As many of you will know one of my big passions is photography, and by way of personal education I often participate in webcasts of the various software suppliers. The reality of a webcast is that it’s pretty much like watching a video, with the exception that there is (in theory) the opportunity to interact and ask questions. It’s a nice idea but pans out rather like a radio phone-in whereby the chances of getting your own questions answered are fairly remote. You do however, feel like you are at least participating first hand, almost like you are part of some exclusive club – it works pretty well.

So my point? Well, only yesterday I received an invitation from an office, financed by the Spanish government (that will remain nameless), to take part in a video conference about selling wine abroad. Fantastic I thought, we are finally moving forward as an industry and coming up with some creative, original ideas….. so let me take a closer look I thought to myself.

OK, so the first downside, we are required to pay 20 Euros to participate (all the other webcasts I have joined have been free), and then comes the agenda. The whole conference/video link is less than two hours in total, but then the first 15 minutes is taken up by ‘Reception & Coffee’!!! So, if you’re an online participant what exactly are you supposed to do? Sit around and watch people drinking coffee? Or maybe you’re expected to nip out to your nearest Starbucks and buy a cup so that you can join in with the reception! Whatever the answer I just found it a bit odd that an online conference (webcast) should start with a coffee break.

As many of you will know one of my big passions is photography, and by way of personal education I often participate in webcasts of the various software suppliers. The reality of a webcast is that it’s pretty much like watching a video, with the exception that there is (in theory) the opportunity to interact and ask questions. It’s a nice idea but pans out rather like a radio phone-in whereby the chances of getting your own questions answered are fairly remote. You do however, feel like you are at least participating first hand, almost like you are part of some exclusive club – it works pretty well.

So my point? Well, only yesterday I received an invitation from an office, financed by the Spanish government (that will remain nameless), to take part in a video conference about selling wine abroad. Fantastic I thought, we are finally moving forward as an industry and coming up with some creative, original ideas….. so let me take a closer look I thought to myself.

OK, so the first downside, we are required to pay 20 Euros to participate (all the other webcasts I have joined have been free), and then comes the agenda. The whole conference/video link is less than two hours in total, but then the first 15 minutes is taken up by ‘Reception & Coffee’!!! So, if you’re an online participant what exactly are you supposed to do? Sit around and watch people drinking coffee? Or maybe you’re expected to nip out to your nearest Starbucks and buy a cup so that you can join in with the reception! Whatever the answer I just found it a bit odd that an online conference (webcast) should start with a coffee break.

You may have read on our blog a week or two ago that our denomination is now producing sparkling Rias Baixas wines (but not here at Castro Martin). Of course, this is the time of year that we often ‘push the boat out’ and open a bottle of fizz that we might not normally drink, especially during these times of austerity. So whether you decide to drink a bottle of Champagne, Cava or even sparkling Rias Baixas over the holiday period, why not impress your friends and family by opening the bottle with a sabre!!!

OK, so a sabre is not necessarily the type of thing that you will have laying around the house, but any type of heavy knife will pretty much do the trick. As with all these things, not only is there a technique, but there is also a secret to doing this successfully – make sure that the bottle is extremely well chilled before you try. Put the bottle in your freezer for at least one hour – this will have the effect of reducing the pressure inside, and make the whole process a little safer.

Take the bottle out, and at the last moment remove the foil and wire completely. Tilt the bottle at an angle of 45° with the seam of the bottle on top. With the back of your knife blade run it sharply and smoothly up, along the whole length of the seam, so that the blade strikes the lip at the top of the bottle. If you’ve done it properly, the neck of the bottle will snap cleanly (yes, you will remove a small section of the glass too), and after the applause have subsided, you can enjoy your wine.

As a footnote, it is obvious that you should not point the bottle at anyone whilst doing this, and I would recommend that others stand well back, just to be on the safe side. Also, you should probably only attempt this with good quality wines, as they will use better quality, heavy bottles. Do not try this with your £4.99 bottle of Asti Spumante!

You may have read on our blog a week or two ago that our denomination is now producing sparkling Rias Baixas wines (but not here at Castro Martin). Of course, this is the time of year that we often ‘push the boat out’ and open a bottle of fizz that we might not normally drink, especially during these times of austerity. So whether you decide to drink a bottle of Champagne, Cava or even sparkling Rias Baixas over the holiday period, why not impress your friends and family by opening the bottle with a sabre!!!

