Michelin stars: loved by some, coveted by many, but also hated in equal measure – or so it would seem.

In Denmark for example, some critics are in shock, as one of the world’s best and most creative restaurants, Noma in Copenhagen, has not been awarded its third Michelin star this year. I’m afraid that my attitude is, ‘so what’, and I don’t mean that in the sense that it does or doesn’t deserve it, because I’ve never eaten there. If I did then I’m sure that the fact it doesn’t have its third star would not diminish my enjoyment at all. Indeed, any rating is purely subjective and is the just the opinion of the reviewer.  One of my very favourite restaurants here in Galicia only has one star, but to be honest I’d still queue up in the rain to eat there even if it didn’t. I really like it – full stop.

I am not sure if it’s because we’re somehow reluctant to decide for ourselves or whether it is simply that we feel we require some point of reference, but from my own perspective the famous Red Guide works for food pretty much in the same way as Parker points works for wine. I think the key to how we disseminate the information that they provide can be found in the word itself…… the original objective of these books is merely as a ‘guide’, to help us. They exist only to steer us in the right direction, and should never become the overall determining factor in whether any particular business is deemed to be a success or a failure.

I guess that’s what I mean about having the ability to decide for ourselves, and trust our own judgement. Yes, a guide can be useful to give us an idea, and perhaps lead us to some new experience, but that’s as far as it should go.

Some people like Marmite, some put butter on their Weetabix, whilst others eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but who am I to tell them that this is wrong, or that they shouldn’t enjoy it? I actually quite like peanut butter and banana on toast, but I don’t think that this particular snack would win any Michelin stars!

Michelin stars: loved by some, coveted by many, but also hated in equal measure – or so it would seem.

In Denmark for example, some critics are in shock, as one of the world’s best and most creative restaurants, Noma in Copenhagen, has not been awarded its third Michelin star this year. I’m afraid that my attitude is, ‘so what’, and I don’t mean that in the sense that it does or doesn’t deserve it, because I’ve never eaten there. If I did then I’m sure that the fact it doesn’t have its third star would not diminish my enjoyment at all. Indeed, any rating is purely subjective and is the just the opinion of the reviewer.  One of my very favourite restaurants here in Galicia only has one star, but to be honest I’d still queue up in the rain to eat there even if it didn’t. I really like it – full stop.

I am not sure if it’s because we’re somehow reluctant to decide for ourselves or whether it is simply that we feel we require some point of reference, but from my own perspective the famous Red Guide works for food pretty much in the same way as Parker points works for wine. I think the key to how we disseminate the information that they provide can be found in the word itself…… the original objective of these books is merely as a ‘guide’, to help us. They exist only to steer us in the right direction, and should never become the overall determining factor in whether any particular business is deemed to be a success or a failure.

I guess that’s what I mean about having the ability to decide for ourselves, and trust our own judgement. Yes, a guide can be useful to give us an idea, and perhaps lead us to some new experience, but that’s as far as it should go.

Some people like Marmite, some put butter on their Weetabix, whilst others eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but who am I to tell them that this is wrong, or that they shouldn’t enjoy it? I actually quite like peanut butter and banana on toast, but I don’t think that this particular snack would win any Michelin stars!

It goes without saying that with a surname like McCarthy my family origins are from the deep south of Ireland – but that goes back many, many generations. Perhaps I should be dying my hair green today by way of celebration, but I am spared by the fact that I now have very little hair worth speaking of (not that I ever dyed it when I did have hair!). Alternatively, I could drink gallons of Guiness, which I admit I nearly always have in my fridge, albeit not in gallons. However, perhaps an even better idea, and more in keeping with my current situation, would be to recommend a few fat, creamy Dublin Bay oysters washed down with a cool, refreshing glass of Castro Martin albarino.

During my research I was surprised to discover that Spain’s biggest St Patrick’s Day celebration is held on the Costa Blanca, in a place called Cabo Roig. To be very honest I have absolutely no idea what specific connection this small town has with Ireland, but I have a feeling that I must be missing something very obvious. Apart from the name of the place sounding vaguely Gaelic and there being a Flanagan’s bar and a Bog Road, Google did not offer any other apparent connection. Unless you know otherwise…….

