Simple Spanish Food

The Best Sherry Bar in Madrid? La Venencia

Whenever in Madrid, we make a point of going to the sherry bar La Venencia at least once. We go partly out of tradition (Andrés, my father-in-law, loved La Venencia), partly for the atmosphere (very "old school"), but mainly because the jerez and food are fabulous.  The prices are also very reasonable.  At La Venencia you can enjoy a truly world-class glass of sherry and a tapa for a few euros.

La Venencia is the only place that I know in the city that serves sherry the traditional way--from barrels--and this makes all the difference. Bottled sherry is great, but sherry stored in the barrel is even better.

Keep in mind, the sherry is not drawn directly from the barrel into your glass. It has to be chilled first.  So when the bartender pulls an unmarked bottle from the fridge to serve you, don't worry. He filled it up only a few hours ago from the barrel.

The varieties of sherry at La Venencia include fino  (a tangy light sherry), manzanilla  (an especially delicate type of fino), palo cortado, amontillado,  and--probably my favorite--oloroso (dark, nutty, and complex).   All of these are dry.  (Unfortunately, I have yet to find  in the U.S. any brands of oloroso or amontillado that have not been sweetened for the export market, and I rarely see palo cortado at all--so for these I give no links to sources).

The menu of pinchos or tapas at La Venencia is short and simple, but everything on it goes beautifully with these wines: salt-cured anchovies, anchoas en salazón (see my post "All About Anchovies"), paper-thin slices of smoke cured beef (cecina),  manchego cheese , cured pork loin (lomo), and of course Spanish ham (jamón) .  When you order a glass of sherry, you will receive a  complimentary tapa of aceitunas de Campo Real, probably my all-time favorite olive. 

La Venencia is located in the old city center, Echegaray 7, Madrid

 

 

Ready-Made Tapas: aperitivos en casa

Sometimes Esperanza, my mother-in-law, will prepare a special appetizer course,  such as steamed cockles (berberechos al vapor) to be served before the main meal, la comida,  but more often she will just serve some quality, ready-made tapas that require her only to  open a tin or a jar.

I emphasize the word quality: tinned goods are often looked down upon here in the U.S. (and in many cases deserve to be), but the foods I'm about to list here, though preserved in cans or jars, are deservedly appreciated in Spain (and, increasingly, the rest of the world).  The best Spanish tinned seafoods, for example, are artisanal products that are winning the respect of food writers and chefs  (see my recent post The Wall Street Journal Praises Galician Sardines) and, while not luxury items, they're not cheap.

Here are some of the instant aperitivos we often enjoy in Spain before the comida.

Fresh pickled anchovies, boquerones en vinagre, are one of my favorites.  See my post "All About Anchovies I" for more information.

Salt-cured anchovies (see my post Cantabrian Anchovy fillets in olive oil) pair incredibly well with  boquerones and are often served alongside them. ( See my post "Anchoa y Boquerón: A Classic Tapa.")

 

Banderillas--pickled vegetables on a skewer--are also a popular choice. (See my post on banderillas).

As I wrote in my last post, we also often throw together an easy salad of roasted peppers.

We usually have some type of toasted nuts.

And often we have sardines. (See my post on Spanish Tinned Sardines to learn just how different they are from most sardines available in U.S. supermarkets)

Olives are obligatory. (See my posts on "Olives, Aceitunas")

And on the table there is always a loaf of bread, usually a pan de barra (Spanish-style baguette).

Pairing a wine with these foods can be difficult.  We often have a simple red, such as a Valdepeñas.

Or a glass of vermouth on ice. See my post on vermut.

Or a fino. See my post on Tio Pepe Fino.

Or we just have a cold beer.

Easy Spanish Wine Spritzers--Tinto de Verano

The wine spritzer, or tinto  de verano (literally "red wine of summer"), is extremely popular in Spain.  It's a great way of lightening up red wine and making it cold and refreshing in the hot months. 

Actually, Spaniards often blend ordinary wine (red, white or rosé) with sparking water regardless of season.  According to Esperanza, my mother-in-law, "tinto de verano" is just a pretty new name for an old practice.  

Wine snobs will say that this habit of blending comes from the not-so-distant time when "ordinary wine" in Spain was harsh stuff.  There is some truth to this. I remember how Andrés, my father-in-law, used to go down to the corner wine shop with three empty bottles, each of which would be filled straight from a barrel of fast-oxidizing wine: one of red, another of white, and a third of clarete--a blend of the two.  The cost of filling all three bottles was less than a 100 pesetas--a dollar. I had the privilege of trying this wine in the mid-90's (just when these corner "bodegas" were disappearing) so I can tell you from first-hand experience: it was  indeed extremely rough wine, rougher than any you're likely to come across nowadays. But mixing that sour wine with sparkling water made it not only drinkable but pleasant.

But blending wine, water, and other flavorings is hardly just a Spanish thing. It is a timeless Mediterranean practice.  Before the relatively recent innovation of temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks, most wine, especially in hot Mediterranean countries, was pretty rough stuff, and blending it with water, sparkling or still, along with other flavorings, was the standard way of improving it--and making it less intoxicating.  The ancient Greeks watered their wine at about the same ratio as a Spanish tinto de verano.

