Brinkley calls for boycott of Spanish wine

Screenshot of Mail Online
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LONDON If the Mail says so, it must be true - or so it would have us believe. But in fact the matter is reported even in well-considered sources in the Spanish media, including El Confidencial Digital (ECD): Brinkley's the fashionable chain of restaurants is boycotting this country's wines because of the Gibraltar thing. The owner of the chain, John Brinkley has decided that he wants to make a point of how ridiculous Mariano Rajoy's government is acting.>>>

Vinoteca Collado

Vinoteca Collado

Introduction to wine tasting and more in Pueblo Nuevo

SAN ROQUE / P.N. de Guadiaro The well established wine merchant Vinoteca Collado (since 1948) is holding a series of events as part of their Winter & Spring calendar. To start with, there is an Introduction to Wine Tasting course held by Juan Carlos Silva, at 7.30pm on February 20 and 21, followed on March 7 at the same time by a presentation of the wines from Finca La Estacada, of the D.O. Uclés, presented by Francisco Aznar from a fascinating region. After that, on March 15, also at 7.30pm, a presentation by José Manuel Iglesias, of  Bodegas Iglesias, which specialises in sherries, sweet wines from the Condado de Huelva region. And then there is also the Vinoteca Collado Wine Club presentation of wines selected for the first quarter of the year, from Rioja and Jumilla, presented by Juan Antonio Collado Calama, on March 22. (See the full programme below.) Vinoteca Collado is on Plaza Itálica in Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro, 956 796 046.

First came 'sin' beer, now it's alcohol-free wine

Production is in three phases to achieve excellency

RIBERA DEL DUERO (Press release) Many studies point to the benefits of wine: it contains vitamins, antioxidants, necessary minerals - at some point it was said that a glass a day (a glass, dear, not a bottle) kept the doctor away. But its alcoholic content means it is not necessarily for everyone. The answer to that particular conundrum is in removing the alcoholic content. There have been a small number of attempts at making alcohol-free wine palatable, most of them unsuccessful possibly because the R&D involved is costly, which gets passed down to the customer. Then along came the Matarromera Group, which has wineries all along the Duero River in Castilla y León. The group invests 30% of its billing back into R&D and it was this that decided them to become pioneers in what much marketing research showed is a significant niche in the wine trade. This was particularly so following the enormous success  first of 'sin' (without) beer and then 0/0 (zero/zero) beer.>>>R&D got into gear in 2004. The result is a product called EminaZero, which includes red, white, rosé and 'spumanti' wines. It is the very first of its kind in the world to be commercialised as an absolutely alcohol-free wine - and no calories, either.>>>

Wine is good for you - and makes you look better

Natural cosmetics made from wine-making remnants

JEREZ (Agencies) Wine makers have never been sure about what to do with their left overs from making wine. This is especially true of the white palomino grape used to make sherry. The conundrum, naturally, affects the Jerez region. Or it did until a company called Skinwine arrived on the scene. In cooperation with the University of Cádiz, the company came up with a solution: re-use the remnants to make what is being called (in Spanish) oeno-cosmetics.>>>

Climate change means more alcoholic wines

Vineyards in Priorat, Tarragona

SPAIN (Agencies) At the Third World Congress on Climate Change and Wine, held in Marbella last month, experts came to the conclusion that the grape variety known as "garnacha" in Spanish, or "grenache" in French, will be vital if Mediterranean wineries are to adapt to harsher climate conditions. Just a few months earlier, experts at a wine summit in Barbastro - the capital of the Aragonese wine-producing region of Somontano - had reached a similar conclusion, and issued several warnings. For one thing, they said, wines will have a higher alcohol content (in some cases this has already happened, going from 10 to 11 percent, and from 14 to 14.5 percent). But their natural acidity will also be lower, some reds will lose their color, others will lose their flavor, many whites will be deprived of their typical qualities, and there may be a greater proportion of reds to whites. Against this extreme scenario, analysts said that indigenous grapes would resist better than imports.>>>

Campaign for the use of cork as bottle stoppers

This is part of a campaign for the use of cork, particularly that of the Los Alcornocales (Cork Oaks) Nature Park, all around us. The parki, says the film, is not only one of the last remaining pure cork oak locations in Europe but it is also a very important part of local economies. You can read about How That Cork Got in Your Bottle and you can watch this movie. You can also be sure that your bottle (of wine, brandy, sherry, port, etc. etc.) uses cork, and not that nasty plastic stuff! (See also: Vote for Real Cork!)

The vinegars of Jerez

JEREZ So it goes, they say: Xérès=Jerez=Sherry. And that's what we think about when we use the word Jerez, isn't it? Sweet, dry, whatever. But we think of sherry wine, not sherry vinegar. Head for the nearest supermarket's oil & vinegar shelves. Ah, here it is ... apple vinegar, wine vinegar ... sherry vinegar? Not likely, except at upmarket shops. As part of a new section on Spanish food, let us tell you a little more about these superb vinegars that are increasingly held in the greatest esteem by some of the world's top chefs.
What exactly is vinegar? To put it simply, it is the product of bacterial activity, that of the mycoderma aceti, or acetic bacteria, upon any type of hydro-alcoholic solution. In other words, vinegar can be obtained from ny food stuff that can be fermented to produce alcohol. Thus, there are vinegars made from apples, beet, potatoes, rice ... and of course, wine vinegars.