24 Thursday Apr 2025
Posted in sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars
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After more than a month without any work I have not one but two Sherry & Tapas Tastings this week! I mean, I obviously need the money but also I just really miss doing this. Going out to meet people, show them a great time, teach them stuff, and just in general have a lot of fun. As you can see, today’s tasting went well. 🥂
13 Thursday Mar 2025
Posted in friends, internet, sevilla, sherry, social media
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Another virtual encounter. A while back Erica got in touch saying she was a friend of Rogene & Phil, that she was going to be in town in early March, and that she’d love to meet up and invite me out to dinner. So that’s what we did last Sunday and had a delicious time out at Barra Baja. And as I knew she’d be in town until Friday I invited to her join today’s Sherry & Tapas Tasting. There was another couple with us and, as usual, it was a great afternoon. I’m loving these tastings so much, not only because of much-needed income right now, but also because I really feel in my element being a Sherry Educator.
Erica and Rogene (aka Maribel’s Guides) are both contributors on a food & travel forum called Hungry Onion. I only know about it because Rogene has been singing my praises there for years and recommending my tours, for which I am very grateful. And now Erica is talking me up there too. I still find it quite wonderful how things like forums and social media bring us together. I mean, there’s also someone I cherish and who is for me one of those you-can-count-them-on-one-hand trusted friends, and we’ve never met in person (you know who you are, K). Isn’t it fabulous?
27 Thursday Feb 2025
Posted in gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, tapas tours
You may remember Katie & Paul, who visited here back in the fall of 2023. We’d met through social media and then also got to meet in person and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. Katie runs food adventure company Bowland & Bay in Lancashire UK and this week she hosted her first “trial run” Sevilla Getaway with six close friends, and of course Paul (aka Sherry Boy) came along too.
At first Katie had wanted a Triana Tour and a Sherry Tour but of course I CAN’T WALK, which I didn’t think was still going to be an issue when we first started organising things last October. Well okay, I can’t walk much. So since there were going to be eight of them requiring a slightly modified itinerary anyhow, I basically came up with two new “experiences” for them which would require less walking (and taxis home) for me. And both of them went so well I may start offering a version of these shorter tours on my website. Because, other than still being able to do my Sherry Tastings, the tours have been on hold since last summer. We shall see.
Meanwhile, Katie is already organising her next Sevilla Getaway for next October and I’m already looking forward to it.
26 Tuesday Nov 2024
I have seen so many of these lovely whisky advent calendars over the years but… where is the sherry one? Imagine the tasty fun of trying a bit of lovely sherry from different bodegas every day leading up to Christmas. Heck, I’d even settle for one of the big sherry producers doing their own. Just do it!
14 Thursday Nov 2024
Posted in books & writing, cadiz, sherry, wine
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Last night I was at the presentation of Alejandro Muchada‘s new book Viñadores: Hijos de la tierra y del vino (Vinegrowers: Children of the land and of wine, organised by De La Tierra and appropriately held at Lama La Uva.
Ale Muchada is co-owner and winemaker at Muchada-Léclapart, along with famed champagne producer David Léclapart. I have been wanting to visit this bodega since I first heard about it but, as it’s outside Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and I haven’t managed to get back there since (gasp!) 2017. Part of that is due to the very poor public transport options from Sevilla. Just over an hour by car it’s either 2.5 hours by (vomity) bus or one can take the train to Jerez (1 hour) and then transfer to a shorter bus route (45 mins) to Sanlúcar. Still not ideal.
But I digress! I got to meet Alejandro at Vinoble earlier this year and he said if I could make it to Sanlúcar he’d come and pick me up there to visit the vineyard and bodega. So kind. Of course since then I can no longer walk and, since that also means I can’t work, I have no money to travel anyhow. Maybe next year?
Oops, digressing again! So last week I received an invitation from Hiniesta at De La Tierra to attend the presentation and then Ale got in touch on Instagram to make sure I was coming. All of this is to say how much I love people involved with sherry, and really with Spanish wines and wineries in general. I have no experience with wineries outside of Spain but here people tend to be not only very passionate about what they do but they are also very generous with their time and knowledge. It was a lovely evening seeing Ale again and also catching up with a few others I hadn’t seen in a while.
Viñadores: Hijos de la tierra y del vino
Author: Alejandro Muchado
Illustrator: Ismael Pinteño
Through brief and profound texts, accompanied by illustrations full of light, Alejandro Muchada shares in Viñadores his particular vision of the profession and the human and professional value that he gives to this figure of artisanal viticulture. In a very simple and accessible way for all audiences, Muchada – himself an aspiring winemaker in Sanlúcar de Barrameda – tells us the little secrets of winemaking carried out by those who work their own vineyards. Ismael Pinteño, illustrator of the work, has been able to perfectly translate the author’s original sketches, transmitting his love and respect for the profession. The root is found in the old-school winegrower, from whom the winemaker takes ancestral knowledge, technical knowledge and respect for the rhythms of nature. With this legacy, he takes a step forward to make a wine full of vibrations, which elegantly and sensitively transmits his effort in the vineyard and his art in the winery.
casa azahar 