In Spain, the standard mixer is something called gaseosa. It's basically carbonated water, a little sugar, and a touch of lemon and lime, usually sold in a liter-sized plastic bottle.   Gaseosa is nowhere near as sweet as the Sprite in the U.S.

Because most inexpensive wines nowadays are slightly sweet anyway, regular club soda and a slice of lime or lemon make the perfect substitute.  In fact, many box wines benefit from blending just as much as those old sour Spanish wines did.   If you find yourself with a box or bottle of wine that's just too sweet, or fruity, or blah, this is a way to turn it into something nice.

Here's how to do it:

Mix one part wine (despite the name "tinto de verano," you can do it with red, white, or rosé )  with two parts cold club soda.  Add a slice of lime, and you have a tinto de verano, a.k.a vino y gaseosa.

 

 

 

 

More Vermouths Worth Trying

As I explain in my post on Cinzano, vermouth is often served as an aperitif in Spain, or enjoyed with tapas.  The very best of these tend to be vermut del grifo--vermouth on tap.  Spanish vermouths are complex, spicy, refreshing, and inexpensive.  They also compliment a range of slightly piquant or acidic tapas (such as patatas bravas and pickles) that don't go so well with wines.

Unfortunately, none of these Spanish vermouths are available in the U.S.  We often drink Cinzano at home instead.  But there are other options.  Check out this recent article in the Wall Street Journal on vermouth as an aperitif. It lists five quality vermouths.   I hope to try some of them soon.

Is Sherry Finally Coming Back into Fashion?

In his recent article "America's Love of Sherry Smolders," Eric Asimov of the New York Times says that good sherries (as opposed to sweetened "cream" types usually available)  are becoming more popular.

Unfortunately the driving force behind the trend seems to be "the sherry cocktail movement."  To mix a fine sherry in a cocktail is a shame, to put it mildly.  You might as well use a Vega Sicilia to make sangria.

About ten years ago the New York Times predicted  manzanilla was going to be the rage, and around that time it was possible to find a La Gitana Manzanilla, if no other brand, in our local wine shops here in Central Florida. This is no longer the case. If there ever was a manzanilla fashion, it seems to have fizzled.

There are advantages to sherry's low profile.  Asimov writes, "Nobody’s bidding up the prices, which remain highly reasonable, with world-class wines starting around $15 a bottle." 

The disadvantage is that unless you live in Manhattan (or Spain) wine shops almost never have a decent selection of sherry.  If you can't find good sherries in your area, check out  La Tienda's selection of sherries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spanish Wines Under $20: Alvear Amontillado

In my post on Tio Pepe Fino I said that fino is one of the best apéritifs ever, but the truth is I often have a hard time deciding whether I would rather have an amontillado--a darker, richer, and nuttier sherry-type wine. In the end, I let the food decide.  If nothing goes better with green olives than fino, nothing goes better with black ones than amontillado. 

Amontillado is known mainly as a wine of Jerez.  Check out the on-line Spanish foods store La Tienda to see a good selection of sherries, including several quality amontillados.

Unfortunately we rarely, if ever, find quality amontillados from Jerez in wine shops here in Central Florida.  Instead they carry the sweet, spiked imitations labeled amontillado. You have to be careful.  Even some amontillados genuinely from Jerez aren't good. As I explained in my post on fino, Spain has a long tradition of exporting its worst sherries, especially to England, and keeping the best for itself.  For example, this "amontillado" from Osborne (normally a reliable brand) was sweet, dull, and not much better than the so-called sherry sold in most supermarkets, though at $15 it cost nearly twice as much.

The amontillados of Montilla-Moriles are an alternative. Montilla-Moriles is a DO (denominación de origen) in Andalucia, like Jerez, but in neighboring Córdoba.  Alvear is a good brand of Montilla-Moriles, and fairly easy to find. 

The amontillados of Montilla-Moriles are different than those of Jerez. They're softer and sweeter--though not artificially sweet like the bad amontillados I've described.  Montilla-Moriles amontillados go very well with toasted hazelnuts, tidbits of rich meats (like bacon), consommé, and bronze grapes stuffed with blue cheese.

Wine guides--even the best ones like those by Oz Clarke--often dismiss the export wines of Montilla-Moriles as inexpensive imitations of sherry. It would be more accurate to say that they're just a different style of wine that resembles sherry in some ways.

To me, a botttle of Alvear Montilla-Moriles is disappointing only when compared to the local versions of this wine often served straight from the barrel in Córdoba. Montilla-Moriles tastes better when kept in the barrel--an ancient practice.  Why? I don't know.  It's not true of sherries, which taste just as good from the bottle.  But with the wines of Montilla-Moriles, it's just the way it is.  

So if you want to try truly great Montilla-Moriles wines, go to Córdoba. (If you go in early May, you can check out the patio garden shows while you're there.) If you can't get to Córdoba right away, try some Alvear, which is the next best thing.

 

 

 

Spanish Wines Under $20: Tio Pepe Fino

Fino is one of the best apéritifs in the world.   It's also one of the most under-appreciated. 

