Various individuals from the wine and hospitality sectors including Ferran Centelles of El Bulli and Josep Roca of El Celler de Can Roca will give talks on “wine production and enjoyment as part of the culinary experience” at the international culinary congress, San Sebastián Gastronomika 2011 – Euskadi Saboréala commencing Monday, 21 November.   The conference, Continue Reading »

Some of the world’s leading chefs and sommeliers, including Ferran Adria and Jose Andres have given their support to a coalition calling for truth in wine labelling.    Adria and Andres have signed an open letter lending their support to protect wine place names.   Others who have given support are The French Laundry’s Thomas Keller and Pontus Elofsson of Noma, Joel Robuichon, Wolfgang Puck and Alain Ducasse.

Spaniard Jose Andres, who has restaurants in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington DC said, ‘We support the Joint Declaration to protect wine place and origin because place names are central to understanding the foods and wines we work with every day’.

The United States has agreed, in a deal signed last year between US and Europe, to prevent new wine producers from using the names ‘port’ and other semi-generic names such as Sherry and Burgundy. However, the agreement has a ‘special clause’ that allows producers in the market before March 2006 to continue the practice in some cases.

The Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin, a coalition first formed in 2005, has the support of 15 wine regions including Champagne, Jerez, Porto and Napa and
according to the Napa Valley Vintners Association, producers from countries as wide ranging as Germany and China have put ‘Napa’ or similarly misleading labels on their wines.

The coalition hopes that, with the support of chefs and  food and wine experts this will persuade lawmakers to better protect wine place names.

Distinguished American wine writer Robert Parker has become the only wine critic to be awarded Spain’s Gran Cruz al Merito Civil.  In a ceremony on Wednesday, 11 May Continue Reading »

The Bordeaux answer to Bilbao’s Guggenheim was revealed recently, we feel it could look like a thumb or a decanter or even wine swirling in a glass – what do you think?

Plans for this futuristic Wine Centre, which were unveiled in Bordeaux , will be designed by Parisian architects X-Tu, with London company Casson Mann working on the interior.  The two companies, selected from 113 candidates, will start building in early 2013, with a completion date set for 2014.

Philippe Massol Project Director,  said, “We selected the most spectacular building. It reflects the sensual side of wine, and is in harmony with the river which it will be built alongside”.   He  additionally stated that the building would be ‘environmentally sound’, built out of wood and glass, ‘which themselves are materials used in wine’.

Spanish Gonzalez Byass has doubled production for the re-launch of its Tio Pepe En Rama.  Tio Pepe En Rama – rama means ‘raw’ – is an ultra-fresh and Continue Reading »

Gran Cerdo or Big Pig, is a great wine, dedicated to the Bank Directors who denied a loan, saying that wine is no guaranteed equity.  No doubt these fat, oily and suited people will one day discover that the most important things in life can never be held to ransom.  Continue Reading »

In the last two decades, contemporary architecture has staged a thrilling encounter with the unlikely world of viticulture. Originating in California’s Napa Valley, the earliest of these winery designs were Continue Reading »

Jay Miller, the timid but very likeable “Nose & Mouth” of Parker’s The Wine Advocate is here in Catalonia from 12 – 23 January, 2011 to taste for the first time in situ our wonderful Priorat, Penedes etc., wines, after 25 years of close collaboration with Robert Parker.   He will taste up to 1,300 Catalan wines and cavas and will visit small and large Catalan wineries in the following DO’s:  Penedes, Cava, Catalunya, Priorat, Montsant, Terra Alta and Emporda. Continue Reading »

Capçanes winery in Montsant, is the very first winery in Spain to produce a Kosher wine in the 20th century, although Kosher wine has been in existence since 636 AD in Israel and may have been in Spain prior to Capçanes innovative move to commence making Kosher wine.   If you would like to enjoy a visit to Capçanes Winery, we at GourmandBreaks.com will be very happy to make arrangements for you.

