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I won't pretend to be expert on either food or tourism in Spain and have not been south of Madrid in thirty-five years. In the past three or four years our travels have been restricted to the very north of Spain. My two cents follow nevertheless. In the midle sixties I found much of the Mediterranean coast highly geared to British and German vacationers looking for the sun and the comforts of home. I found much of it over built although many towns had enough projects underway to double the their size with new hotels. I suspect all that I saw has been dwarfed by new construction. The interior of Andalucia was quite memorable however for the both the Moorish architecture as well as the Christian. There is also something about sipping a Sherry in Jerez de la Frontera, or better yet, a Manzanila in Sanlucar de Barrameda. My best memories of food that far back were of paella and fried squid, as well as tapas with a Fino Sherry or Manzanilla. Although it's not the region of production, I suspect you will be able to find good examples of Spanish cured pork products. The best of Spanish hams are outrageously expensive, but worth it, and even the average product will put most other hams to shame. The dried chorizos as well as the ones for cooking are splendid, even in competition with the fresh seafood. My dislike for tourists aside, (remember that they congregate for good reason, in places that are attractive) Barcelona is one of my favorite cities to visit. In terms of food, especially at the highest levels, the finest restaurants in Spain are in the Basque Country and Catalunya where you will find three star restaurants and the highest concentrations of starred restaurants. No doubt this has been a factor in our travel plans lately, although the proximity to France hasn't hurt. ----- http://www.worldtable.com

It's nice to see genuine enthusiam for rosés. They've suffered such abuse from Americans. I've had surprised reactions from people who just assume no one with any pretension to sophistication would drink rosé. True my mother drank rosé because she thought it was such a pretty color and could substitute for both red or white and therefore the perfect all puspose wine for those who worried about "the rules." There is something about its all-purposenesss that does hold true. When dining outdoors I find rosé goes with a wider variety of food than it does indoors. We have a roof garden and refer to a group of light summer wines as "roof wines." Rosés are at the head of the class. A couple we've liked are Chivite's Gran Feudo from Navarra and Bonny Doone's Vin Gris de Cigare from California. The first should run about ů-8 and the second a buck or two more. The Mas de Gourgonnier had a bit more body. I recall seeing it on the upper east side for a great price in the Wine Shop on First Avenue just a few weeks ago, but I'll bet they're sold out. ----- Robert Buxbaum http://www.worldtable.com eGullet Community Coordinator, France

Nice. It's hard to believe how many expensive cork screws I see with that offensive screw. It really is a cross between a screw and a drill bit. It will drill a hole in the cork as readily as not. The proper worm as you describe bears no resemblance to a screw. In France of course, it's not a cork screw but a cork puller. I've seen a variety of rare woods and animal horns. I am sure the most expensive ones use unicorn horns for the handles judging from the prices. A friend swears by his Rabbit. I've never tried one. I don't like that foil cutter though. I received one from that same friend and I find it just cuts the foil too high on the neck. I perfer to cut the foil below the ridge at the neck to keep the wine away from the lead as I pour. (Of course there's less and less lead to be found.) Any thoughts on this? ----- Robert Buxbaum http://www.worldtable.com eGullet Community Coordinator, France