Category: wine

Cata de Jerez

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Last night I went to a fabulous sherry tasting (cata de jerez) at La Azotea Vinos & Más, which was both fun and educational. I’ve never known much about Spanish sherries and so it was great that José Argudo from the prestigious Bodegas Gonzalez Byass took us through the whole sherry-making process step by step while we sampled ten – yes that’s right, ten!! – different sherries. From the palest driest mosto to sweet musky fino/oloroso blends, we sipped our way through them all, even sampling some lovely 30-year-old wines. My favourite (after the Tio Pepe fino) was the Apóstoles, nicknamed the “Doñana Lynx” of sherries because it is so special and rare.

As always, the cata was very well organised by Jeanine and Juan from La Azotea restaurant (just across the street from the shop), with Juan bringing over a jamón towards the end of the cata, which went down very well with the wine.

Wine List:

  • Mosto
  • Sobretablas Fino
  • Sobretablas Oloroso
  • Tio Pepe
  • Viña AB
  • Alfonso
  • Almontillado del Duque
  • Apóstoles
  • Matusalem
  • Noe

Be sure to stop by and ask Jeanine about their small informal tastings, which are available in the shop upon request, as well as more information about the monthly catas and also their special wine tasting courses.

La Azotea Vinos & Más
Jesús del Gran Poder, 44
Tel. 955 11 67 48
Open: 12.00 – 15.00 / 20.00 – 23.00
Closed Sunday & Monday

Tapeo Extremo

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This week I had the pleasure of finally meeting Twitter friend and travel writer @AnnieBennett, who was in town as a part of a whirlwind tour around Andalucía. And so we had three “extreme tapeo” sessions in two days, which was both fun and exhausting with temperatures well above 40ºC. But as you can see, we are seasoned veterans – below you can see Annie enjoying a glass of bubbly at the Alfonso XIII Hotel where we stopped in for some post lunch emergency cava.

We stopped at several of my favourite tapas bars and restaurants as well as taking a short tour around Triana and visiting the market. The two evening sessions were somewhat cooler and it was especially pleasant to finish our last one on the rooftop of the Doña María Hotel. We had tried out the EME Hotel rooftop bar for its spectacular view of the Giralda, but it was trying way too hard to be cool.  I had a great time and hope to see Annie again soon.

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If you’d like to take part in one of my tapas tours,
click on the link below for more information.

Sevilla Tapas Tours

La Azotea: Cavas & Blancos Cata

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Last night I attended another fabulous cata at La Azotea Vinos & Más, this time featuring cavas and blancos from Bodegas Sumarroca. An excellent choice for a HOT summer evening. We started off with two lovely white wines that were quite different from each other, then two very refreshing white cavas  (brut reserva and cuvée gran reserva) and finished off the evening with – my personal favourite – a gorgeous gran brut pinot noir rosé. As usual the gathering was fun, casual and informative, and I not only learned a few things but also met some very nice people.

La Azotea will be hosting a three-hour wine course (in Spanish) next Tuesday July 6th, and I believe there are still a few places open. If interested get in touch with Jeanine at the phone number below. I recommend it as a great introduction to wines and wine tastings and, at 30€, it’s also great value.

Jesús del Gran Poder, 44
Tel. 955 11 67 48

Despensa de la Marquesa

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Recently moved from its original location near the Campana, the new Despensa de la Marquesa opened its doors last night with a lovely party. This gourmet food & wine shop also serves tapas and does take-away. You will find everything from coffees, teas & Belgian chocolates to exquisite cheeses, pâtés and jamón serrano, along with a wide selection of wines. César also offers a catering service and makes up very original gift baskets.

Joaquín Guichot, 12
(near Plaza Nueva)
Tel.954 564 168
Open 9.00 – midnight
Closed Sunday in summer

La Azotea Cata

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Great time last night at the first La Azotea Vinos & Más cata (wine tasting). There were about 15 of us attending and Luís Valentín from Bodegas Valenciso took us through five different riojas, step by step, which was very interesting. I liked that the atmosphere was very relaxed and casual. No wine snobbery going on. In fact, Luís was very down-to-earth about wine appreciation and how wine tastings should go. I not only enjoyed myself a lot, but I learned a few things and got to taste some very nice wines.

Above you can see our group and the wines we tasted, and also our very camera-shy (ha!) hostess Jeanine showing off her very best California smile. Really, she was terrific at making everyone feel welcome and comfortable, and it was also a very nice touch when her husband Juan popped over from the restaurant across the street to refresh our water jugs. I really like what they are doing with the whole shop/restaurant thing.

The next cata will be on July 1st with Bodega Sumarroca and their fabulous whites & cavas. Starts at 8.30.

Jesús del Gran Poder, 44
Tel. 955 11 67 48