Dear Readers,

A dedication to perfection is why we’re headed to Spain. Tim Gardner and I are headed back on a last minute whim to make sure our new white blend and Spanish Vines ‘09 Tempranillo are 100% perfect. Because the trip was so last minute, my champion father was not able make it but he’ll be back in July with Mom- more on the July trip later.

The bottom line of why we’re headed to Spain is what we call the ‘gut check.’ “Is the wine perfect?,” we ask ourselves every time we make a decision and if we don’t have that 100% confidence of our goal of perfection, we go back to Spain to make sure we get there.

You see, on the last trip to Spain we were finalizing the ’09 Tempranillo from Spanish Vines and the white blend for our new brand, both through our blind tasting method. Once we were back in the US we were sent samples from the chosen wineries. We re-tasted and knew we were close, but the samples were not ideal. Given the sensitivity of time in launching the new brand, and releasing the latest vintage of our Spanish Vines Tempranillo, we had to get back to Spain immediately to make sure the wines get bottled.

As I write, we just arrived to Madrid and are awaiting Javier to pick us up at the Atocha train station in Madrid’s city center to drive to Ribera del Jucar to work with the winery we’ve selected to source the ’09 Tempranillo. Tonight we’re having dinner with Bernardo, the wine maker of our Crianza ’06 from Spanish Vines, and tomorrow we’re headed to a new winery we may start working with in the DO of Toro. On Thursday we’ll be headed to Campo de Borja to finalize the new white before its launch in July (wondering what new product we’re launching? Stay tuned!). Finishing the trip we’ll be spending some time with a new winery in Priorat that we’re about to begin working with shortly. A lot to accomplish in just 4 days, no?

I’ll keep you guys updated via twitter on how the tastings and winery visits go over the next few days. In the meantime, make sure you’re checking our Facebook page frequently to not only see what’s happening on this trip in Spain but also to see the pictures from our last trip to Spain…almost two months ago, wow.

Finally, I leave you with a nice and easy comfort dessert, popular all over Spain as well as other European countries: Rice Pudding (from www.tienda.com):

Rice Pudding (Pudin de Arroz)

Ingredients:

3 – 3/4 cups cooked white rice

2 – 1/2 cups fine sugar

6 tbsp butter

6 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp Spanish brandy

Dash of salt

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, heat the milk, rice and butter over medium heat for 5 minutes, taking care not to over boil.

In a small bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and salt until smooth. Add the brandy and the egg mixture to rice and mix well until thickened. Transfer the mixture to a baking pan and place pan inside a larger pan containing about 1 inch of water. Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour or until done.

Remove pan from the water and allow to cool. Chill at least one hour before serving. Serve in individual dessert bowls. Raisins or other dried fruit can be added for flavor.

Entender es Disfrutar,

Josh

Spanish Vines fans,

Looking for something new to to try this weekend? Head over to your local Harris Teeter to take advantage of the Spanish Vines/ Corazon de Ronda promotion! Pair Spanish Vines Tempranillo and Corazon de Rona Manchego cheese together, or Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc and Corazon de Ronda Mahón cheese together, and receive a dollar off your bottle of Spanish Vines wine! Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend with a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers, right on your porch or patio. Find the nearest Harris Teeter store to you.

Also, for North Carolina residents: support the North Carolina USO by purchasing a bottle of Spanish Vines, for a portion of your purchase will go towards the USO club of North Carolina. Find out more about the USO at http://www.uso.org/.

And for a recipe to accompany your Spanish Vines wine and Corazon de Ronda cheese! A tapas recipe from http://spain-recipes.com:

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

-8 small tomatoes, or 3 large ones

-4 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

-6 tablespoons allioli or mayonnaise

-Salt and pepper

-1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

-1 tablespoon white breadcrumbs, if using large tomatoes

Directions:

Skin the tomatoes, first by cutting out the core with a sharp knife and making a ‘+’ incision on the other end of the tomato. Then place in a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and plunge into a bowl of iced or very cold water (this latter step is to stop the tomatoes from cooking and going mushy).

Slice the tops off the tomatoes, and just enough of their bases to remove the rounded ends so that they will sit squarely on the plate. Keep the tops if using small tomatoes, but discard those large tomatoes. Remove the seeds and insides, either with a teaspoon or small, sharp knife.

Mash the eggs with the allioli -or the mayonnaise, if using- salt, pepper and parsley. Stuff the tomatoes, firmly pressing the filling down. With small tomatoes, replace the lids at a jaunty angle. If keeping to serve later, brush them with olive oil and black pepper ot prevent them from drying out. Cover with clingfilm and keep.

For large tomatoes, the filling must be firm enough to be sliced. If you make your own mayonnaise, thicken it by using more egg yolks. If you use shop-bought mayonnaise or allioli, add white breadcrumbs until the mixture reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Season. Fill the tomatoes, pressing down firmly until level. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then slice with a sharp carving knife into rings. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Entender es Disfrutar,

Josh

Dear Readers,

To continue on with last week’s theme of navigating what I’ve determined to be non-navigable Spanish airports, I now want to offer some key tips if you’ve made it out on to the major highways of Spain.

