19 Friday Nov 2021
Posted in gastronomy, spain
Sanlúcar de Barrameda will officially become the Gastronomic Capital of Spain in 2022. The city of Manzanilla was awarded this title by the Hospitality Industry Federation of Spain and the Federation of Writers and Tourism Journalists, which will also commemorate the V Centenary of the First Around the World Voyage of Magallanes and Elcano. I’m quite excited about this and hope to spend a good part of next year enjoying the Cádiz coast. Stay tuned…
16 Saturday Oct 2021
Six years ago today I became a Certified Sherry Educator!
It’s an honour to be included in such illustrious company and a privilege to introduce people to this most amazing wine, or help them expand on their knowledge of it. You never stop learning about sherry, it’s a delicious world to discover, and to keep on discovering.
Also many thanks to all the wonderful bodegas that have always been so generous and welcoming and the fabulous bars in #Sevilla that help make my sherry experiences extra special. Salud! 💛
27 Wednesday Jun 2018
The main reason for the latest Sanlúcar Getaway was to partake of a couple of the free bodega visits being offered during the Día de la Manzanilla celebrations. The first was the Visita Nocturna on Monday evening at Bodegas La Gitana, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as it wasn’t the actual Visita Nocturna (which includes tasting VOR and VORS wines). Instead it was just the regular morning tour but held in the evening. Oh well.
The second was a visit to Bodega Argüeso, which I had never been to before. Peter joined me in Sanlúcar the next morning and when we arrived at the bodega I was very pleasantly surprised to see Nuria (whom I’d first met at Delgado Zuleta a few years ago) was now working at Argüeso. The tour was fun and interesting and included stopping by the tonelería (cooperage) to see the skilled artisans constructing and repairing the sherry barrels.
You can see a complete list of all the sherry bodegas I have visited (20 so far) here…
26 Tuesday Jun 2018
I had sort of half-planned to go to Sanlúcar de Barrameda for Día de la Manzanilla (which was actually four days, Saturday to Tuesday) but didn’t actually decide until about 10.30 Monday morning. Then it all came together, booking sherry tastings, a hotel and train tickets, and by 12.00 I was packed and on my way.
I pretty much got the last room available at Hotel Barrameda (other than a rather expensive one with its own jacuzzi) and with the price they quoted I wasn’t expecting much, especially when they said it was an interior room. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I opened the door to this loveliness. It was perfect. I’ve stayed here before and, really, don’t think I’d want to stay anywhere else in Sanlúcar. The location is perfect, right on beautiful Plaza del Cabildo and easy walking distance to pretty much everywhere you’d want to go. I already want to go back. 🙂
25 Monday Jun 2018
Always a welcome sight upon arriving in Sanlúcar – the beautiful Plaza del Cabildo. Here for the last two days celebrating Día de la Manzanilla.
casa azahar 