OK, so a sabre is not necessarily the type of thing that you will have laying around the house, but any type of heavy knife will pretty much do the trick. As with all these things, not only is there a technique, but there is also a secret to doing this successfully – make sure that the bottle is extremely well chilled before you try. Put the bottle in your freezer for at least one hour – this will have the effect of reducing the pressure inside, and make the whole process a little safer.

Take the bottle out, and at the last moment remove the foil and wire completely. Tilt the bottle at an angle of 45° with the seam of the bottle on top. With the back of your knife blade run it sharply and smoothly up, along the whole length of the seam, so that the blade strikes the lip at the top of the bottle. If you’ve done it properly, the neck of the bottle will snap cleanly (yes, you will remove a small section of the glass too), and after the applause have subsided, you can enjoy your wine.

As a footnote, it is obvious that you should not point the bottle at anyone whilst doing this, and I would recommend that others stand well back, just to be on the safe side. Also, you should probably only attempt this with good quality wines, as they will use better quality, heavy bottles. Do not try this with your £4.99 bottle of Asti Spumante!

Outside Spain there’s a bit of a standing joke about the pace of life over here – the fact that if you need something to be done, then it will probably be done “mañana” (tomorrow). Unfortunately there is a element of truth behind this old adage, and trying to get things done can be very frustrating. Sometimes there just appears to be a complete lack of urgency….

On the other hand the Spanish people are very spontaneous, which can make life fun and very exciting, albeit that this too can have its down side. This apparent spontaneity can sometimes be borne out of a lack of planning, leaving things very much to the last minute. I believe that I once wrote about receiving invitations in the post, for meetings or courses, perhaps as little as one or two days before the actual event. I am not sure why this is, but I’m afraid to say that it usually gives the impression of either being very informal or perhaps not particularly well organised.

So the point of my story? Well, for the last ten years or so, since I arrived here in Spain, I have always had a year planner pinned to my wall. Until this year it has been a gift from the business manager at our local bank, but to cut a long story short they will not be giving them in 2013. Not a problem, I will just go out and buy one, or so I thought. Unfortunately this proved to be much more complicated than it sounds. After walking all around the city of Pontevedra and visiting every major stationery store, I almost gave up completely. The word for a planner in Spanish is a “planning” and no matter how I tried to describe it (I began to think that my Spanish was much worse than it really is), I just got blank looks all around. I was offered every type of calendar known to man, but with not one single planner in sight. Could it be that planning in advance is simply not the ‘norm’ here, or maybe it’s just that everyone uses computer planners these days and I’m just completely out-of-date? The search continues…..

Outside Spain there’s a bit of a standing joke about the pace of life over here – the fact that if you need something to be done, then it will probably be done “mañana” (tomorrow). Unfortunately there is a element of truth behind this old adage, and trying to get things done can be very frustrating. Sometimes there just appears to be a complete lack of urgency….

On the other hand the Spanish people are very spontaneous, which can make life fun and very exciting, albeit that this too can have its down side. This apparent spontaneity can sometimes be borne out of a lack of planning, leaving things very much to the last minute. I believe that I once wrote about receiving invitations in the post, for meetings or courses, perhaps as little as one or two days before the actual event. I am not sure why this is, but I’m afraid to say that it usually gives the impression of either being very informal or perhaps not particularly well organised.

So the point of my story? Well, for the last ten years or so, since I arrived here in Spain, I have always had a year planner pinned to my wall. Until this year it has been a gift from the business manager at our local bank, but to cut a long story short they will not be giving them in 2013. Not a problem, I will just go out and buy one, or so I thought. Unfortunately this proved to be much more complicated than it sounds. After walking all around the city of Pontevedra and visiting every major stationery store, I almost gave up completely. The word for a planner in Spanish is a “planning” and no matter how I tried to describe it (I began to think that my Spanish was much worse than it really is), I just got blank looks all around. I was offered every type of calendar known to man, but with not one single planner in sight. Could it be that planning in advance is simply not the ‘norm’ here, or maybe it’s just that everyone uses computer planners these days and I’m just completely out-of-date? The search continues…..

Those of you who know me (or perhaps those who have been reading our blog for some time), will probably already know that I am a fanatical Liverpool FC supporter. There have been photos of me on this blog sporting at least a few of my extensive collection of Liverpool shirts (including one No.9 ‘Torres’ shirt, now sadly mothballed). Although I wear these shirt quite regularly, usually on my early morning run, only a very few people ever get to see them.

