Tag: wine

Perogy Party

azahar4 Comments

maria and anna

my first ever stalkers Maria and Anna at Las Teresas

This story began last December. Maria and Anna, originally from Poland and now living in Sevilla, had been following my Instagram for awhile and knew that I went to Las Teresas quite often. So one night when they were there they asked Rafa the barman if he knew anything about a Canadian woman who did tapas tours … and just at the moment I walked in the door! I mean, what are the odds? Rafa introduced us and we had a lovely chat during which it transpired that the girls actually knew quite a lot about me and my online doings. My first ever stalkers! I was then invited to their next pot-luck dinner, which to my delight would include perogies, but it turned out I was working that night and couldn’t make it. Finally this past weekend there was another perogy party at Maria’s place in the fabulous Corral del Conde.

perogy party

It was my first time there and I loved it. From the austere exterior you would never guess that such a lovely courtyard existed beyond the solid imposing wooden doors. A grey rainy morning had given way to blue skies with pretty white clouds, which meant we could eat outdoors. Maria and Anna had set up a large table next to the fountain and my friend Peter @SVQconcierge and I, along with the other guests, ten of us in all, sat down to a fabulous fusion lunch with plenty of wine, great food (spinach perogies, olive pâtés, lamb tagine, almond pastries) and conversation.

corral del conde

[click on images to enlarge]

The Corral del Conde, a 16th century “corral de vecinos”, was historically a worker’s residence holding up to 15 people in each room. It has since been converted into 70-plus apartments of various sizes, but most of them small (20 – 30 square metres). The idea being that people’s personal and social lives would spill out onto the balconies and into the large central patio, creating an unusual communal atmosphere. After lunch I took a little tour of the balconies with Maria and her boyfriend Alberto and I found myself wishing I could live in this very charming spot, though I’d need at least 2-3 apartments and a few sky lights (not much light inside the homes there). But it was a lovely afternoon and once again I found myself grateful for “twitterpower” and the other social media networks that over the years have led to me meeting so many wonderful people in person.

Next time it’ll be my turn to invite Maria and Anna to a rooftop BBQ at casa az. 🙂

Orange Days 2014

azahar2 Comments

orange days 2014

Sevilla Orange Days (Jornadas Gastronómicas de la Naranja) is my favourite of the various local culinary competitions that have sprung up over the past few years. To me there’s nothing more emblematic of my adopted city than the beautiful Seville oranges (and of course their fragrant blossom – the azahar –  which became my internet handle many years ago and is now also the name of my website). This is the third year for this very special orangetastic gastro-event and each year it gets better and better.

As in the two previous editions, over 30 local tapas bars and restaurants will be competing to create the best tapa using Sevilla oranges, but this year there will be two different categories: Sevilla Orange Tapa with a drink for 2.75€ and a Gourmet Orange Tapa with a drink for 4€. Aside from the selected panel of judges, the public is also invited to vote for their favourite tapa. More info on Visita Sevilla.

For those who participate in the voting there will be a draw for 10 fabulous food hampers containing artesanal products from these local suppliers:

  • Inés Rosales: orange flavoured crisp breads
  • Basilippo: orange olive oil
  • Mermelada la Vieja Fábrica: orange marmalade
  • Bodegas Góngora: orange wine
  • Burnaj: orange sparkling wine
  • Obrador Valle de la Osa: orange chocolate

In addition 1000 kilos of oranges will be donated to local food banks and – this is really cool – on February 14 at Santa Justa Station, and on February 17th at Sevilla airport, visitors will be greeted with an orange and a brochure about Seville Orange Days.

The Alfonso XIII Hotel will hold two Orange Day events: an orange product trade show and tasting on February 21st from 12.00 – 20.00, and a cooking demonstration by chef and author Dolphin Cabrera on February 22nd at 12.00.

orange days

[Sevilla Orange products – click on image to enlarge]

As always, I take my duties as Sevilla Tapas Queen very seriously and will be going to as many of the participating bars as possible. You can follow my progress on Twitter @SevillaTapas hashtag #naranjadesevilla. Meanwhile, here is a list of the participants so you can do your own judging…

Continue reading “Orange Days 2014” →

Eating Out in Barcelona

azahar5 Comments

Last week I celebrated my birthday here in Sevilla with friends and then two days later took myself off for a special birthday treat – four days in Barcelona! My first trip to that vibrant and colourful city was seven years ago – also to celebrate my birthday – so it was time I went back. I met up with friends, did a LOT of walking around on my own, and enjoyed several good meals. I’ll do another blog post about some of the other great stuff I saw and did, but for now this is all about where I went to eat.

bcn food boqueria

One of my favourite things to do is visit markets and check out what’s going on as market bars traditionally have a good rep for providing super-fresh market food. And although I’d been warned by my very savvy foodie friends that the Boqueria Market on the Ramblas had turned into a touristy nightmare I really wanted to see it again. My first memory was coming across it by chance on a January afternoon just before sunset… I had no idea it was even there and if I hadn’t turned my head to the left at that moment we’d have walked right by. Instead my friend and I went in and I was charmed and delighted by… well, by everything I saw. But it was getting late and we were tired after a long day out and about, so we didn’t stay long.

