Some wines earn their price through packaging and a good marketing budget. Cune Crianza earns it the harder way: a hundred and forty-five years of not screwing up a formula that already worked.
Continue readingTag Archives: Spain
Si Tapas on Allen Street Is the Most Spanish Thing in Dallas
Most Americans think tapas means appetizers. Small plates. Overpriced bites you order before the real food arrives. That misunderstanding has been doing a lot of damage to a lot of menus for a long time.
In Spain, tapas are not a course. They are a way of spending an evening. You go to a bar, you order a few things, you drink, you talk, you order a few more things. There is no entrée waiting at the end. There is no defined arc from start to finish. The meal is the conversation, and the food is what you eat while the conversation is happening. You might be at the same table for three hours. You might move to a different bar and start over. The food is almost incidental to the rhythm — and yet the food is also the whole point, because the best tapas are made with the same care as anything else in a serious kitchen, just without the ceremony.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Wine Review: Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo
Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo is an approachable yet sophisticated wine that offers remarkable quality for its price. Typically priced between $10 and $14 per bottle, it delivers balanced flavors and refined structure, making it an excellent choice for both everyday meals and casual entertaining. For a wine under $15, it’s a standout example of how affordability and quality can coexist.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Williams & Humbert, Don Zoila Pedro Ximenez, Spain – Sherry
The W&H Don Zoila Pedro Ximénez is a luxurious dessert sherry that exemplifies the rich heritage and craftsmanship of Spain’s Jerez region. Produced by Williams & Humbert, a family-owned winery established in 1877, this sherry is crafted from estate-grown Pedro Ximénez grapes cultivated in the esteemed Pago de Balbaína and Pago de Carrascal vineyards.
These vineyards are part of the Jerez Superior zone, known for its unique terroir that imparts distinctive characteristics to the grapes. The winemaking process involves sun-drying the grapes for 15 days, pressing them to extract concentrated juice, fortifying to 18% alcohol, and aging the wine for 15 years using the traditional solera system. This method blends younger wines with older ones, creating a harmonious and complex profile.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Sparkling Wine: Anna Gets Her Bubbles On
Make a wine in Spain that sparkles like Champagne, use the same winemaking technique, use (pretty much) the same grapes and you have a wine that tastes like Champagne but at half the price. In Spain, Cava is the best known type of wine made like this and we had a couple of bottles from one of the best-known producers come into the office recently. With the help of some sparkling wine fans, I got to taste them. Cava comes from specific areas in the region surrounding Barcelona so, next month, it may cease to be Spanish at Catalans go to vote on independence for Catalonia on November 9th. We will be drinking ‘Cava di Catalunya’.
The Anna de Codorniu Brut, NV (non-vintage), $15 SRP, is made from 70% Chardonnay and 30% Parellada (one of the traditional Spanish varieties). It is light, creamy and lively. It does not have the common almond flavor associated with Cava and might be described as a less complex rendering of a light Champagne such as Perrier-Jouet. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
Casa Rubia In Trinity Groves Serves Up A Slice Of Spain
by Steven Doyle
There are a few tapas restaurants in Dallas, but none hold true to the flavor of Spain as much as the new Casa Rubia does in Trinity Groves. The beautiful new restaurant cheffed by Omar Flores with Cody Sharp as sous is cranking out delicious and beautiful plates of authentic flavor. A recent visit revealed a heavenly paella served in the large paellera that easily serves a hungry gathering of four. Flores now makes what is possibly the best charcuterie board in the city, balanced perfectly on a rough-hewn wedge of wood.
On the menu is a version of Flores’ pulpa, as delicious but different that his octopus at Driftwood. The chef has the dish down pat and is a must order. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
A Palate Friendly Albariño
by Andrew Chalk
Albarino from the Spanish area of Rias Baixas in the region of Galicia is one of the most distinctive white wines in the world. The climate is rainy and cool, making for verdant landscapes and rolling hills that more closely resemble northern Europe than Andalusia. The most famous wine of this area is a piquant white made from 100% Albariño where high acid is the corollary of a cool growing season and ageing in stainless steel rather than oak preserves the fruit flavors of the Albariño grape. Continue reading
Filed under Andrew Chalk
Flamenco And Paella At Samar May 1
by Steven Doyle
Stephan Pyles will be hosting Fiesta de Paella Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at Samar on Ross Avenue. The night will feature Flemenco dancers and guitarist, and of course a beautiful bounty of paella. From the bar they will be sending out bottomless sangrias.
The four course dinner is priced at $35 per person, and the sangria supplement is $10. There is a vegetarian option available for those who desire. End the evening on the relaxing patio with a hookah for you and your guests.
Call 214.922.9922 for reservations.