I have therefore taken one of my most prized shirts, signed by the entire team, and put it on display in the wine cellar. From a few seasons ago this shirt includes the signatures of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (before his defection), Xabi Alonso & Alvaro Arbeloa (both now regulars with Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (now Barcelona CF), and Pepe Reina, so there is at least a strong Spanish connection with this shirt. In my collection I also have a shirt of the legendary Liverpool No.7, Kenny Dalgish, not only signed, but dedicated to me with a personalised message. At the moment this is not in my display.

Symbolically, the shirt I have displayed is above the staircase, and includes an Anfield Road street sign. It is symbolic in that there is a famous sign above the stairs at the Anfield Stadium. In the players tunnel, the players touch it on their way out onto the pitch to bring them luck – and in recent seasons we need as much luck as we can get!

Although nothing to do with wine, this is my little English shrine within the Bodega, and now reminds me of a very powerful poem that I learned as a boy. Written by the famous war poet Rupert Brooke, his poem ‘The soldier’ contains the immortal line…. “there is some corner of a foreign field that is forever England”.

Those of you who know me (or perhaps those who have been reading our blog for some time), will probably already know that I am a fanatical Liverpool FC supporter. There have been photos of me on this blog sporting at least a few of my extensive collection of Liverpool shirts (including one No.9 ‘Torres’ shirt, now sadly mothballed). Although I wear these shirt quite regularly, usually on my early morning run, only a very few people ever get to see them.

I have therefore taken one of my most prized shirts, signed by the entire team, and put it on display in the wine cellar. From a few seasons ago this shirt includes the signatures of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (before his defection), Xabi Alonso & Alvaro Arbeloa (both now regulars with Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (now Barcelona CF), and Pepe Reina, so there is at least a strong Spanish connection with this shirt. In my collection I also have a shirt of the legendary Liverpool No.7, Kenny Dalgish, not only signed, but dedicated to me with a personalised message. At the moment this is not in my display.

Symbolically, the shirt I have displayed is above the staircase, and includes an Anfield Road street sign. It is symbolic in that there is a famous sign above the stairs at the Anfield Stadium. In the players tunnel, the players touch it on their way out onto the pitch to bring them luck – and in recent seasons we need as much luck as we can get!

Although nothing to do with wine, this is my little English shrine within the Bodega, and now reminds me of a very powerful poem that I learned as a boy. Written by the famous war poet Rupert Brooke, his poem ‘The soldier’ contains the immortal line…. “there is some corner of a foreign field that is forever England”.

I’m ashamed to say that I discovered something the other day that I really should have known before….. the origin of the humble hamburger. I heard somebody asking “shouldn’t a hamburger be made out of ham (as the name would imply), rather than beef?” An obvious question perhaps, but one to which I did not know the answer. Being the foodie that I am, I thought that I should really know, so I decided to look it up. I was shocked by what I found!

Although the origin of the hamburger that we know today is still disputed (no, it wasn’t invented by Ronald McDonald), it seems likely that the name at least came from the minced ‘Hamburg’ steak eaten by German immigrants in New York towards the end of the 19th century. At that time the concept of mincing any type of meat was not common, but may have been introduced into Germany by the Russians who arrived in the country with their recipe for steak tartare. The common link that brought all these elements together was shipping – the Russians frequently traded with Hamburg, and Hamburg served as a major hub for Northern European emigrants to the United States. This probably explains how the original recipe found its way across the Atlantic, but the final step of putting the Hamburg steak between slices of bread, creating the Hamburg sandwich, is still disputed to this day.

Following this revelation there are absolutely no prizes for guessing the origin of the Frankfurter sausage (hot-dog). Yep, of course, it was invented by Mr Gray, the Papaya King!….. That’s a lie – the humble pork sausage in bread comes from Frankfurt, where centuries ago it was served as a delicacy at Imperial Coronations. (By the way, the expression ‘wiener’ refers to the Austrian capital Vienna, whose German name is ‘Wien’, home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef).

For those who don’t understand my previous reference, Gray’s Papaya is a very famous hot dog ‘restaurant’ in New York (actually not so much a restaurant, but more a shop that sells hot dogs over the counter). It is revered by many an American actor and has appeared in films and TV shows throughout the States. Indeed the place is so ‘hyped’ that Angela and I once made a special pilgrimage uptown to savour one of their famous dogs. All I can tell you is that it was a simple hot dog, and really nothing special. I can’t imagine how New Yorkers might react should they ever visit Germany and taste a real Frankfurter Würstchen.