It goes without saying that with a surname like McCarthy my family origins are from the deep south of Ireland – but that goes back many, many generations. Perhaps I should be dying my hair green today by way of celebration, but I am spared by the fact that I now have very little hair worth speaking of (not that I ever dyed it when I did have hair!). Alternatively, I could drink gallons of Guiness, which I admit I nearly always have in my fridge, albeit not in gallons. However, perhaps an even better idea, and more in keeping with my current situation, would be to recommend a few fat, creamy Dublin Bay oysters washed down with a cool, refreshing glass of Castro Martin albarino.

During my research I was surprised to discover that Spain’s biggest St Patrick’s Day celebration is held on the Costa Blanca, in a place called Cabo Roig. To be very honest I have absolutely no idea what specific connection this small town has with Ireland, but I have a feeling that I must be missing something very obvious. Apart from the name of the place sounding vaguely Gaelic and there being a Flanagan’s bar and a Bog Road, Google did not offer any other apparent connection. Unless you know otherwise……..

No, it’s not the title of a new Gene Pitney song (although that might be difficult as he passed away almost exactly six years ago). It’s actually the time that it took for my meat to arrive from Aberdeen!

Here in Pontevedra there are some things that money just can’t buy…. Scottish beef, pork sausages, rack of lamb, Barbary duck to name but a few. Of course you can find one or two reasonable alternatives, but just occasionally you have to push the boat out and treat yourself to the real McCoy (no, that’s not a rare breed of Scottish beef).

When I was in England at Christmas I found a fabulous online butcher, Donald Russell, who deliver all around the UK. I had a rib of beef sent to my sister’s house so that I could cook a traditional roast lunch for her and her husband. The meat was fantastic, but at that time it didn’t even cross my mind that this butcher might be able to do international delivery. The great news for me is that they do, and so I trawled their website looking for all the things that I can’t buy easily in this remote corner of Galicia. Once a month a courier service collects all the meat orders for Spain – shock frozen and packed in dry ice. 25 hours later they’re in your home freezer….. a very impressive and efficient service.

It was just as well that I had one completely empty freezer, because it’s not any more. All I have to do now is get cooking.

No, it’s not the title of a new Gene Pitney song (although that might be difficult as he passed away almost exactly six years ago). It’s actually the time that it took for my meat to arrive from Aberdeen!

Here in Pontevedra there are some things that money just can’t buy…. Scottish beef, pork sausages, rack of lamb, Barbary duck to name but a few. Of course you can find one or two reasonable alternatives, but just occasionally you have to push the boat out and treat yourself to the real McCoy (no, that’s not a rare breed of Scottish beef).

When I was in England at Christmas I found a fabulous online butcher, Donald Russell, who deliver all around the UK. I had a rib of beef sent to my sister’s house so that I could cook a traditional roast lunch for her and her husband. The meat was fantastic, but at that time it didn’t even cross my mind that this butcher might be able to do international delivery. The great news for me is that they do, and so I trawled their website looking for all the things that I can’t buy easily in this remote corner of Galicia. Once a month a courier service collects all the meat orders for Spain – shock frozen and packed in dry ice. 25 hours later they’re in your home freezer….. a very impressive and efficient service.

It was just as well that I had one completely empty freezer, because it’s not any more. All I have to do now is get cooking.

Prowein might not be quite the biggest wine fair in Europe, but in terms of visitor numbers it comes a very respectable third, behind Vinitaly and VinExpo. For the serious international wine buyer however, it could possibly rate as number one on the list, quite simply owing to its level of highly efficient (German) organisation and good access – only minutes by tram, train or bus from both hotels and Dusseldorf’s International airport.

In 2012 Prowein boasted some 3,930 exhibitors from around 50 countries, but more importantly, some 40,000 trade visitors from around the world – very slightly up on 2011 despite the economic crisis. You might be forgiven for thinking that the biggest fair of all is VinExpo, but in terms of visitor numbers it is apparently dwarfed by Vinitaly. In 2011 Vinitaly claimed 156,000 visitors over a period of only four days, whilst VinExpo attracted only 48,000 (even though the latter is only a bi-annual event).

