from one topic. No Portuguese or Spanish wine lover would ever group these two in the same category. Likewise, we feel that while “Iberian wine” is a nice idea we do write about these more as separate topics than one unified subject. That said, we love to “explore” the world, and so while the rest of the site is dedicated to Iberia, explore is going to be dedicated to all those things that might not fit in.

Gabriella and I love to explore, stumble, discover and pave paths that are rarely trekked. And at times, we feel like we don’t share all that we want to. For example, this past week, we visited London for the first time. And as all good adventures do, we tasted everything in sight, finding that it rarely had anything to do with Spain or Portugal. Our desire to contrast our Spanish home with other cultures and flavors led us to discover wines from Italy, Australia, Argentina, and beyond. Not to mention all the fun foods, great beers, and cultural sites, that have little if nothing to do with Spain or Portugal. All of which we want to share with you.

Now we can! Explore will most likely contain travels outside of Iberia that are not related to Iberian wine. An occasional beer tasting, some riffs on social media, business, and definitely food. I’m sure Gabriella might mention a few tidbits on yoga, running or her occasional entangling with knitting, and we’ll both talk a bit about our experience setting up a Spanish business, you never know though, the name is explore, and therefore could take us anywhere. We’re not afraid.

As a small benefit, we’ve decided to help some of you out who find that you want to read specific content on Catavino.net. From today forward, if you visit the category archive page for any of our topics, you will find an RSS icon to click so that you can subscribe just to that category. So if you like our food coverage, but not our culture coverage, just subscribe to the one you like. If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say RSS, or “feed” first go watch this: RSS in Plain English.

Enjoy the new features!

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

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Vinarium is a wine shop I have dreamed of having in my future home. And although I may not don the pipe and smoking jacket dictated by the store’s floor to ceiling mahogany wood construction, I could absolutely envision myself in a big leather chair reading The Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones, while drinking a glass of  Albariño and listening to music by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Cozy, inviting and elegant, it’s tough not to immediately get swept away by its warm design. (photo taken from Vinarium website)

However, it is Luis himself who truly draws you into the fold of his store. A internet geek by trade, wine was more of a familiar appreciation having grown up a stone’s throw away from the Golden Mile in Ribera del Duero – an internationally respected Spanish wine region. Hence when Luis chats about wine, you glean more of his love and appreciation for its inherent beauty, rather than someone who enjoys the dissection of wine into its smallest parts.

Vinarium is a two story establishment, carrying a wide range of Spanish wines, but with an emphasize on Galicia. The store is said to have one of largest collections of Galician wines in Madrid; in part, because the very first Vinarium was established in Ourense, Galicia. Organized by region, Luis also carries wines from countries such as Chile, Argentina  and France, in addition to some more potent spirits such as whiskey, aguardente and orujo.

And if you’re one to enjoy a little food and wine on a relaxing Saturday, at 12:30pm Luis hosts tastings that pair wine with everything from traditional Galician empanadas to Idiazabal cheese. Definitely worth a trip if you’re in town. Plus, unlike most wine shops in Spain, Luis has a good command of English, allowing you to ask as many questions about Spanish wine as you so desire.

As for ways in which Luis can make his wine shop even better, I would humbly ask for him to update his website. There are several pages still under construction, and a blog that needs a little attention and love. Granted, our man is busy with both his website called, Pop Madrid, as well as his general wine blog called Blog de Vino, where he chats about Vinarium events as well, but I’d love his store shop to provide eager tourists and Madrileños even more reasons to swing by for a visit. Otherwise, meander around his website and check out the wines you might like to enjoy.

In the video below, Luis was gracious enough to describe the 2007 Sumum made with 70% Treixadura, 20% Godello, 10% Albariño and produced by Bodegas Rey Lafuenta in English.

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

VINARIUM

Address: c/ Capitán Haya, 22 – 28020 Madrid
Email: info at vinarium.es
Telephone: (+34) 91 417 97 68
Twitter: http://twitter.com/vinarium
Facebook: Vinarium

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Since the inception of Catavino, we’ve been collecting material at record pace without ever having annual spring cleaning. Pages were created, abandoned, and never deleted, while categories were added on impulse, rather than logic . Although not quite as impressive as my mom’s basement, our collection of useless content could easily be a contender.

