Viaje y vino

Sorry I haven't been posting much recently, a combination of traveling and schoolwork has significantly decrease my free time these days.  As you can see from my photos, the weekend before last the program took an excursion through La Rioja and el País Vasco.  The first day was pretty miserable; our director found it necessary to put us through four cities, two cathedrals, and two monasteries in one day.  The following day, however, was one of the most luxurious days of my life.  We woke up to a lavish breakfast, which we enjoyed before hopping back on the bus which took us to Cune, a bodega.  There we learned about the production of Rioja, and ended our tour with wine-tasting and treats.  Here we learned how to "taste" wine, which I will summarize below for those interested.

Content and sleepy from the wine, we again boarded the bus, to sleep until our arrival in San Sebastián, a gorgeous sea-side city in Basque Country.  Still groggy from the wine and our naps, we ascended the stairs of our restaurant to be greeted with stunning views of the beach and the ocean through floor to ceiling windows.  Here we indulged in a delicious six-course meal, and additional glasses of wine, until we could fit no more into our bellies.  A calm walk along the beach brought us back to the bus, where we slept again until excited shouts woke us up to the sight of Bilbao's Guggenheim museum.  Before long we were off the bus and back in bed, thoroughly pleased with our indulgent day.

Obviously the next day was spent exploring the Guggenheim, which was a nice treat before having to endure the five hour bus ride to Madrid that afternoon.

In general, the trip was a treat, though between it, and my return to Paris last weekend, I am happy to be in Madrid for a short while.

Now, as I promised, our mini wine lesson:

Without touching the cup, only the stem, tilt the glass over a white surface so that light can shine through and create a reflection on the surface.  By looking at the color of this reflection you can tell the age of the wine (a bluer red is younger (crianza), and a browner red is older (gran rezerva), whereas a pure red indicates a reserva).

Next, smell the wine, then swish it in the glass and smell it again.  The swishing releases more of the smell, and thus you can better identify the notes.

Finally, take a small sip along with some air into your mouth, savor the wine, then swallow it as you exhale the air through your nose.

There you have it!

Un beso.