Not mentioned in all of this is the London International Wine Fair – and the reason? It appears that this event may now be in a period of slow decline. Since it’s switch to  the Excel centre in Docklands (east London) it would seem that visitor numbers have been static at best, in 2011 it attracting just under 14,000 visitors, only one third that of Prowein. The London dilemma is no doubt compounded by the high cost of meals, hotels and public transport for visitors (in Germany free public transport is included with the entry ticket).

My own conclusion is therefore, if you need to chose only one fair to visit in Europe, it should be Prowein…….. and that’s coming from a Brit!

Prowein might not be quite the biggest wine fair in Europe, but in terms of visitor numbers it comes a very respectable third, behind Vinitaly and VinExpo. For the serious international wine buyer however, it could possibly rate as number one on the list, quite simply owing to its level of highly efficient (German) organisation and good access – only minutes by tram, train or bus from both hotels and Dusseldorf’s International airport.

In 2012 Prowein boasted some 3,930 exhibitors from around 50 countries, but more importantly, some 40,000 trade visitors from around the world – very slightly up on 2011 despite the economic crisis. You might be forgiven for thinking that the biggest fair of all is VinExpo, but in terms of visitor numbers it is apparently dwarfed by Vinitaly. In 2011 Vinitaly claimed 156,000 visitors over a period of only four days, whilst VinExpo attracted only 48,000 (even though the latter is only a bi-annual event).

Not mentioned in all of this is the London International Wine Fair – and the reason? It appears that this event may now be in a period of slow decline. Since it’s switch to  the Excel centre in Docklands (east London) it would seem that visitor numbers have been static at best, in 2011 it attracting just under 14,000 visitors, only one third that of Prowein. The London dilemma is no doubt compounded by the high cost of meals, hotels and public transport for visitors (in Germany free public transport is included with the entry ticket).

My own conclusion is therefore, if you need to chose only one fair to visit in Europe, it should be Prowein…….. and that’s coming from a Brit!

There’s actually not too much I can write about today’s post, as the picture rather speaks for itself. If you look closely the picture is not badly pixelated as you might image, but instead is created from 1000’s of re-cycled corks. All you need is a lot of time, a lot of patience, some creative skills, and of course, a huge wine cellar! I have no idea how much this piece is worth, but I have to say that it’s certainly a very original way to take on the challenge of re-cycling. I don’t believe that it would have quite the same warmth and charm if it was made from screw tops, so this is perhaps a less obvious way of supporting the more traditional type of closure……

There’s actually not too much I can write about today’s post, as the picture rather speaks for itself. If you look closely the picture is not badly pixelated as you might image, but instead is created from 1000’s of re-cycled corks. All you need is a lot of time, a lot of patience, some creative skills, and of course, a huge wine cellar! I have no idea how much this piece is worth, but I have to say that it’s certainly a very original way to take on the challenge of re-cycling. I don’t believe that it would have quite the same warmth and charm if it was made from screw tops, so this is perhaps a less obvious way of supporting the more traditional type of closure……

Prowein is certainly one of the most important wine fairs in Europe, and spans over six huge halls at the Messe Düsseldorf. Indeed, owing to it’s sheer size and the layout of the different halls (something akin to Tetris) it’s very easy to lose your bearings, and is certainly not a fair to visit without a specific objective in mind. It would be pretty much impossible to see everything during the three days that the doors are open.

As with the majority of large wine fairs the world and his dog are all represented, and it’s possible to taste wine from every corner of the planet. All of the more obvious producing countries are there in force, but also there are many of the not so obvious too: India, Israel, Georgia, Croatia, Moldavia, Serbia and the Czech Republic to name just a few. Whilst our main reason for being there was to sell our albariño, we did also seize the opportunity to taste a couple of interesting things from outside Spain, including a fascinating tasting of sweet German rieslings from as far back as 1976….. it’s always important for us to stay in touch, and to see what the rest of the world is doing.