The history of Judaism in Spain dates back to Roman times, while some research even suggests that Continue Reading »

The European Network of Wine Cities (RECEVIN) which is a commingling of wine cities from five different European countries (Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Germany), established in 2009 the celebration of the European Day of Wine Tourism, that will take place every second Sunday of November (this year on the 14^th November) in each partner Continue Reading »

The Festival of Ratafia in Santa Coloma de Farners, near Girona, is celebrated on the second weekend of November each year, 2010 being its 26th year of celebration. Visitors can try different brands of Ratafia and taste dishes made with the spirit by local restaurateurs, while villagers are encouraged to enter competitions for the best home-made liqueur. The day is rounded off with Continue Reading »

If you are the type that likes a bit of fear in your life and want to enjoy Halloween like never before, be brave and enjoy with Gourmand Breaks a unique and unforgettable tour of Bodegas Protos winery in Peñafiel.  Protos’ warehouse will become a mansion of terror on the evenings of 30 and 31 October and 1 November.   Normally a good tour of their facilities is highly recommendable, but these particular tours will be additionally really chilling!   Continue Reading »

To discover something rare and unknown to much of the world is like finding a diamond in the rough – you want to grab hold of it and keep it to yourself! However, this is not the case with the diamond, or shall we say, “ruby in the rough”, that we at Gourmand Breaks have discovered and would love to share with you on our “Wine Connoisseur Tour in Penedes“.

That ‘ruby’ in fact, better known as Heretat Mont-rubí and roughly translated as ‘Ruby Mountain’, is the first vineyard in the entire world to produce a single variety wine from the obscure Sumoll grape. And we must say, superbly done!

Sumoll is a red grape variety currently grown on only 100 hectares of land throughout the whole world. Winding through the rocky, tree-covered hills surrounded by vines as far as the eye can see, you will make your way through the Penedés DO region where you will find a great deal of these rare vines at the quaint, family-owned cellar of Heretat Mont-rubí. Situated some 500 meters above sea level where the soil and climate are optimum for growing this particular variety, great care is taken to create the perfect result: a delicious, cherry-flavored, dry red wine with hints of raspberry and vanilla.

Heretat Mont-rubí uses entirely manual procedures throughout the fermentation process, including sampling grapes in the vineyard itself to ensure harvest is at the ideal time. The wines here are aged in oak barrels and separated by grape variety, and even according to the particular estate of which they are contributed from. The overall mineral quality of the final product make the tasting experience feel as if you could be drinking luscious cherry juices streaming from a stony brook. We hope you will join us for our Penedes Wine Tour and enjoy this unique experience for yourself!

As wine lovers venture out of Barcelona streets laced with Gaudi’s intricate designs to vineyards in the countryside, they are never left without brilliant Modernist architecture to gawk at. That’s because several of Catalonia’s best vineyards lie next to cellars often called wine cathedrals and you can visit them all on our Penedès Wine Tours. When the region’s viticultural renaissance hit its stride in the early 1900s, some of the best Modernista (or Catalan Art Nouveau) architects wanted to celebrate by contributing their designing genius to booming wine cellars. Continue Reading »

There’s only one time of year in Spain to come and participate in the grape harvest and it’s here! Most grape harvests, or “vendimias,” happen in September and October, but this week Raimat vineyards owned by Codorniu have already started, according to La Vanguardia newspaper.

We’re excited because it’s a unique time for visitors to come visit the region and learn first hand from vineyards how to recognize, pick and store ripe grapes for some of the most highly regarded wines in the world. We have launched our Grape Harvest Tour, so our guests can come and experience with us this smashing good time!  It also brings the excitement of all the harvest festivals that are just around the corner–ones like Cava Week in Sant Sadurni. In the beginning of October this town, which is the capital of cava production, prepares train tours to all the vineyard harvests, hosts several tasting events, the election of the Cava Queen and her patriotic speech of course.