There is a certain irony to this weeks weather.

For the last couple of weeks we have been experiencing unseasonably warm, sunny weather with daytime temperatures of around 20°C (68°F). Far too high for the month of February, and not that great for our vines either.

This week we have moved into Carnival season that extends (officially) from 28th February until 5th March (albeit that today is still a Carnival holiday in Pontevedra). It varies from town to town and from village to village, and as you may gather from this comment, many towns and villages hold their own distinct Carnival processions on different days.

The problem is that, from the very day that the calendar changed from February to March, so the weather changed too. Stormy, torrential rain and high winds swept in from the Atlantic, putting a bit of a damper on the normal Carnival spirit… Oh, to be in Brazil!!

So, the 2018 holiday season started last Thursday in the United States with Thanksgiving, quickly followed by the inescapable ‘shopping’ holidays of Black Friday and then Cyber Monday. Of course, these shopping events are no longer limited to within U.S. shores as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now a worldwide phenomenon (even if people have no clue, and really don’t care where they originate from). The other feature is, of course, that these ‘sales’ are quite protracted, and not simply limited to the Friday and the Monday. Offers often extend for a fortnight or more, encompassing every possible type of business – hotels, travel, pharmacies, bed linen, food stores – you name it and there’s an offer on the table. A great opportunity for early Christmas shopping!

Locally, it appears that at least one of our local mayors has also been swept up in the fervour of Christmas. The streets of Vigo are now adorned with a Christmas light show costing more than one million Euros! When he announced the lights, the mayor said that Vigo would surpass Christmas in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Berlin (a bold claim indeed for a small provincial city)! His apparent extravagance has certainly raised a few eyebrows, but at Sunday’s inauguration (when the mayor inexplicably attempted to make his speech in English), he claimed that local businesses would benefit hugely from local tourism. Judging by the crowds, he might actually have a point!

Now when I say it’s ‘turkey season’, I don’t mean literally go out and hunt a turkey (except perhaps at your local butcher’s shop). Of course, eating turkey in this autumn/winter season is traditional, for different people in different countries. In the States it forms the centrepiece of nearly every Thanksgiving meal, whilst in the UK it usually appears on the Christmas lunch table. Over in Japan they prefer to stick to their traditional KFC Christmas meal – in a Christmas Party Barrel (a brilliant piece of marketing originating back in the 70’s)! I believe that it was a deliberate marketing ploy to blur the distinction between turkey and chicken as part of a traditional ‘westernised’ Christmas.

No doubt you can already guess what my next line is going to be…. my wine recommendation to drink with your turkey. There are, indeed, many widely differing options to chose from, but certainly albariño should appear somewhere on the list. More especially a Castro Martin albariño!

Whilst turkey is not necessarily a Christmas tradition here in Spain, fresh seafood as a first course certainly is. Tables will often be heaving under the weight of a huge platter of every imaginable type of seafood – crabs, prawns, shrimps, lobster, clams, oysters, scallops, mussels – you name it…. Of course in this case, then there really is no other choice. It simply has to be (Castro Martin) albariño!

The first weekend of August signals the start of the annual Albariño Festival in Cambados. There are pretty much two completely different ways to approach the weekend’s celebrations. For the majority it is simply a case of visiting the numerous stands set up in the town centre, each representing a specific wine cellar, where you can buy a chilled glass of albariño to drink at your leisure. There is a lunch session, which is quite quiet and civilised, and an evening session with can be really, really busy and very boisterous – this ‘evening’ session will usually extend long into the night. Personally, this is not the option that I take.

The second way to enjoy the festival is the ‘tunnel of wine’ – approximately 160 wines from more than 60 bodegas, set up as a huge tasting, and much more suited to wine professionals and also visitors that want to see a real cross section of the wines from our denomination. This is probably my favourite tasting of the year. Each wine is accompanied by it’s own technical sheet, so it is easy to focus, and taste in a quiet and calm environment. With 160 samples on offer, I taste everything, but over a two day period – even a hardened professional really couldn’t do it all in one hit!

Since 1776, when they signed the US Declaration of Independence, the Americans have been celebrating beating the British, and eventually expelling them from US soil.

Since 3rd July 2018 the English have been celebrating beating Columbia on penalties in the World Cup! (OK, maybe not quite the same historic significance, but a reason to be happy nonetheless).

The English are especially ecstatic as they have a wretched record in penalty shootouts – losing shootouts in the World Cup in 1990,  1998 and 2006, and in the European Championship Finals in 1996, 2004 and 2012.

So whatever you are celebrating today, football or Independence, Happy 4th July![:es]Since 1776, when they signed the US Declaration of Independence, the Americans have been celebrating beating the British, and eventually expelling them from US soil.

Since 3rd July 2018 the English have been celebrating beating Columbia on penalties in the World Cup! (OK, maybe not quite the same historic significance, but a reason to be happy nonetheless).

The English are especially ecstatic as they have a wretched record in penalty shootouts – losing shootouts in the World Cup in 1990,  1998 and 2006, and in the European Championship Finals in 1996, 2004 and 2012.

So whatever you are celebrating today, football or Independence, Happy 4th July!

A day or so ago I posted an image of a local festival on our page, depicting a crazed monk beating French soldiers over the head. And thereby lies the clue: they were French soldiers.

