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#26937 - 02/22/01 09:38 AM
Wine
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Member
Registered: 10/31/00
Posts: 47
Loc: Troy, MI USA
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Since most of you seem to be experts in the matters of food and drink, I was wondering what type of wine you would recommend bringing home to the States?
_________________________
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
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#26938 - 02/22/01 10:22 AM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 44
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It depends what you like reds, whites, roses, sherries.
When I was in Madrid I bought two large bottles of Licor 43 both for under $10.00, and two bottles of Campo Viejo(Rioja), a Torres' Sangre de Toro, and Santa Digna Rose(a Chilean wine I was unable to find here in Wash,DC)
Some of the wine regions are: Rioja Penedés Ribera del Duero Valdepeñas Rueda Cava Jerez(sherries)
Have you thought about purchasing aceite de oliva too?
Good luck in your search.
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#26939 - 02/22/01 10:46 AM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 09/19/00
Posts: 179
Loc: Arlington, VA
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Paco,
I lived in Greater Washington area -- Fairfax, VA. There is a wine store located in Baclick near Springfield mall called Total Wine Beveridge and they do carry Spanish wines like Rioja (Campo Viejo) and jerez (from cheap to expensive). They also sell imported Sangria direct from Spain. I am trying to find liquor de huerba and still unsuccessful. Let me know when you do find a store that sell liquor from Spain.
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#26940 - 02/22/01 10:57 AM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 44
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MClarke,
Thank you for the information. I will try Total Wine Beveridge when I get over to Virginia. PacoM
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#26941 - 02/22/01 11:07 AM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 09/19/00
Posts: 179
Loc: Arlington, VA
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Information on Spanish wines, etc.Wines
Ideally, the wines of Spain are the best accompaniments to the regional dishes. Rioja wines from north-central Spain are considered premium in quality. Another area that makes top-notch wines is Penedes, near Barcelona. All regions, however, have vines under cultivation.
The making of wine in Spain dates back over 2000 years, but the production of quality wines is a more recent development, dating back to the last century. Enterprising Frenchman came to Spain to renew their wine production when Phylloxera hit the French vineyards. They found these areas met their requirements and as the French prospered, the Spanish learned new wine-making techniques.
Climate and grape variety are two of the components that make Rioja wines unique. The third is the laborious process of barrel aging, and the wines spend many years in bottles in the bodegas before being released for sale.
A third region is Valladolid, where Vega Scilia produces the most expensive Spanish wine on the market today.
Sherry takes its name from its place of origin, Jerez, in southwest Spain. Its history goes back thousands of years, when Phoenician settlers introduced grape vines to the area. Only Jerez has all the optimum conditions for sherry production with the complex interplay of air, sun, soil, aging and tradition.
Sherries are blended and fortified wines and fall into several styles: Fino -- very dry or dry; Manzanilla -- very dry; Amontillado -- medium dry; Oloroso -- medium sweet; and Cream -- sweet.
Spanish brandies made by the French Cognac process are of exceptionally fine quality. Most come from Jerez, although the Torres company in Cataluna is producing excellent ones for export.
Sparkling Spanish wines are also made by French methods, developed in Champagne. Codorniu is the top name in the field; another firm, Freixenet, is widely distributed.
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#26943 - 02/23/01 05:21 PM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 10/03/00
Posts: 185
Loc: Baltimore, MD, USA
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IMHO, the best beverage anyone can bring back is something unique to the area. For me, it's always some fino. Fino does not normally travel well in commercial quantities--so what you get in Spain will usually taste better.
I figure you can get good varieties of red, white and rose wines anywhere. But only Spain produces genuine sherry. It's also been my impression that Spaniards do not normally speak of sherry as wine, or "vino," reserving that word for the ordinary, unfortified still wines.
Can anyone either confirm or deny that bit of trivia for me? I'd hate to be a repository for innacurate trivia. Cantabene
[This message has been edited by cantabene (edited 02-23-2001).]
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#26944 - 02/24/01 06:07 PM
Re: Wine
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Executive Member
Registered: 02/22/01
Posts: 736
Loc: Ames, Iowa, USA
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In going back through my journal from my trip to Spain in 1990, I found my notation that our tour guide, Fernando, bought my friend Laura and me each a glass of "fino malaga" in Sevilla. I wrote that Fernando had said that it was "a lovely sweet sherry for the ladies." What do you think we were drinking? It was quite nice and I would love to order it again when in Spain!
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#26945 - 02/24/01 09:48 PM
Re: Wine
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Member
Registered: 10/03/00
Posts: 185
Loc: Baltimore, MD, USA
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Fino and sweet--when talking about sherry-- are contradictions. I usually think of malaga as a sweet wine. Perhaps this was a kind of dry malaga. I'd be suspicious about the credentials of a guide who described this wine in this manner. It seems doubtful that it was sherry. Cantabene
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#26946 - 02/25/01 09:23 AM
Re: Wine
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Executive Member
Registered: 06/05/00
Posts: 1713
Loc: Phila., PA, USA
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MClarke: Try Central Liquors in Washington D.C. When I would visit D.C. on business I would often stop there and buy some wines from Spain. I, for one, don't bring back wines that are readily available in the U.S. And I would never, ever bring back bottled Sangria. Sangria is a wine 'punch;' there are many recipes for making it yourself. ¿Why use imported wine to make a punch? If I visit Galizia, I bring back Albariño or Rosal. If I visit Andalucia, I bring back Manzanilla from Sanlucar de Barrameda. Last September I brought back Orujo de Liébana (Aguardiente). You will find none of these wines (liquors) at the airport Duty Free' shops. And I have not found any of them in the U.S. I can buy Rioja Reserva and cavas from Catalunia at the liquor stores here in N.J.
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