I’m ashamed to say that I discovered something the other day that I really should have known before….. the origin of the humble hamburger. I heard somebody asking “shouldn’t a hamburger be made out of ham (as the name would imply), rather than beef?” An obvious question perhaps, but one to which I did not know the answer. Being the foodie that I am, I thought that I should really know, so I decided to look it up. I was shocked by what I found!

Although the origin of the hamburger that we know today is still disputed (no, it wasn’t invented by Ronald McDonald), it seems likely that the name at least came from the minced ‘Hamburg’ steak eaten by German immigrants in New York towards the end of the 19th century. At that time the concept of mincing any type of meat was not common, but may have been introduced into Germany by the Russians who arrived in the country with their recipe for steak tartare. The common link that brought all these elements together was shipping – the Russians frequently traded with Hamburg, and Hamburg served as a major hub for Northern European emigrants to the United States. This probably explains how the original recipe found its way across the Atlantic, but the final step of putting the Hamburg steak between slices of bread, creating the Hamburg sandwich, is still disputed to this day.

Following this revelation there are absolutely no prizes for guessing the origin of the Frankfurter sausage (hot-dog). Yep, of course, it was invented by Mr Gray, the Papaya King!….. That’s a lie – the humble pork sausage in bread comes from Frankfurt, where centuries ago it was served as a delicacy at Imperial Coronations. (By the way, the expression ‘wiener’ refers to the Austrian capital Vienna, whose German name is ‘Wien’, home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef).

For those who don’t understand my previous reference, Gray’s Papaya is a very famous hot dog ‘restaurant’ in New York (actually not so much a restaurant, but more a shop that sells hot dogs over the counter). It is revered by many an American actor and has appeared in films and TV shows throughout the States. Indeed the place is so ‘hyped’ that Angela and I once made a special pilgrimage uptown to savour one of their famous dogs. All I can tell you is that it was a simple hot dog, and really nothing special. I can’t imagine how New Yorkers might react should they ever visit Germany and taste a real Frankfurter Würstchen.

I suppose I could tell you that all is quiet in the bodega at the moment (apart from starting to make our preparations for the harvest). The “lull before the storm”, you might say. I deliberately used this expression as I thought it might make a clever link to today’s topic. Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Storm Chasers!

There have been quite a number of extreme weather situations in recent months, and in the wake of Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans, it remains a highly topical subject. If you ever watch the Discovery Channel on your TV you will also know that Storm Chasing has become quite a fashionable past-time in some parts of the U.S. (if not a very dangerous one too). All in the name of science we are led to believe, although I can’t help but think that some treat it more like a form of extreme sport and/or adrenaline rush. Before I go any further I should at least reassure you that, despite a day or two of strong wind in our region, we are not expecting any extreme storms here in Galicia – albeit it appears that some might be preparing for it……

Over the last year or so, about 200 metres from our front door, the construction of a private house has been taking place. Nothing unusual you might think, but it the manner in which the house has been built that caught my attention. Even in the infamous ‘Tornado Alley’ houses are not built with such a solid, sturdy construction. Solid granite walls and a roof secured by one of the most elaborate steel frames I think I have ever seen on a private dwelling. To say that this house would be hurricane proof is perhaps the understatement of the year.

Just to complete the story, the one thing that I didn’t realise is that this house is actually being built by Angela’s uncle, for his son Jorge – perhaps he knows something about the local weather that we don’t!

I suppose I could tell you that all is quiet in the bodega at the moment (apart from starting to make our preparations for the harvest). The “lull before the storm”, you might say. I deliberately used this expression as I thought it might make a clever link to today’s topic. Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Storm Chasers!

There have been quite a number of extreme weather situations in recent months, and in the wake of Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans, it remains a highly topical subject. If you ever watch the Discovery Channel on your TV you will also know that Storm Chasing has become quite a fashionable past-time in some parts of the U.S. (if not a very dangerous one too). All in the name of science we are led to believe, although I can’t help but think that some treat it more like a form of extreme sport and/or adrenaline rush. Before I go any further I should at least reassure you that, despite a day or two of strong wind in our region, we are not expecting any extreme storms here in Galicia – albeit it appears that some might be preparing for it……

Over the last year or so, about 200 metres from our front door, the construction of a private house has been taking place. Nothing unusual you might think, but it the manner in which the house has been built that caught my attention. Even in the infamous ‘Tornado Alley’ houses are not built with such a solid, sturdy construction. Solid granite walls and a roof secured by one of the most elaborate steel frames I think I have ever seen on a private dwelling. To say that this house would be hurricane proof is perhaps the understatement of the year.