On the way to your city of destination you will inevitably pass through a number of tolls. Tolls are called “Peajes.” All of the Peajes accept major credit cards, which is incredibly convenient if you haven’t converted your USD. And speaking of converting, make sure you travel with a debit card, not cash. If you pull money out via an ATM once in Spain, the banks won’t charge your card a conversion fee that most currency exchange offices would. The key, however, is to make sure you’re only withdrawing cash twice a week. Withdraw more than two times a week and the bank will send you a notice informing you that they’re going to begin charging you a conversion fee.

Along the drive through Spain, I suggest stopping several times along the way to get some fresh air, drink coffee, and have a bocadillo. Typical rest stops will include just that and much more. Rest stops in Spain are much different than the US; at Spanish rest stops, there is no such thing as a to-go cup. Rest stops include bathrooms and nice coffee bars and restaurants, where people can sit and enjoy their meal and coffee before getting back in the car.

Coffee references:

cafe con leche – 50% coffee with 50% steamed milk

cafe solo – espresso

cafe cortado – coffee with a small amount of milk

Bocadillo (artisan bread) styles:

bocadillo con jamon y queso – artisan bread with cured meat and cheese (go with Iberico ham as opposed to Serrano- it’s a little extra $$$, but eliminating the strings of fat in your teeth is worth it to me).

bocadillo con tortilla – artisan bread with tortilla; Spanish omelet.

Draft beer is called Cana, pronounced CAN – YA. If you ask for a cerveza they will give you a bottle of beer. Don’t confuse the two! Tradition for me is that every time I arrive to Spain’s Barajas airport I always sit down for a few minutes and enjoy a draft beer at the exiting terminal. It gets me extremely pumped for the trip and the days to come traveling the country.

If you have to stop for gas, then say, Por favor, llena el tanque. Make sure you know whether your tank is diesel or regular gasoline. I know it’s obvious, but I made this mistake one time. Not fun

And one last piece of advice about the open road: speeding. Don’t go over the speed limit by more than 20 KMs. And if you see someone called Guardia Civil, be scared. They are the hard-core country police. Be careful not to speed by them, because they are not pleasant to interact with.

Courtesy of Spain-Recipes.com, this week’s simple recipe will be:

Barbecued Mini Ribs

These tasty ribs are known as Costillas in Spain. They are delicious cooked on a barbecue and almost as good when cooked under a hot grill. If you prefer a sweeter flavor, use freshly squeezed orange juice instead of the sweet sherry  (Serves 6-8).

Ingredients

-1 sheet of pork ribs, about 1 1/2 lb

-6 tablespoon sweet sherry

-1 tablespoon tomato purée (paste)

-1 teaspoon soy sauce

-1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

-1 tablespoon brown sugar

-2 tablespoon seasoned plain (all-purpose) flour

-Coarse sea salt

Preparation

Separate the ribs, then, using a meat cleaver or heavy knife, cut each rib in half width ways to make about 30 pieces.

Mix the sherry, tomato purée, soy sauce, Tabasco, and sugar in a bowl. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Put the seasoned flour in a strong plastic bag, then add the ribs and toss to coat.

Dip each rib in the sauce. Cook on a hot barbecue or under a hot grill (broiler) for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked and a little charred.

Sprinkle with salt and serve!

Entender es Disfrutar!

~Josh

Travelers of the Vine,

I’m not sure how many of you have ever been to Spain, or have driven a car around the country, so I wanted to write about a few of my own experiences and give you tips for navigating from and to the airport.

First of all, for those of you that have driven a car around Spain I commend you for your fearless nature. It’s certainly no easy task, especially when leaving and entering the country’s larger airports. For example, Barajas Airport in Madrid is probably one of the biggest nightmares to navigate. Just ask my dad (joe@spanishvines.com) and he’ll be glad to translate a few Spanish curse words he’s spun off his tongue while trying to get to American Airlines in terminal 4!

If you’re flying into the airport, when you land you want to look for the following signs:

“Reclamo de Equipaje”- Baggage Claim

“Salida” – Exit

“Alquiler de coches” – Car rental

“Aseos” – Bathroom (just in case…)

When your trip to Spain is over and you’re heading back to the airport to go home, even if you have a GPS you still may not arrive at the correct terminal. All I can say is that when it comes to Spanish airports in general, don’t assume that the silhouette airplane figure that we Americans always see on the big green interstate signs will take you to the public airport. In the States, you know you’re safe, but in Spain you really have to pay attention; otherwise you may end up at one of their military air bases!

My biggest suggestion is to bus it. No other company is worth your time than ALSA. ALSA is great. They can be found in some of the country’s most rural cities of which the times are usually very flexible. But if you insist on renting a car, definitely pay the few extra dollars to get the GPS.

In conclusion- good luck! The Spanish airports are very hard to navigate, and can be a hassle to deal with at the beginning or end of your trip, but the beauty of Spain and what you experience in between your arrival and departure makes it more than worth it.

If you have any other tips that you would like to provide, then please post as a comment to the site! Next week I’ll discuss driving through Spain- a bit different that driving up and down the east coast on I-95.

Recipe of the week: Brought to you from the region of Catalonia!

“Bread with Tomato” or “Pamb Tomaquet”

serves 6-8

-8 slices of artisan bread

-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half

-2 very ripe tomatoes, cut in half

-TBSP of extra virgin olive oil

-Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Toast bread on both sides

2. Rub warm bread with garlic

3. Rub bread with tomato and squeeze juice onto bread

4. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper

This is a great recipe for just hanging around the house or when guest are just arriving for a dinner party- the perfect tapas!

Entender es Disfrutar!

~Josh