Additionally, our content was circulating within a very small wine bubble, unable to expand to its full potential. Having come from a culture that perceives wine as beverage only enjoyed on very specific occasions, Europe took our breath away. Over the course of 4 years, we learned one very important lesson: wine is the lifeblood that pulses through everything. Whether we speak of a children’s theater performance or a dive bar in the middle of nowhere, wine is integral part of the experience. No matter who you meet, they are related to someone in the wine trade, and regardless if you like wine, both the Spanish and Portuguese are elated  to share their opinions on which wines are of highest quality. Over time, it occurred to us that wine could only be truly understood through the culture, the people, the food and the events we experience traveling from region to region and town to town. By focusing only on wine, we were limiting ourselves from sharing all of the wonderful and rich experiences that make Spanish and Portuguese wine what it is.

So we decided to go full tilt and added a whole host of new features to make your experience at Catavino more enjoyable and user-friendly. Here are a few:

New Features of the Site

FAQ (Facts and Questions): Located in the navigation bar, this feature allows you to ask us any question under the sun! From the number of indigenous grapes in Spain to the bus company that runs from Madrid to Logroño, we’ll always do our best to answer them. Simply type in your question, and if it is not a duplicate, we’ll hit the books in search of an answer. If, and when, we find you a quasi intelligent answer (not always possible, but we’ll try), we’ll publish your question and our results in the FAQ section. Currently, it’s slim pickings in there now, but over the next few weeks, we’ll start populating it with questions and answers. But we need your help. If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Able Grape Search Bar: Ablegrape is a marvel of created by our friend Doug Cook, a search engine relates solely to wine. Meaning that if you want to search for the word “grape”, for example, you can through ablegrape and be assured that the results are exclusively wine related! Read this to learn more about this amazing tool. Last year, Ryan suggested to Doug that he would like Ablegrape to allow us to do site search for Catavino. After much debate back and forth, we’re excited to announce that it is now a reality! If you’ll notice, there is also a search box located in the upper right sidebar. This search box is linked to Able Grape and Ablegrape’s index of Catavino.net. This is seriously a cool feature! Thanks Doug!

Featured Articles: Our new site allows us to highlight articles we think are worth your full attention – not to say that all our articles aren’t worth your attention, mind you Additionally, you can also search by categories, including: food, travel, wine, tourism, events and even a podcast. The last of which we will be launching again in the near future! However, with the new design, there will be many places where the thumbnail image to the article is not displayed correctly. We will do our best to correct that over the coming weeks, but it may take a little time. So bear with us a we fix some of the bugs. If you find one you can always let us know on our contact page!

Advertising: Despite the fact that we took a long and much needed hiatus from advertising, we are now accepting offers for either advertising or sponsorship of Catavino.net. We have a much bigger audience at this point and we want to develop some new features, so hopefully a few ads can help us out. Currently, we have taken on Google Adsense, but if you, or anyone you know, is interested in filling the space, please drop us a line – we’d rather not use the “google” if we don’t have to.

Author Profiles: We are proud to say that our team of talented, witty and passionate writers is expanding slowly but surely. With the new site, we wanted to ensure that if you are partial to a particular author, you could read other articles written by that individual. Simply click on the contributor page and choose the link to the archives of the author you wish to read. And viola! It’s that easy! However, truth be told, we’re still looking for more writers. If you are passionate about Iberian food, wine and culture, please contact us!

Spanish and Portuguese Maps: Located under “maps” in the navigation bar, our intention is to provide you with a visual representation of our articles. Although we are far from achieving that goal, we will attempt to populate both the Spanish and Portuguese maps in the future. For now, you can at least use it as a reference anytime you wish to get a better idea of where a wine region is located. If you would like a physical, comprehensive map for your wall, we are still selling Delong’s Iberian Wine Map throughout Europe. Attractive, detailed, and a fantastic resource, we feel that Delong’s map is the best thing to happen for Iberian wine since we’ve arrived here!