Continue reading “Eating Out in Barcelona” →

BurNarj Sparkling Orange Wines

azahar3 Comments

burnarj

[click on image to enlarge]

I was treated to a private wine tasting yesterday, along with friends Fiona @Seville_Writer and Amelia @TravelCuisine1, arranged for us by BurNarj @Burnarj, a young family-run winery in Palma del Rio, Córdoba. BurNarj – a pormanteau of “burbujas” (bubbles) and “naranja” (orange) – is the world’s first and only sparkling orange wine made from 100% orange juice. All other orange wines presently on the market are grape wines that have been infused with orange juice, zest, etc. BurNarj wines are made using the traditional méthode champenoise which, aside from champagne (obvs), is also used for making Spanish cava. There are four wines in the Burnarj range: Brut Nature (dry 11% alc), Brut (slightly sweet 11% alc), Semi-Seco (semi-sweet 11€ alc) and a Semi-Seco light (7% alc). It is recommended to drink these wines well-chilled between 1º – 3º C.

BurNarj general director Alfonso Diéguez arrived at Travel & Cuisine headquarters with a cooler full of wines and a lovely selection of snacks. We started off tasting the bone dry Brut Nature, which paired very well with the smoked salmon and jamón Ibérico (Alfonso also recommends it with Rio Frío caviar from the same region), and which ended up being everybody’s favourite. I found the Brut to be a “neither here nor there” wine and was surprised to find I liked the Semi-Seco light second best out of the four. At 7% alcohol it would be a perfect brunch wine, like a ready-made mimosa. Also great for picnics, come to think of it.

Alfonso talked us through the process and explained the different characteristics of each wine with obvious passion. I was surprised to learn that it takes 5 kilos of oranges (2 litres of fresh juice) to make just one bottle of wine. It was also interesting to find out more about the origins of the company and the labour-intensive méthode champenoise. Just two years old, the winery is already selling well in Japan, Poland, Mexico and the UK, as well as at home in Spain. At 11.90€ – 13-50€ retail this would probably be a special occasion wine for most people, but I do recommend giving these wines a try, especially the Brut Nature and the light Semi-Seco.

For more information and to visit the BurNarj online store…

BurNarj Website
Pol. Ind. El Garrotal, Calle E, parcela 5
Palma del Río, Córdoba
Tel. 957 644 059 / 672 289 105

 

 

Finos Palmas 2013

azaharLeave a comment

finos palmas
I am very excited to have been invited to tonight’s Finos Palmas tasting event in Sevilla, which will also be live-streaming in Madrid, Barcelona and Jerez, starting at 19.00 Spanish time. This is the third year that Gonzalez Byass has done the limited edition Palmas bottlings and, like their Tío Pepe en Rama, these wines have become very trendy. As they are bottled direct from the cask, with no filtering or refining, this means that the wine is best drunk within six months.

finos palmas 2013Initiallly destined for Tío Pepe these specially chosen casks were judged to have potential for extra ageing. Finos Palmas casks are marked with a vertical chalk line and the number of “palm branches” proportional to its age. These elegant old finos have been selected cask by cask by Gonzalez Byass winemaker and master blender Antonio Flores in collaboration with Master of Wine Sarah Jane Evans.

Fino Una Palma is an evolved fino with six years of biological ageing under a still active covering of flor. From a solera of 142 casks only three casks (numbers 1, 9 and 11) have been selected.

Fino Dos Palmas has been ageing over eight years in contact with a thinner layer of active flor on the surface. From the solera of 150 casks, only two (numbers 7 and 26) show this distinctive feature.

Fino Tres Palmas comes from a single cask (number 30) out of a 150 casks solera, and after ageing for 10 years still preserves traces of live flor that continue to permeate the wine.

Fino Cuarto Palmas is the jewel of the Solera Museo, containing just six casks (this year only number 3 was chosen). It is an extraordinary and very limited edition 45-year-old amontillado.

Finos Palmas 2013 LiveStreaming from 19.00h (Spanish time)
Twitter hashtag: #FinosPalmas

[youtube=”http://youtu.be/CuMbCdZqedI”]

An introduction to Finos Palmas by winemaker-poet Antonio Flores