The one thing that Prowein has in common with every other wine fair is that it’s completely exhausting, and that’s without including the marathon journey to get to Germany and back. Getting up at 7.30am on a Sunday morning to go out and sell wine comes as a shock to the system at my age (or any age for that matter). It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it – just as well that we love our Bodega!

Prowein is certainly one of the most important wine fairs in Europe, and spans over six huge halls at the Messe Düsseldorf. Indeed, owing to it’s sheer size and the layout of the different halls (something akin to Tetris) it’s very easy to lose your bearings, and is certainly not a fair to visit without a specific objective in mind. It would be pretty much impossible to see everything during the three days that the doors are open.

As with the majority of large wine fairs the world and his dog are all represented, and it’s possible to taste wine from every corner of the planet. All of the more obvious producing countries are there in force, but also there are many of the not so obvious too: India, Israel, Georgia, Croatia, Moldavia, Serbia and the Czech Republic to name just a few. Whilst our main reason for being there was to sell our albariño, we did also seize the opportunity to taste a couple of interesting things from outside Spain, including a fascinating tasting of sweet German rieslings from as far back as 1976….. it’s always important for us to stay in touch, and to see what the rest of the world is doing.

The one thing that Prowein has in common with every other wine fair is that it’s completely exhausting, and that’s without including the marathon journey to get to Germany and back. Getting up at 7.30am on a Sunday morning to go out and sell wine comes as a shock to the system at my age (or any age for that matter). It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it – just as well that we love our Bodega!

I know that I’ve written fairly recently about the effect that your surroundings can have on how you perceive a particular wine, but this can also include your own personal emotions at the time. For example, are you having a good time, is it a special occasion, are you in good company? These subliminal factors will all play a part in your overall enjoyment and recollection.

However, one factor that is not quite so obvious is the price that you pay for your bottle. It’s all to do with the power of suggestion, and how you anticipate the bottle should taste more than how it actually does taste. It’s purely psychological, in the same way that a placebo can trick a patient into believing that he or she is taking a drug that they’re actually not. Now, I am not suggesting for one second that you can serve a glass of water in place of your albariño hoping that no one will notice, but apparently you could make it appear to taste better if you tell your fellow drinkers that it’s a really expensive wine.

A study at Stanford business school proved that some consumers believed a $45 dollar bottle to be better than a $5 bottle, even though it was actually the same wine! To cut a long story short, we trick the brain into believing that the expensive bottle should taste better, and as a result our pleasure receptors apparently become more active.

Perhaps the same is true with the power of marketing, when we believe that our favourite brand really does taste better than the cheaper own label brand – it’s possibly all just a trick of the brain…..

Personally, I have always been a great believer in the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’, and I can honestly assure our customers that our Castro Martin albariños really do represent great value for money. Or perhaps they would they taste twice as good if I doubled the price?

I know that I’ve written fairly recently about the effect that your surroundings can have on how you perceive a particular wine, but this can also include your own personal emotions at the time. For example, are you having a good time, is it a special occasion, are you in good company? These subliminal factors will all play a part in your overall enjoyment and recollection.

However, one factor that is not quite so obvious is the price that you pay for your bottle. It’s all to do with the power of suggestion, and how you anticipate the bottle should taste more than how it actually does taste. It’s purely psychological, in the same way that a placebo can trick a patient into believing that he or she is taking a drug that they’re actually not. Now, I am not suggesting for one second that you can serve a glass of water in place of your albariño hoping that no one will notice, but apparently you could make it appear to taste better if you tell your fellow drinkers that it’s a really expensive wine.

A study at Stanford business school proved that some consumers believed a $45 dollar bottle to be better than a $5 bottle, even though it was actually the same wine! To cut a long story short, we trick the brain into believing that the expensive bottle should taste better, and as a result our pleasure receptors apparently become more active.

Perhaps the same is true with the power of marketing, when we believe that our favourite brand really does taste better than the cheaper own label brand – it’s possibly all just a trick of the brain…..

Personally, I have always been a great believer in the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’, and I can honestly assure our customers that our Castro Martin albariños really do represent great value for money. Or perhaps they would they taste twice as good if I doubled the price?