New Photo Gallery: Truth be told, I made a promise to Ryan that any proceeds made through the sale of his photos will go directly to a new camera. So as you can imagine, as a result of this agreement, he’s been spending many an hour working on his photography. So we’re excited to show off a new and more interactive gallery of wine photos! Simply head over to the gallery and browse away! And if your interested, head over to the online shop to purchase any of the photos you especially enjoy.

Otherwise, we ask for you to have patience with us over the next week while we get work through the bugs of the new site. Additionally, if you find anything glaring that needs to be fixed, we would love for you to tell us about it through Twitter, our contact page or simply in the comment section below.

We hope you like the new look, and thanks for continuing to follow our adventure!

Cheers,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

• New Site and New Features
• Catavino FAQ Contest Extended through Valentines Day!
• New FAQ Section on Catavino: Participate and You Could Win a Prize!!
• A Few New Year’s Resolutions
• Ah the joys of running a website

We experienced heartfelt traditional Hindu songs from 3 generations of women giving their love, adoration and hope to the interracial couple before marriage. Doors were warmly opened to 60+ family and friends who have flown from all over the world to experience this unique and awe inspiring event, among another 600+ attendees who arrived by plane, train, automobile, rickshaw and horse drawn carriage from across India.

We chose to wear the traditional Indian wedding attire, which meant two very different outfits for both Ryan and I. For Ryan, he wore an orange silk long sleeve shirt which fell to his mid thigh, along with silk pants that were ridiculously tight around the ankles and huge around the tuckus – allowing for ample space to grow when eating from the 20 foot long buffet. For me, I wore a bindi (a dot or jewel placed on the forehead between the eyebrows that historically signified a woman’s age, marriage status, religious background or ethnic affiliation; however, the red dot still signifies marriage to many women), a silk hand-embroidered tunic that also fell to my knees, a long bead embroidered scarf, silk genie pants that where relatively baggy throughout, hands decorated in henna patterns of swirls, leaves and flowers, along with colorful bangles.

We experienced a two and a half hour marriage ceremony (reduced from 4 hours for the westerner’s benefit) wrapped in Sanskrit words of love and peace for the couple, their community and the world, while attendees drank, ate and communed throughout the event. Put another way, imagine going to decked out garden wedding where the priest is chanting, singing and praying to the Gods with both the bride and groom under a brilliant red and orange tent of magnolias while you are milling around drinking, taking photos and listening to the tapa drum. It was the essence of experiencing without feeling pressured by one’s spiritual practices.

We watched the bride’s 80 year old grandmother dance to both traditional Bengali music and western techno, ate authentic Bengali food from the north of India, enjoyed long conversations over the customs and norms of both Hindu and Indian culture and saw traditional rituals that make many American celebrations seem rather vapid and meaningless.

We experienced the art of handmade Persian rugs, made by two men sitting side by side at a loom and singing the various colors to one another while cutting each string at lightening speed. Tip: true Persian rugs should have a darker shade and a lighter shade depending on which end of the rug you are standing on. We learned that the descendants of those who worked on the meticulous and awe inspiring Taj Mahal, inlaying semi-precious stones in the translucent white Indian marble, to date, are selling their crafts. And although we didn’t meet the descendants, we did see the artwork in practice, where tiny slivers of precious stones are inlaid into the marble to make three dimensional designs of incredible detail. Tip: true Indian white marble used in this work is translucent, unable to corrode and very difficult to break. Finally, we were given a demonstration on what determines real Pashmina, a type of fine cashmere taken from the Pashmina goat in the Himalayas. Tip: Although even I can find “Pashmina” scarves here in Spain, only those scarves that can repel water for a length of time, as a result of the goat’s dander, is true Pashmina. (Keep watch of Ryan’s Flickr account in the coming days to see photos of these amazing crafts)

On the other end of the spectrum, we felt small ripples from the Mumbai bombing located not 1000 km southwest of Delhi. Bombarded by pictures of blood stained streets on local TV and newspaper reports, we wondered how safe we were, as the continual tensions between Pakistan and India mounted over the course of the day. However, newspapers also condemned the Indian government, declaring that their reaction to the explosions were slow and inefficient. The gentleman at the receptionist desk at the hotel claimed that foreigners have never been targeted like this on Indian soil, and that this will be the wake up call for Indians to put their caste and cultural differences aside to unite, demanding a less corrupt government that is devoted to the people and for the people. “Maybe we too can finally attract a uniting force as Obama!”

