Sunday, October 26, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Liz & Mike
Our long-time friends from Austin, Liz and Mike, came to visit a couple of weeks ago. We decided to try something different while they were here. Susan and I had been wanting to do a kayak trip on the Ebro and Liz and Mike were the perfect people to accompany us. Ariadna introduced us to Raul Sabaté of Rogles Aventuras ( www.rogles.org ) who was our guide.
We left Mora la Nova around 9:00 and reached Miravet about 11:30. It was a beautiful morning and an easy paddle. The Ebro is crystal clear and warm enough to swim in this time of year. We didn't swim but those of you who want to will be able to when you visit.
We left the river and drove to Flix where we had reservations for lunch. The restaurant is owned by Jesus del Rio's brother and sister-in-law, Lluis and Dolors del Rio. There are only two tables adjacent to the butcher shop. The del Rio's grow all their own livestock and vegetables (including mushrooms). Lluis is most proud of his cattle which are only fed organic feed he grows himself. This was our second meal with the del Rios and it was fabulous. They served a bacalao ceviche and a plate of iberica to start. The entree was fork-tender T-bone cooked to perfection. Dessert was home-made macaroons made with eggs from their organic chickens. I regret we don't have pictures of the meal. My camera died just as we were getting in the kayaks.
After lunch, we went back to Miravet and toured a ceramics factory. Susan and Liz picked up a few treasures. Then it was on to the castle in Miravet. On Sunday, we took a drive to Scala Dei and Siurana. They left on Monday to spend a few days with friends in Barcelona. We really enjoyed their company and hope they'll come back next year.
We left Mora la Nova around 9:00 and reached Miravet about 11:30. It was a beautiful morning and an easy paddle. The Ebro is crystal clear and warm enough to swim in this time of year. We didn't swim but those of you who want to will be able to when you visit.
We left the river and drove to Flix where we had reservations for lunch. The restaurant is owned by Jesus del Rio's brother and sister-in-law, Lluis and Dolors del Rio. There are only two tables adjacent to the butcher shop. The del Rio's grow all their own livestock and vegetables (including mushrooms). Lluis is most proud of his cattle which are only fed organic feed he grows himself. This was our second meal with the del Rios and it was fabulous. They served a bacalao ceviche and a plate of iberica to start. The entree was fork-tender T-bone cooked to perfection. Dessert was home-made macaroons made with eggs from their organic chickens. I regret we don't have pictures of the meal. My camera died just as we were getting in the kayaks.
After lunch, we went back to Miravet and toured a ceramics factory. Susan and Liz picked up a few treasures. Then it was on to the castle in Miravet. On Sunday, we took a drive to Scala Dei and Siurana. They left on Monday to spend a few days with friends in Barcelona. We really enjoyed their company and hope they'll come back next year.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
¡WILD BOAR!
I was in La Figuera this morning working on my wines when a local grower showed up with a trailer of grapes. He told me he lost half of his crop to wild boars (about 1600 kilos). About an hour later, a group of hunters arrived with a boar they had just shot. It's hunting season here.
Hunting in Catalunya is highly regulated. Hunters are required to wear bright clothing and post signs along the road near where they are hunting. They are also required to belong to a local hunter's association. If you post your property with a sign saying "private hunting only", you are required to control the wild animals on your property. If someone hits a deer or boar with their car, the police will come and take a picture of the damage and the local hunter's association will pay to fix the car. I suppose they have some kind of insurance.
As in Texas, wild pigs are becoming a big problem here. The species here is the European wild boar as opposed to feral hogs at home. The locals call them "jabalí" but they are a different species from our javelina. Javelina are technically peccaries. Wild boar are the ancestors of domestic swine.
Despite the increasing damage to crops here, it's illegal to trap wild boar (€3000 fine). The problem is especially bad near La Figuera because it backs up to a big national forest. The boars sleep in the forest during the day and come out at night to pillage the fincas.
The boar you see here is about 45 kilos. I came within a few centimeters of hitting one almost twice as big one night last spring. These things are really good to eat if you know what you're doing. I hope these chicos will bring us some chorizo.
¡Bon profit!
