California Dreaming

[click to enlarge] I’m back in Málaga today after a wonderful week in San Francisco and Los Angeles with Sara Floyd. Here are a few of my “memories”, or at least of the times I remembered to take a quick photo and post it on Twitter. I really must remember to take photos of the [...]

Stacole Fine Wines

I’m in Florida this week with Stacole Fine Wines visiting with various wine distributors, stores and, of course, some amazing restaurants. It’s been a great week so far, starting off with a seminar for the Capital Grille with George Miliotes and ABC Wines & Spirits, and it’s been non-stop ever since. Follow my tweets for [...]

Andalucía Day at Binomio

Lunch at Binomio in Sevilla [click on image to enlarge] This past Monday was Andalucía Day and, as I spent the long weekend in Sevilla and Ronda, it was fitting that we had a special lunch on Monday that was made entirely of products and wines from Andalucía. At the suggestion of Shawn from Sevilla [...]

Foster & Dobbs

Last Sunday I was visited by cheese connoisseurs Luan Schooler and Tim Wilson of Foster & Dobbs Authentic Foods in Portland, Oregon. They were particularly interested in our wines because of how well they pair with different cheeses. First we had a special tasting of Botani, Selección Especial and Victoria 2010 from the tanks at the bodega. Botani [...]

Sevilla Tapas

I was recently very pleased to discover that two new Seville restaurants are serving Botani and so yesterday I mixed business with pleasure by taking a quick trip north to visit them, and was joined by my friends Manuel and Shawn (aka Sevilla Tapas). First we went to Arenero, which is located in the Barrio [...]

El Refectorium

This is another of my favourite places to eat in Málaga, just behind the bullring and conveniently close to home. El Refectorium is always busy and you just have to sample the tapas to know why. Their menu is small but it’s all very high quality and the service is both efficient and friendly. They [...]

Parador Gibralfaro Special Menu

The Parador Gibralfaro in Málaga is surrounded by pine trees on Mount Gibralfaro and faces the Alcazaba, from where there are spectacular views of  the port and the city. Next month the Parador Gibralfaro will be presenting a special week-long menu (September 1 – 8th) featuring Bodegas Ordoñez wines with special food pairings for each. [...]

La Reserva del Pastor

This is the sister bar of La Reserva 12 in the Calle Bolsa, which has been one of my favourite restaurants in Málaga since it opened just under two years ago. This newest location in Calle Sánchez Pastor opened its doors just over a week ago and is every bit as good. The look is [...]

Botani in Japan!

Here is a page from the August 2010 edition of ELLE Japan – can anyone offer a translation? Click on the image to enlarge and you can see Botani paired with a specially prepared dish of tuna tatare by Ferrán Bofarull of Restaurante Montiel in Born (Barcelona). The rest of the food looks amazing too. Many [...]

Spain has Conquered the World

George Miliotes, Master Sommelier for The Capital Grille (and one of fewer than 200 Master Sommeliers in the world), has chosen an excellent selection of wines from Australia, Europe and California for their latest Master Wine Tasting Event, which runs through September 5th, pairing wine and food while knowledgeable servers guide you through the tasting. [...]