How does one unite 1.2 billion people across 3.3 million square km, speaking over 21 official languages? Considering that India is one of the most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical areas next to Africa, I have no idea! Add the caste system (a social construct outlawed and therefore, “doesn’t exist” – wink, wink) to the mix, approximately 40% of the population living in poverty and over 1000 spoken dialects, and you have an incredible feat ahead of you.

As for wine, we are sad to say that we only tasted a few producers, Sula being the one we enjoyed most often. Between “dry days”, as a result of the election, and the lack of local wine availability in general, our tasting was limited at best. We did, however, buy three wines: 2007 Zampa Syrah by Valle de Vin, 2005 La Reserve by Grover Vineyards and the 2008 Vin Ballet by Champagne Indage, which we will post on in the near future.

As to other flavors we experienced traditional non-alcoholic beverages were both various and delicious. The Masala Chai is a very commonly offered hot beverage in most retail shops and restaurants. The black tea leaves are boiled in a mix of water, and whole spices such as ginger, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon, along with a large quantity of milk and sugar. The result is a milky, slightly sweet beverage that is utterly addictive! The second commonly offered drink is a complete antithesis to the first. Comprised of lemon juice, soda water, black salt and sugar, it is both refreshing and a perfect compliment to spicy Indian cuisine.

India’s food can be easily characterized by its rich flavors and subtle use of spices. And as a result of the longstanding vegetarianism within sections of India’s Hindu, Buddhist and Jain communities, it’s often thought that India is a vegetarian culture; however, we found this to be a HUGE misconception. Though it is a crime to kill a cow**, and most, if not all, “steaks” on the menu are water buffalo, we dined on incredible dishes of varied fishes, pork, mutton and chicken. Like Spain’s regional wine diversity, Indian cuisine varies widely by region showcasing the diverse demographics of the country.

As the wedding party was primarily from Bangladesh West Bengal, known for its non-vegetarian cuisine, we were privy to a wide variety of meat dishes including chicken and mutton (not lamb, as elsewhere, but goat)! Bangladeshi cuisine is influenced by Afghan and Persian, North Indian cuisine also features the use of the “tawa” (similar to a grill) for baking delicious flat breads like roti (crispy and thin) and paratha (thicker and oily) as well as tandoor (a large wok placed on top of hot coals) for baking breads such as naan (commonly found in most Indian restaurants internationally) and kulcha. Other breads like puri and bhatoora, which are both deep fried in oil and served alongside main dishes.

Bengali cuisine is also characterized by the ample use of dairy products such as milk (typically goat), paneer, ghee (clarified butter also used in the wedding ceremony as a sign of lasting hope when thrown on the fire), and yogurt are all common ingredients which can be found for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most curries (known as gravies, are also commonly dairy based and use common spices such as chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi, manjal), ginger (adrak, inji), and garlic (lassan, poondu) , as well as leaves such as coriander, fenugreek (nenthi) and mint.

As for etiquette, we found many contradictions throughout our stay in India. Although told to never eat with your left hand as it is used to “clean” parts of the body, we noticed several business men using both hands while eating. Forks and knives are commonly offered at both events and restaurants, but it is perfectly normal to use the traditional Indian bread as a scoop to absorb and pick up your food. And although your hands will be deliciously dirty, it is perfectly acceptable to be messy even in the heat of a conversation. We were also told that meals are traditionally eaten Indian style on the floor or on low stools; yet we never experienced this. We did see many flexible people casually sitting on their haunches throughout the region while chatting or eating, rather than on a chair, but did not actually partake in this traditional ourselves.