Hunting in Catalunya is highly regulated. Hunters are required to wear bright clothing and post signs along the road near where they are hunting. They are also required to belong to a local hunter's association. If you post your property with a sign saying "private hunting only", you are required to control the wild animals on your property. If someone hits a deer or boar with their car, the police will come and take a picture of the damage and the local hunter's association will pay to fix the car. I suppose they have some kind of insurance.
As in Texas, wild pigs are becoming a big problem here. The species here is the European wild boar as opposed to feral hogs at home. The locals call them "jabalí" but they are a different species from our javelina. Javelina are technically peccaries. Wild boar are the ancestors of domestic swine.
Despite the increasing damage to crops here, it's illegal to trap wild boar (€3000 fine). The problem is especially bad near La Figuera because it backs up to a big national forest. The boars sleep in the forest during the day and come out at night to pillage the fincas.
The boar you see here is about 45 kilos. I came within a few centimeters of hitting one almost twice as big one night last spring. These things are really good to eat if you know what you're doing. I hope these chicos will bring us some chorizo.
¡Bon profit!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Garnatxa with Familia Tost
Ariadna called last Saturday morning to invite me to watch her family make some "house wine". Many grape growers in Montsant make wine for personal use. Marc Tost has been studying winemaking and has had some success. This year he's making garnatxa blanca, syrah and garnatxa negre. His grandfather, Miquel, has a cellar under the house and has been making wine for over sixty years. You might say it's a family tradition!
Most families who make wine also make mistela and vi ranci. Both styles are made using the solera method (look it up in Wikipedia). Mistela is sweet and vi ranci is dry. When well made, they resemble the finest sherries. A few wineries around here offer these styles of wine for sale but, in my usually correct opinion, none of them compare to what the families make for themselves.
Miquel's mistela is one of the greatest dessert wines I've ever tasted and, certainly, the best mistela. It has depth, balance, richness and complexity. He's been carefully tending that fifteen liter barrel for sixty years. I hope to taste it at least one more time before I'm beamed up.
It was good to see Marc working with his fruit. The grapes looked really good and Marc and his family were careful with the processing. Xavi is Ariadna's novio and is new to the wine business. His family makes olive oil so this is a good match for him in more ways than one!
Thanks again for inviting me!
Most families who make wine also make mistela and vi ranci. Both styles are made using the solera method (look it up in Wikipedia). Mistela is sweet and vi ranci is dry. When well made, they resemble the finest sherries. A few wineries around here offer these styles of wine for sale but, in my usually correct opinion, none of them compare to what the families make for themselves.
Miquel's mistela is one of the greatest dessert wines I've ever tasted and, certainly, the best mistela. It has depth, balance, richness and complexity. He's been carefully tending that fifteen liter barrel for sixty years. I hope to taste it at least one more time before I'm beamed up.
It was good to see Marc working with his fruit. The grapes looked really good and Marc and his family were careful with the processing. Xavi is Ariadna's novio and is new to the wine business. His family makes olive oil so this is a good match for him in more ways than one!
Thanks again for inviting me!
Tanks? You're welcome!
The first winery I worked for was Joseph Phelps. The cellar crew included some of the funniest people I've ever known. One of them was Gary Young. Whenever someone would say the word "tanks", G.Y. would often exclaim "Tanks? You're welcome!". Anyone who has ever worked in a winery can imagine how many times we heard this. For some reason, it always made me laugh and that should tell you something.
Anyway, I bought my first tank last week. She's a 5000 liter Italian beauty with variable capacity. Right now, she's cradling my 2013 estate wine that I'm getting ready to bottle. We had a little trouble getting her off the truck. The hydraulic lift on the truck wouldn't work so we had to wrestle her off by hand. Fortunately, the chicos in La Figeura (Joan, Josep and Albert) were up to the task and we got her into the winery without mishap.
¡Gracias!
Anyway, I bought my first tank last week. She's a 5000 liter Italian beauty with variable capacity. Right now, she's cradling my 2013 estate wine that I'm getting ready to bottle. We had a little trouble getting her off the truck. The hydraulic lift on the truck wouldn't work so we had to wrestle her off by hand. Fortunately, the chicos in La Figeura (Joan, Josep and Albert) were up to the task and we got her into the winery without mishap.
¡Gracias!
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