Renowned wine writers like Hugh Johnson and Oz Clarke consistently praise fino as something truly extraordinary.     Yet outside of Spain, fino remains a relatively unknown drink.  Here in the U.S. it's not unusual to run into serious wine lovers who know little, if anything, about fino. 

Why isn't fino better known? At least part of the problem is that English-speakers tend to lump fino and many other wines from Jerez  under the generic term "sherry."  As Marimar Torres explains, " Unfortunately many consumers associate true Spanish sherry with the sweet, less expensive, poorer quality product from other countries. "   Torres goes on to say, "I find that even the U.S. wine critics often have some confusion about jerez."

To be fair, there is plenty of reason for confusion.  Even some  sherries genuinely from Jerez just   aren't very good.   (There is a long tradition in Spain of exporting low-quality, sweetened, brandy-spiked wines, especially to England. These are usually labeled as "Cream Sherries,"  though sometimes they are passed off as amontillados or olorosos, giving good wines a bad name).   And as with any type of wine,  some finos are better than others.  So it's important to buy a good brand.  Tio Pepe fino is a good one. At less than $20, it's also a bargain. 

Fino is a must for any authentic tapa's party.   Bone-dry, clean and tangy, fino is a perfect match for olives, toasted nuts, jamon serrano, or anchovies (Click HERE to read my posts on anchovies).  Unlike sweet sherries, fino should be served cold.   It's great before the meal with canapes.

It's not always easy finding fino in the U.S. Here in Central Florida even the best wine stores tend to carry the cheapest (and worst) brands of fino, when they carry it at all. If you can't find fino in your area, consider buying it from La Tienda, which carries Tio Pepe.  Click HERE to read more about Tio Pepe fino at La Tienda.

It's important to serve fino in the appropriate glasses.  Fino is stronger and more intense than most wines.  Regular wine glasses are just too big for it. The small glasses made especially for serving sherry are best.  Click HERE to see Amazon's selection of sherry glasses.

Once you've opened the bottle, try to finish it within a week or two.  Unlike some sweet sherries, an opened bottle of fino will go bad within a few weeks. Wine guides often tell you to finish an open bottle of fino within a day or two, but I find this to be an exaggeration.  Keep it in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Spanish Wines Under $10: Codorníu Original Brut Cava

Codorníu Brut Original is one of the best cavas and, indeed, one of the best sparkling wines you can buy for less than $10.  Like all cavas, it's made by the méthode champenoise, the way champagne is: the fizz is the result of a second fermentation in the bottle.

Marimar Torres, of Bodegas Torres and Marimar Estates winery fame, tells us in  her book  The Spanish Table that Codorníu has been the pioneer of the cava industry.  Codorníu was the first bodega to use the champagne method in Spain, in the late 19th century.   Codorníu was also the first to mechanize the champagne method, which is what makes it possible to sell such a quality product at such a low price. As a result, Codorníu, along with Freixenet (the one in the black bottle) are now the best selling méthode champenoise sparklers in the world.

Many cavas, even dry brut cavas, have a slightly sweet note of cooked fruit--especially baked apples. Many people like this taste, and in Spain, where there is a much broader range of cavas available, it sometimes seems to me that every cava suggests a different variety of apple or pear. I've never been crazy about fruity cava.  Codorníu has less fruit than most, which is why I prefer it. Of the cavas in $10-and-under price range, I still like Segura Viudas Brut Reserva best (see my post on Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava), but Codorníu Brut Original runs a close second.

Codorníu has other lines of cava, including a reserva and Anna de Codorníu.  The latter is made, like champagne, from Chardonnay grapes.  Though more expensive, they're still great deals and worth trying. I hope to post about them in the near future.

Vermouth (Vermut): a great drink for tapas, or as an apéritif

One of my favorite drinks in Spain is vermut del grifo--vermouth on tap.  A bar in the recently restored Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid serves several outstanding Spanish vermouths.  We always order the darker, "sweet" ones, aromatic with cinnamon, cloves, and, unless I'm mistaken, nutmeg or mace? (The recipes for vermouths are close secrets).

Unfortunately, bottled versions of Spanish vermouths are difficult to find. I have read of one Catalan vermouth now being sold in the U.S. but I have yet to find it.  A good substitute, and one served in many Spanish homes, is the Italian vermouth Cinzano. There's a dry white version and a sweet red one. Both are excellent.  It's typically served on ice, with a slice of lemon, if you like.

Vermouth goes well with many tapas: toasted nuts, olives, anchovies, patatas bravas (french fries with a spicy pimentón sauce), pickles.  At 18% alcohol, it's stronger than wine, but a glass of it won't numb the taste buds (or the rest of you) the way a cocktail might.  It's inexpensive and relaxed, and so good as an everyday apéritif, and yet unusual and interesting enough for entertaining. It also has a certain retro appeal.  This is the way vermouth was originally meant to be enjoyed. The practice of mixing vermouth with a lot of gin came later. 

Not just any vermouth will do.  Many of the lesser brands are apparently meant for only mixing.  On their own, they're not very nice. So until Spanish vermouths are available, we're sticking with Cinzano.