As said, our experience was incredible, awe inspiring and provided plenty of food for thought. We have come back to Spain with new appreciation for what we have, which includes a very low pollution rate next to India, clean streets, more equality among genders and less poverty. However, there are many similarities between the cultures as well, such as a strong familiar base and a strong appreciation for food and music.

We already find ourselves missing India, the warm and loving people, the incredible historical monuments and the rich cuisine, and look forward to returning in near future. However next time, we’ll head out of the city and towards their diverse green regions, which is slowly incorporating our favorite green plants — grapevines!

Cheers,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

**Before our trip to India, I had heard about the belief of respecting and saving animals, but I had no idea what it meant, or how it was played out.Despite the various contradictions that infuse the differing branches Hinduisim, all branches emphasize the need for a moral and ethical life. Hinduism abides by the values and ideals of Satya (Truth), Dayã (Compassion), Ahinsã (Non-violence), and Brahmachãrya (Celibacy). And within Ahinsã, this belief structure tries to reduce harm to all living creatures by remaining conscious of:

*thought – not having thoughts of ill-will towards others
*word – not using speech to slander or malign others
*deed – not performing violent physical actions

Therefore, walking down the streets of Delhi, you will come various animals, both large and small, roaming the streets of Delhi without a home. What makes this story so heart wrenching is that these animals are abandoned, unfed and uncared for. However, because they are abiding by the Hindu ideals of non-violence, somehow the notion of caring for these animals has been missed in its communication. My question being: with so many people starving in India, is it right to let animals live despite their suffering?

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In recent weeks, I have visited the Emilio Hidalgo bodega twice, and since their wines are so good, a post has become just about unavoidable. This is a small, truly independent, family-owned bodega. It was started by the Hidalgo family in the mid 1800s and is run by decedents of the founders brothers Fernando and Emilio Hidalgo and their cousin Juan-Manuel Hidalgo. The business remains at their original site, in the old centre of Jerez and the bodega is made up of a series of traditional, thick walled bodegas separated by “patios”. This is an age-old system. When a breeze moves over the buildings, cooler air sinks down into the patios and then through the open doors around them into the bodegas, while warm air inside the bodegas rises up into the high cathedral-like roof spaces. This is how the bodegas are kept cool, even when it is fiercely hot outside. The temperature can also be regulated by opening and closing doors or windows, so keeping the inside of the bodegas at a steady temperature, perfect for ageing the wine.

The first time I visited Emilio Hidalgo, with friends, we tried three of their wines. Their Fino “La Panesa”, an old Amontillado called “El Tresillo 1874″ and their well known Oloroso “Gobernador”. They are all worth seeking out, and no doubt their other wines are too. Germany is currently the main export market for Emilio Hidalgo, however if you are based in the States, their agent is Winebow, who should be able to help you locate a bottle or two.

At Emilio Hidalgo, I once again enjoyed a lively conversation with their American exporter, Peter De Trolio. Peter is great fun, very knowledgeable, and if you ever get the opportunity to visit the bodega, he gives a fantastic tour. We got into conversation about wine tourism in Jerez, which I have written about before. Peter believes bodegas in Jerez are not as open to tourism as winemakers in many other parts of the world are because of the way the trade was structured in the past.

Bodegas were only responsible for the production side of things and once the butts had been rolled into a ship in Cadiz harbour, that was that. This idea still seems to linger and so servicing wine tourism is seen by many as simply another cost of production, something which eats into profits.

This is interesting for me, because it is not the first time I have heard this idea mentioned in Jerez. This has also been applied to marketing and selling.

In the past wine merchants and agents in London, Bristol, Hamburg, New York or wherever bottled, labeled and sold the sherry. Perhaps these marketing skills were lost when the structure of the trade changed. The decline in sales started at about the same time – in the late 1970s. Perhaps the “culture” of being a merchant did not transfer to the bodega owners? I wonder to what extent the dead and heavy hand of “culture” and tradition is contributing to the steady decline in sherry sales. Perhaps the decline is not entirely due to change in tastes, and just maybe, the bodegas, and the trade in general, should be trying a new approach? How about starting a conversation with Generation Y for instance?

Hasta la proxima!

Justin

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