To cut a long story short, the celebration in Mos this month is to mark a significant Spanish victory in the liberation of Galicia, as they expelled the invading French army. March 23rd 1809 signalled the beginning of the end for Napoleon’s Iberian campaign in the Peninsular Wars fought between Napoleon, the Spanish Empire, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Portugal.

Starting in 1807, as Napoleon sought to occupy the Iberian Peninsula, the joint forces of France and Spain invaded Portugal. However, less than a year later, the French turned on their Spanish allies, and the depleted Spanish forces were easily overcome. Eventually, in November 1808 the Spanish Junta was forced to abandon Madrid.

The fight back, lead by a Spanish resistance that continually harassed the occupying forces (considered to be the first evidence of guerrilla warfare) started in early 1809, with Vigo and Pontevedra being among the very first Spanish regions to be liberated.

In today’s image (posted originally on the Instagram of that time) there is no firm evidence that monks were guilty of assaulting any French troops. Proof, if it were needed, that fake news has existed for many years!

Now here’s a local poster that caught my eye, originating from the small town of Mós, near Vigo. Of course, it is just one more example of the numerous Fiestas and Celebrations that take place every week here in Galicia (and all around Spain). Today I will not explain exactly what it represents, but leave you to ponder for a day or two. I must confess that initially I had no idea what it was myself, and had to do a bit of research to find out. Suffice to say that it is some sort of historical re-enactment that apparently involves monks hitting uniformed soldiers over the head! The explanation will come later….

Xīnnián kuàilè – New Year Happiness! Today is Chinese New Year. It is the year of the dog, the dog being  the eleventh animal of the twelve year Chinese calendar cycle.

The typical dishes served for Chinese New Year are those that we have all come to know and love – the dishes that we find on the menus of our favourite local Chinese restaurants – spring rolls, noodles, dumplings, vegetables, steamed chicken and steamed fish. In addition to this, the centre piece of a special New Year meal is often a Chinese hot-pot known as huõ guō, and there will almost certainly be rice cakes (nian gao), which can be served as either sweet or savoury.

Many of these dishes, such as the dumplings, will be either filled with, or accompanied by Chinese cabbage, onion, pork, shrimp as well as egg, bamboo, meat and vegetables. Of course, many of these items are the foods that often recommend with albariño, and so, for this important celebration, with hand on heart, we can truly recommend our Castro Martin albariños with your Chinese New Year meal.

[:en]Today is Fat Tuesday, probably better known by it’s original French name of Gras’. Of course it is called Mardi Gras because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent, when many Christians start their 40 days of fasting in the period before Easter Sunday. Fat Tuesday therefore, is the day when Christians fill their stomachs, perhaps eating richer, fatty foods. In the UK, for some odd reason, this gorging is traditionally done with pancakes (more like crêpe than the fluffier American style pancake), and is known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day – rarely do we mention Mardi Gras. So, whilst the Brazilians have partying, processions, wild dancing and outrageous costumes, the British simply sit at home pigging out on pancakes!

The big shock for me here in Spain, is that Carnival (despite being widely celebrated in nearly every town and village across the land), is actually NOT a public holiday, either locally or nationally. When you stop to consider some of the very flimsy excuses that the Spanish use for partying and public holidays, the fact that Carnival (Mardi Gras) is not a holiday doesn’t really make any sense.

Of course the big difference between Galicia and Brazil is the weather. February is normally the hottest month in Rio, with average temperatures of around 27°C (81°F), whereas today in Galicia, it is absolutely pouring with rain with bone chilling humidity and temperatures of only 8°C (46°F). Anyway, no matter what you decide to eat today to fill your stomach on Fat Tuesday, I would obviously recommend a chilled glass of Castro Martin albariño to wash it down with![:es]Today is Fat Tuesday, probably better known by it’s original French name of ‘Mardi Gras’. Of course it is called Mardi Gras because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent, when many Christians start their 40 days of fasting in the period before Easter Sunday. Fat Tuesday therefore, is the day when Christians fill their stomachs, perhaps eating richer, fatty foods. In the UK, for some odd reason, this gorging is traditionally done with pancakes (more like crêpe than the fluffier American style pancake), and is known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day – rarely do we mention Mardi Gras. So, whilst the Brazilians have partying, processions, wild dancing and outrageous costumes, the British simply sit at home pigging out on pancakes!

The big shock for me here in Spain, is that Carnival (despite being widely celebrated in nearly every town and village across the land), is actually NOT a public holiday, either locally or nationally. When you stop to consider some of the very flimsy excuses that the Spanish use for partying and public holidays, the fact that Carnival (Mardi Gras) is not a holiday doesn’t really make any sense.

Of course the big difference between Galicia and Brazil is the weather. February is normally the hottest month in Rio, with average temperatures of around 27°C (81°F), whereas today in Galicia, it is absolutely pouring with rain with bone chilling humidity and temperatures of only 8°C (46°F). Anyway, no matter what you decide to eat today to fill your stomach on Fat Tuesday, I would obviously recommend a chilled glass of Castro Martin albariño to wash it down with![:]

[:en]A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year from the team at Castro Martin

[:es]A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year from the team at Castro Martin

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