Brian Murdock

B is for Bierzo (Spain), one of the fastest-growing regions here, with its rich reds made from the mencía grape.

Absolutely, Pedro. I mentioned that very point in an earlier post on this thread (see post # 7); In this case, I had taken some information from other sources which I have found to be a little more reliable, but even they may be wrong. Who knows? In any event, I see many of you are extremely suspicious of these ratings. I tend to be less so...though I agree they are often inflated. An "excelente" may or may not be as "excellent" as they say, and a "buena" should be regarded with serious reservations. That's what happened to D.O. Rioja's 1997 vintage, I believe.

I was mulling over these comments and decided to rummage through some of the reports from the last couple of weeks. Harvest time can be quite unpredictable, and the situation can change during this crucial stage. Grapes can be very sensitive creatures! In any event, from what I could find, so far things still look bright. The size of the harvest is enormous, that is true. The largest in history. Often that is a negative sign because it means lower quality per grape, but nowadays that doesn't necessarily have to be true. In addition, these figures can be misleading because Rias Baixas has increased its number of vineyards over the last few years in the hopes of meeting increased demand abroad. But the Consejo Regulador and several wineries, up until a few days ago at least, continued to express optimism about the quality, and one winery even expected it to be similar to last year's. Terras Gauda actually made a point of it to mention that the grapes were especially aromatic. It is true, though, that many of the most positive outlooks seem to come from the O Rosal sub-region of the D.O. and that is important because Rías Baixas is made up of several subzones whose climates may result in a noticeable difference in results. I haven't found as much on the Val do Salnés sub-region. Maybe people are emphacizing the bright points and silencing the weaker side. I also know that grape acidity is lower and that can sometimes kill the crispness of white wine. So, I get the feeling Victor may be right in that the harvest may not be up there with last year's in terms of quality, but I think I'll wait for more news to come out... ...and while I'm waiting, enjoy some wine.

My apologies Victor, you are exactly right. I didn't even realize there was a wine forum. I sort of leapt right to the Spain & Portugal section without looking elsewhere. So, I will keep that in mind in the future. As for the report, I was only conveying what the Consejo Regulador had reported, but your observations are certainly very interesting.

For those of you looking for more information about the fiestas gastrónomicas, here's link to a list of the major fiestas throughout the year. As you can see, hardly an edible item has been left out! Fiestas Gastronómicas de Galicia Another fiesta I'd like to highlight is the Fiesta del Cocido, in Lalín, Pontevedra. It is one of the oldest of the fiestas (I think the first was in the 1960s) and it is held the week (Sunday) before Carnaval, usually in February. Anyone who has been deep inside Galicia at that time of year will understand why this is a perfect time to gather and celebrate with a big bowl of cocido, which, by the way, is different from the famous cocido madrileño. In addition to the big meal, there is also a parade with Brazilian samba dancers to add their own "calor" to the damp and frigid Galician winters! My daughter Ana has asked me to add a clickable face and this is the one she has chosen:

Both Zoticus and Victor are right on the mark in my book. That's how my wife and I started off our daughters when they moved to solids. I think the "homemade" aspect, as Victor mentioned, is very important. It requires extra time and a little more planning ahead, but you can make a batch for about three days. Normally we would rotate...three days of say: fish, then chicken, then beef (tender veal). Or you can always ask your butcher for the best cut for your purposes. If I'm not mistaken, the meat around the cheek-bone is considered the tenderest. More patience should be required with the fruit puree, since the acidic taste can often turn them off at first. Good luck and watch out for the pedorretas!

I scribbled the name down at the time, but of course, lost it. Does anyone know the name of it? ← I just finished the article and enjoyed it very much, especially the closing thoughts at the Galician restaurant. Bittman seemed almost surprised that a man of Adrià's caliber would simply be "eating and drinking", but I wasn't surprised at all. I think it best sums up the way the Spanish look at their own cuisine. Today's version may be more sophisticated, but they always go back to their roots. They adore their food and their ingredients. Many of the dishes can be shockingly simple, but unparalleled in quality. What did surprise me was the "Champagne"? Not Cava? I thought to myself, in Barcelona? That's almost sacrilege! But you never know. As for the name of the Galician restaurant, I couldn't tell you, especially since I'm not very familiar with restaurants in Barcelona, but it ould have been one of many. Galician restaurants in big cities are quite common and often highly regarded. The best octopus I've probably ever tried is at a restaurant in Madrid. The place is pretty well-known among Madrileños, but it's still a fairly straightfoward Galician restaurant. You can't get any more inland than that, doc!

