I recently spent 4 days in Madrid, and having already spent 6 weeks traveling in Spain I figured I knew what I was getting into. Barcelona was okay, Valencia was beautiful and Madrid was just AWESOME! So awesome that I have to share all my top tips about my now favourite Spanish City. First off,…
It’s a place where you get 300 days of sun a year and where winemaking dates back to the time of the Roman’s in 123 B.C. It’s the Island of Mallorca, an 8-hour ferry ride from Barcelona or Valencia. With the statuesque gothic cathedral at the gateway of the island it is as simple as…
On a recent trip to Barcelona, the lovely host at our hostel – Thomas let us in on some insider information. He explained that just around the corner on Carrer de la Reina Cristina down near the port, we would find a tucked away little bar for Cava. His advice was, it is great but…
So I am here in the Spanish countryside, La Llacuna to be exact. Right in the middle of the beautiful Penedés. I have now been in Spain for over a month and I love it! Compared to France everyone is super friendly and all up it just seems more relaxed. I have sipped, spitted and…
Imagine having 30km’s of cellars 20 or 30 meters below ground? You have to admit it is the perfect way to look after your wine; cool, dark, humid and still surroundings. Not to mention it is a great way to utilize space. Unfortunately I am not speaking about my own cellar here but this is…
After a fantastic morning spent at Chateau de Brau in Villemoustaussou, we turned on the GPS on the Nokia and plotted a course to Domaine O’Vineyards. Ok if we had a car we could of perhaps done a few more vineyards in our time frame but hey we were saving money by walking, no one…
After perhaps a not so profitable tasting day in Narbonne I decided to hit Carcassonne with gusto. One of my favourite memories here has to be of La Cité at dusk – absolutely stunning and a carafe of vino and wild boar casserole followed this. Yum! So after sending a few e-mails out we decided…
Coming from New Zealand I have to say the scenery of the South of France isn’t too different from home – lots of hills, lots of greenery and lots of farm animals about the place. However of course the biggest difference has to be the castles and old stone ruins dating back centuries, which is…
To be honest before now I use to associate Switzerland with cheese, banks and yodeling. I learnt a touch about Swiss wines in my WSET courses however that’s about it. Even working 6 years in wine retail I had never worked in a place that stocked Swiss wines – however I have to admit I had a…