Wines from Spain 2011

If you are attending the Wines From Spain 2011 trade show in London today, be sure to stop by stand 12 where C&D Wines will be pouring Botani 2010, Selección Especial nº1 and Victoria nº2. Would love to hear your feedback!

Felices Fiestas!

I’m looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home with my family and then – I hope! – a quick trip to London before coming back to Málaga for the New Year. Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season, wherever you are.

See you in 2011!

Our New Bodega

It was a crazy summer this year. In April we started moving to new spacious premises in Vélez Málaga, incorporating our three separate facilities in Almáchar (warehouse and sweet wine cellar) and Vélez Málaga (Botani cellar). This ended up taking until June because the installations for a winery are very complex with all the special plumbing and refridgeration that is required. Luckily we were able to continue using the equipment we already had and so we were all set up in time for the vendimia.

The other day I was speaking to our distributor for the Canary Islands, Mario Reyes, who remembered visiting the old bodega in Almáchar and thinking that clearly it wasn’t the building that was important in the making of a great wine, as long as you have the best equipment and, of course, the know-how.

Having said that, I feel that with our new 1,000 square metre installation we will be able to work more efficiently with less extra costs, which will not only allow us to be more productive but also gives us more potential for future growth, and we are very happy with our shiny new home.

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Wistfully looking back at a brief summer getaway I took in July, just before the vendimia started. It was my first visit to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but it won’t be my last. Such a beautiful beachside village with some of the best seafood you can find anywhere. I had the very best tortillitas de camerones that I’d ever had in my life at Casa Balbino, along with some Barbiano manzanilla (sherry). It was a perfect summer daytrip – and on motorbike too!

Málaga Park

The name Botani, along with its fresh green and white label, were inspired by the many historical botanical gardens in and around Málaga city. One of my favourites is Málaga Park which can be found in the city centre, running parallel to the Port. It’s a lovely and shady place to walk and relax in, and is filled with tropical plants and many special monuments, fountains and sculptures.

Fiesta del Carmen

The Fiesta del Carmen is held on the 16th July, and is of particular importance in Málaga city and the surrounding towns and villages with a maritime tradition. Carmen is the patron saint of seafarers and the festival dates back to when the main source of revenue in the area was the fishing industry. It wasn’t long ago, perhaps in my grandmother’s time, that people wouldn’t go swimming until the Virgin had blessed the waters.

During the procession, a statue of Our Lady Carmen is carried through all the fishing districts in the evening by bearers dressed in the traditional marengo costume of white shirt, black trousers, a red cummerbund and canvas espadrilles. Afterwards they take off their shoes and wade out to sea, carefully placing the statue on a fishing boat adorned with flowers. It is then taken out to sea, followed by a multitude of small jábegas (fishing boats). There is music and cheering, singing and dancing as well as a fireworks display.

Celebrations vary slightly from town to town. In Málaga city the procession takes place at the Malagueta beach and carries on until the Baños del Carmen. There is another procession in the old fishing quarter of Pedregalejo (where these photos were taken), with people from the city and other neighbouring fishing quarters taking part. The fabulous seafood restaurants in this area get booked up well in advance, as they also do in El Palo and Rincon de la Victoria, and the celebrations usually continue well into the night.

Seville Visit

Had a great time in Sevilla on Tuesday. I had a very productive meeting with my wine distributor, Federico Flores, and later met with Shawn from Sevilla Tapas to visit a couple of bars with my wines. Our first stop was La Azotea where we had some excellent tapas and got to briefly chat with owners Juan & Jeanine. We got there a bit later than expected and the bar was already quite full – after sampling the tapas I could understand why.

Afterwards we went to a wine bar / albacería called Puracepa where we spent an enjoyable time chatting with their wine expert Fillipo, who also helped us select tapas to pair with Botani and the two sweet wines I’d brought along, Selección Especial and Victoria. If you watched yesterday’s video you will know that we ended up closing the place, and then had a lovely walk back through the square in front of the cathedral and barrio Santa Cruz.

top: tapas at La Azotea
bottom: cheese &  pâté at Puracepa

Vinoble Jerez 2010

30 – 31 May, 1 – 2 June
Jerez de la Frontera

The International Exhibition of Noble Wines, that in 2010 will take place from the 30th of May to the 2nd of June, is the only one dedicated to the fortified, dessert and natural sweet wines.

It is held every two years in Jerez de la Frontera, the andalusian city that share its name with one of the most famous wines made in Spain. These appreciated wines, complex, special, made always with great affection and care, with very complicated elaboration, didn’t have a global framework or a reference to apear despite of being regarded as the best wines in the world. Vinoble was created to become the center of meeting and showcase for these special wines.

I am very pleased and honoured to be one of the invited guests and exhibitors at this very special event in Jerez de la Frontera.

The Vineyards of Axarquía

I’d like to introduce you to my vineyards. Since this is where it all begins there will be more posts telling you about what goes on during the different seasons. The bodega and its vineyards are in the western part of the Axarquía to the north-east of Málaga, and about an hour’s drive from Marbella, where old-vine Muscat of Alexandria grapes are grown on the north-facing mountainous slopes of Almáchar (an Arabic name meaning meadows).

The landscape has a rugged beauty, the fields and vineyards climbing the rocky slopes above the little river, with spectacular views from the tops of the ridges. The slopes where the vineyards are situated are too steep for tractors, and at harvest time, in the late summer, mules must be used to transport the grapes to the bodega. The climate is dry and sunny, but mellowed by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea. Because of the poor, rocky soil and sparse rainfall the vines are cultivated using the vaso system of pruning and the traditional dry-farming techniques of the Málaga region.

The Muscat of Alexandria is a large aromatic grape that originated in North Africa, but which has been cultivated in this part of Spain for many hundreds of years. It produces wines that have a high sugar content, with aromas of honey, orange blossoms and fresh grapes. Many of the local grapes are dried to make raisins (there is even a raisin museum in Almáchar), but we dry the grapes for wine in a special drying house. After pressing, the grapes are fermented in stainless steel and then oak.

I love spending time at the vineyard, and there is nothing quite like tasting wines in the place where they were born.

Musings of a Málaga Wine Goddess

Welcome to my blog. I’m still getting things set up but please stop in and say hello. Don’t be surprised by my lack of modesty, it’s just that being here in the vineyards of la Axarquia really does make me feel like a goddess!