Click on the ""reply square on the right bottom of the post. ← I'm just testing here. Thanks Rogelio!

That's a very good point Rogelio, and one to keep in mind also. Many years ago the D.O.'s were quite frank about their results, but recently nothing seems to go wrong. Ratings have been nothing but positive from nearly all the D.O.s in the last ten years, and even though viticultural techniques have improved vastly, the excessively optimistic reviews can raise suspicion. So, I agree with you, one should be wary, though I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say not to trust them altogether. The poor guys, I'm sure some of them must be telling the truth! I think they give you a general idea of how things went and, of course, what the individual winery does with the grapes is a whole other matter. It's when they get down to the "Buena" rating (which is third behind "muy buena" and "excelente") that I get a little more suspicious. You no longer see the "regular" or "mala" ratings. They would be commercial suicide! In fact, nowadays "buena" almost seems to suggest "not so hot". By the way, can anyone tell me how to quote another post? Thanks!

I'm glad you like albariños too John. And you're right, the prices are still basically reasonable. Even though they are considered in Spain to be some of the most expensive white wine around, you can find many (in a store at least) between probably 7 and 15 euros. Their prices skyrocketed in the first few years of success, but they seem to have leveled off. Rueda is even a better deal. These whites have become the standard in bars in Madrid, so they are easy to find. I'll keep you posted when I have something specific.

Good news for Albariño lovers. It looks like this year's harvest is going to be both abundant and high in quality - two characteristics that don't always go hand-in-hand in grape-growing. This is especially good news considering the dreadful forest fires that raged in Galicia in the first half of August and which affected some of the vineyards of D.O. Rias Baixas. Rias Baixas produces most of the Albariño that you are familiar with. Overall damage to the vineyards apparently was not extensive. Ironically, some say that the fires may have contributed to a premature ripening of the grapes (the harvest is expected to be early this year - Sept. 10), because the heat and smoke created a kind of small-scale greenhouse effect and kept nighttime temperatures higher than normal. At least that's one theory that has been thrown around. But the summer has been very warm and very sunny for Galicia (Spain in general is going through a severe drought), so I figure that has been the mot important factor. By the way, the D.O. in July rated last year's (2005) vintage as "Excellent", so keep that in mind for your next purchase.

Johnnyd, the words "gastronomic revelation" are a perfect way to describe the experience. My sentiments exactly. Interesting about the short shelf-life. I didn't know that.

Docsconz, you most definitely have to try the real thing, and, as Butterfly added, with a small amount of white rice, which is the way it normally is served. The other night it didn't come with any, which I missed; but oh well, the calamares were great all the same. The ink sauce was prepared with sauteed onions which gave it a nice touch of sweetness to it.

Last night I was at a classic traditional Spanish restaurant in Madrid called Paulino. I ordered one of my favorite dishes in all of Spanish cuisine: calamares en su tinta, or squid in its ink. It had been a long time since I had last ordered it, but I was glad I did because the experience was as enjoyable as ever. Calamares in su tinta (or sometimes the smaller "chipirones en su tinta") is one of those dishes that are hard to get people to try, but if they only knew what they were missing. I was once at a Spanish restaurant in Connecticut where the waiter told me that he sometimes told enquiring people that the squid was served in a bean sauce because otherwise they would never order it. Ethics aside, it was a funny way of getting people to try it. So, I highly recommend this dish to anyone who hasn't tried it and is looking for something new. Are there any other calamares en su tinta fans out there?