It’s probably quite appropriate that in this age of instant information this relatively new technology is known as a QR, or Quick Response Code (to give it it’s proper title). I believe that this two-dimensional matrix barcode was originally developed for the car manufacturing industry, where it was used for marking cars and their parts. (You may have noticed it years ago at your local car dealership, or even on the documentation of your new car). Its big advantage over the usual UPC barcode is that it’s much quicker to read, and by virtue of its design, has a much larger storage capacity.

Originally its use was confined to industry, but now, with the advent of smart phones, we are all pretty much carrying around a portable QR scanner in our pockets (or handbags). By downloading a simple App we now have the ability to gather information on pretty much anything, including our favourite wine cellar, Bodegas Castro Martin. On a recent visit to London I even saw them being used outside restaurants to replace the traditional curled-up menu in a glass box, so that a potential customer can now browse the menu at his or her leisure.

From the 2011 vintage QR codes will be added to all our labels, for you to download instantly all the relevant information about the contents of your glass. 

………beam me up Scotty!

It’s probably quite appropriate that in this age of instant information this relatively new technology is known as a QR, or Quick Response Code (to give it it’s proper title). I believe that this two-dimensional matrix barcode was originally developed for the car manufacturing industry, where it was used for marking cars and their parts. (You may have noticed it years ago at your local car dealership, or even on the documentation of your new car). Its big advantage over the usual UPC barcode is that it’s much quicker to read, and by virtue of its design, has a much larger storage capacity.

Originally its use was confined to industry, but now, with the advent of smart phones, we are all pretty much carrying around a portable QR scanner in our pockets (or handbags). By downloading a simple App we now have the ability to gather information on pretty much anything, including our favourite wine cellar, Bodegas Castro Martin. On a recent visit to London I even saw them being used outside restaurants to replace the traditional curled-up menu in a glass box, so that a potential customer can now browse the menu at his or her leisure.

From the 2011 vintage QR codes will be added to all our labels, for you to download instantly all the relevant information about the contents of your glass. 

………beam me up Scotty!

Ever thought that you don’t like the name of your home town, or that you’d like to live in another town nearby? Then simply change your address. No, I don’t mean move house, simply tell people that your address has changed, even though you live in the same place!

Now, I can hear you say that this sounds like a completely ridiculous idea, but the logic is, if it can work for a discount airline, then why not for me?

A week or two ago I mentioned the saga of booking our flights – trying to get to the wine fair ‘Prowein’ in Dusseldorf, and the fact that we have to fly through Barcelona as there is no direct flight from Galicia (despite having three “International” airports). To do this we also have to use two separate airlines, Iberia and Lufthansa, with two separate bookings.

Yesterday, in a conversation with a work colleague, she told us that she was flying direct to Dusseldorf from Oporto (Oporto being only a 1½ hour drive from us). On face value this would seem like a good idea…. until you look more closely. In this case ‘Dusseldorf’ airport turns out to be Dusseldorf (Weeze), which isn’t located in Dusseldorf at all. It’s actually nearly 100km from Dusseldorf, so I guess that you might need to hire a car, or take a bus – it’s certainly more than a taxi ride away!

As if you haven’t guessed already I am, of course, talking about our most famous rip-off airline Ryanair. (It would be easy to write a book about their misleading advertising, let alone a few lines in a blog.) I can easily think if a few instances where they use these misleading airport locations: Barcelona (Girona), Dusseldorf (Weeze), Paris (Vatry) to name but a few. I believe that the last one, Vatry, is actually about 160km from the centre of Paris (more than two hours by car).

So my question today is quite simple – at what distance should an airline no longer be able to use the name of a distant city to lure unsuspecting customers? Imagine the confusion if airlines started to link the airports of adjacent cities – today we will be landing in Liverpool/Manchester, London/Birmingham or perhaps even Glasgow/Edinburgh……. well, near enough!

Ever thought that you don’t like the name of your home town, or that you’d like to live in another town nearby? Then simply change your address. No, I don’t mean move house, simply tell people that your address has changed, even though you live in the same place!