Hi all. Glad to see the subject of pulpo has sparked some interest. I'm still trying to work out how to quote others, so for the moment, I'll give a general response. Chloe, that was interesting about the story behind why pulpo is popular inland. The only question I had, Rogelio, was about "feira". I was under the impression that it was called pulpo (o polbo) a feira because "feira" means "market" or "fair". The pulpeiros sold the octopus when the market was in town. Sometimes this is once a week, but in most small towns it's once or twice a month. I can verify this when I'm in Lalín (Pontevedra) when there is "feira". The pulpeiros arrive en masse and the copper kettles are busy all morning long. But maybe that's just a coincidence.

Yes, I do live in Spain. In Madrid. Glad to hear you are interested in those festivals. They are very fun and agat way to get to know Spanish cuisine surrounded by thousands of Spaniards! The gastronomic fiestas are all over the place, but Galicia seems to lead the way these days. I will try to mention some from time to time, like for example the the Octopus (pulpo) Festival in Carballiño (province of Ourense), which is held in mid-August (soory you just missed it!). Octopus is one of the most typical dishes of Galicia and contrary to popular belief it is not a coastline fare. As many Galicians will tell you, if you want good pulpo, you have to go inland. The town of Carballiño is an hour from the shore. The process is fairly straightforward. They boil it, slice up the tentacles with a pair of scissors and place the pieces on a wooden plate. Then they smother the octopus bits with chunky salt, olive oil and paprika, sometimes add a potato or two, and serve it. Usually it's placed in the middle of the table for all to share. Galicians prefer to use a toothpick to pluck the octopus, not a fork. They take a piece of bread and use it as a kind of saucer as they bring the octopus to their mouth. That way, any dripping olive oil will be caught and soaked up. Then they'll eat the bread later. Pulpo is often accompanied by Galician mencia red wine. By the way, one of the most important factors to successful pulpo is making sure it's tender enough. Nothing worse than the chewy stuff. One of the most common ways of ensuring that is by freezing it before cooking.

Thanks Rogelio! I look forward to participating in this forum whenever I can. Funny you should mention Betanzos. I "discovered" that beautiful town last spring and fell in love with it. Well worth the visit. I didn't know of tortilla de Betanzos, but when I was there I learned about two other food specialties it has. One is its cheese. Apparently there is a fiesta del quexio de Betanzos (I think in March). Betanzos is also famous for its local red wine (vino de Betanzos) which the locals call a kind of viño do pais. It's a light-bodied wine (and low-alcohol) and comes in both red and white, but I think the red is more common. What I found interesting was the custom they have there regarding the wine. Apparently when the wine is ready for consumption, the bars and homes which offer it will hang a laurel branch on their doors so that the customer will know it's available. The branch remains on the door while stocks last. And I get the feeling that isn't very long! The fiesta del vino de Betanzos is in May.

One annual attraction every summer in the region of Galicia in Spain is the numerous food festivals which are celebrated in the different towns in Galicia. These fiestas are not very old and a kind of excuse to boost tourism, but they are immensely popular and a fun way to get together and enjoy some good food an drink. Most of the food has to do with typical Galician dishes and drink: A Feira do polbo (octopus) in Carballiño, A feira da empanada (meat pies) in Bandeira; a festa do albariño in Cambados. One I often attend is A festa da Tortilla in Laro (Pontevedra). The tortilla (the spanish potato omelette) is not exclusive to Galicia, but it is common there. Plus the ingredients are especially prized. Galician poatoes are considered the best in Spain. They have good flavor and texture and hold up well to cooking. Galician eggs are quite good too and their darker yellow color of the yoke can give them almost an orange tone. Laro isn't especially famous for its tortilla either but, what the heck, a fiesta is a fiesta. It's a small town of only a couple of hundred that swells to several thousand. The fiesta is held on the evening of the first Friday in August in a large oak tree grove (called a carballeida). Families and friends spend the day making tortillas which will later placed on a common table for anyone to take and try. They also bring along their own tables and chairs and set up a picnic with steaks, octopus, empanada, red wine (often Mencía). Then there's the dancing and music until dawn! Galician fiestas gastronomicas are worth considering next time you are in the region during the summer.