Now, I can hear you say that this sounds like a completely ridiculous idea, but the logic is, if it can work for a discount airline, then why not for me?

A week or two ago I mentioned the saga of booking our flights – trying to get to the wine fair ‘Prowein’ in Dusseldorf, and the fact that we have to fly through Barcelona as there is no direct flight from Galicia (despite having three “International” airports). To do this we also have to use two separate airlines, Iberia and Lufthansa, with two separate bookings.

Yesterday, in a conversation with a work colleague, she told us that she was flying direct to Dusseldorf from Oporto (Oporto being only a 1½ hour drive from us). On face value this would seem like a good idea…. until you look more closely. In this case ‘Dusseldorf’ airport turns out to be Dusseldorf (Weeze), which isn’t located in Dusseldorf at all. It’s actually nearly 100km from Dusseldorf, so I guess that you might need to hire a car, or take a bus – it’s certainly more than a taxi ride away!

As if you haven’t guessed already I am, of course, talking about our most famous rip-off airline Ryanair. (It would be easy to write a book about their misleading advertising, let alone a few lines in a blog.) I can easily think if a few instances where they use these misleading airport locations: Barcelona (Girona), Dusseldorf (Weeze), Paris (Vatry) to name but a few. I believe that the last one, Vatry, is actually about 160km from the centre of Paris (more than two hours by car).

So my question today is quite simple – at what distance should an airline no longer be able to use the name of a distant city to lure unsuspecting customers? Imagine the confusion if airlines started to link the airports of adjacent cities – today we will be landing in Liverpool/Manchester, London/Birmingham or perhaps even Glasgow/Edinburgh……. well, near enough!

Believe it or not my Harvest Report for the 2012 vintage is already well under way. Each month I add a few notes about the winter weather, that will quite naturally, have an impact on the growth cycle of the vines.

I remember quite well writing on this blog about the dry, sunny period that we experienced just after our harvest finished in 2011 (with locals still using the beaches until mid-October), but this dry period is now extending throughout January and February here in Galicia. I know that I am guilty of constantly using the UK as a reference for this blog (simply because I do try to stay in touch with what is happening in my country of birth), but I know that they too have some serious water issues in the south-east of the country. Even as early as February the UK have announced that there will be water shortages this summer as the reservoirs are well below the required levels for this time of year. So it would appear that Galicia is not alone.

As yet I have not heard any announcements from our local government about possible drought, but if the weather continues as is, then I have no doubt that this will happen sooner rather than later. Having said that, the reaction to dry weather is often quite different to that in the UK….. over here the first precaution is usually to ban lighting fires, whereas in the UK I believe they have already announced a restriction on the use of hosepipes (normally used for washing cars and watering gardens etc). Strange how the priorites appear to vary like this.

Anyway, we have yet to see how this lack of rainfall may or may not impact this year’s grapes – only time will tell (to use my favourite, well-worn phrase).

Believe it or not my Harvest Report for the 2012 vintage is already well under way. Each month I add a few notes about the winter weather, that will quite naturally, have an impact on the growth cycle of the vines.

I remember quite well writing on this blog about the dry, sunny period that we experienced just after our harvest finished in 2011 (with locals still using the beaches until mid-October), but this dry period is now extending throughout January and February here in Galicia. I know that I am guilty of constantly using the UK as a reference for this blog (simply because I do try to stay in touch with what is happening in my country of birth), but I know that they too have some serious water issues in the south-east of the country. Even as early as February the UK have announced that there will be water shortages this summer as the reservoirs are well below the required levels for this time of year. So it would appear that Galicia is not alone.

As yet I have not heard any announcements from our local government about possible drought, but if the weather continues as is, then I have no doubt that this will happen sooner rather than later. Having said that, the reaction to dry weather is often quite different to that in the UK….. over here the first precaution is usually to ban lighting fires, whereas in the UK I believe they have already announced a restriction on the use of hosepipes (normally used for washing cars and watering gardens etc). Strange how the priorites appear to vary like this.

Anyway, we have yet to see how this lack of rainfall may or may not impact this year’s grapes – only time will tell (to use my favourite, well-worn phrase).