Just to complete the story, the one thing that I didn’t realise is that this house is actually being built by Angela’s uncle, for his son Jorge – perhaps he knows something about the local weather that we don’t!

A few weeks ago there was a minor scandal in the UK, when the host country of the 2012 Olympics unveiled their new team outfits for the games. Designed by Stella McCartney no less, the problem was not so much the design itself, but more the fact that it was not created using the traditional national colours of red, white and blue. The 2012 uniforms were to be blue, blue and white, which was considered by some as being not very British.

This minor UK scandal was then superceded by problem of the US uniform, this time designed by Ralph Lauren. This super ‘preppy’ outfit, complete with razor sharp tailored white pants and blazers, was not criticised for its design, nor for the colours used, but simply for the fact that it had been manufactured in China. This caused so much outrage that one American Senator was quoted as suggesting that all the uniforms should be take outside an burned. Perhaps a bit melodramatic methinks? 

These minor upsets were then rendered completely insignificant by the Spanish effort. In a country that boasts some of its very own world renowned designers, where did they decide to buy their Olympic oufits? Madrid? Barcelona? No….. Russia! And the reason behind this, the most puzzling of decisions? Yep, money! The Russian design firm of Bosco offered to supply all the kits for free, and even so, the Spanish still paid too much! The results are an embarrassing disaster. You can tell how thrilled the team are with this ground breaking, avant garde design, by the face of gold  medal winning canoeist Saul Craviotto, in the photo.

A few weeks ago there was a minor scandal in the UK, when the host country of the 2012 Olympics unveiled their new team outfits for the games. Designed by Stella McCartney no less, the problem was not so much the design itself, but more the fact that it was not created using the traditional national colours of red, white and blue. The 2012 uniforms were to be blue, blue and white, which was considered by some as being not very British.

This minor UK scandal was then superceded by problem of the US uniform, this time designed by Ralph Lauren. This super ‘preppy’ outfit, complete with razor sharp tailored white pants and blazers, was not criticised for its design, nor for the colours used, but simply for the fact that it had been manufactured in China. This caused so much outrage that one American Senator was quoted as suggesting that all the uniforms should be take outside an burned. Perhaps a bit melodramatic methinks? 

These minor upsets were then rendered completely insignificant by the Spanish effort. In a country that boasts some of its very own world renowned designers, where did they decide to buy their Olympic oufits? Madrid? Barcelona? No….. Russia! And the reason behind this, the most puzzling of decisions? Yep, money! The Russian design firm of Bosco offered to supply all the kits for free, and even so, the Spanish still paid too much! The results are an embarrassing disaster. You can tell how thrilled the team are with this ground breaking, avant garde design, by the face of gold  medal winning canoeist Saul Craviotto, in the photo.

Just a fun thing for the weekend…. I am sure that I have mentioned before Angela’s passion for shoes (a passion I know, shared by many other women). Indeed, I seem to recall once referring to her as the Imelda Marcos of the wine industry! At the very least I have managed to persuade her not wear high heels in the vineyards…

Anyway, today’s photograph illustrates the perfect fashion accessory for my wife, ‘killing two birds with one stone’ as they say.

Just a fun thing for the weekend…. I am sure that I have mentioned before Angela’s passion for shoes (a passion I know, shared by many other women). Indeed, I seem to recall once referring to her as the Imelda Marcos of the wine industry! At the very least I have managed to persuade her not wear high heels in the vineyards…

Anyway, today’s photograph illustrates the perfect fashion accessory for my wife, ‘killing two birds with one stone’ as they say.

Nothing to do with wine, but more to do with the SpanEnglish theme again. As a frustrated English football fan (we have lots of practice at being frustrated), my wife and daughter forced me to endure three hours of agony on Spanish TV the other night. The triumphant return of the Spanish National football team, brandishing yet another trophy to add to their growing collection. Spain is certainly on top of the world in footballing terms if nothing else – hopefully this success might give a small, much needed boost to the economy.

The all-conquering team and their entourage used open top buses to negotiate the crowded streets of Madrid, the buses themselves obviously being sponsored by Adidas, their kit supplier. On the front of each bus appeared a slogan: la roja is all in, adidas is all in…… All in what exactly? Answers on a postcard please.

Nothing to do with wine, but more to do with the SpanEnglish theme again. As a frustrated English football fan (we have lots of practice at being frustrated), my wife and daughter forced me to endure three hours of agony on Spanish TV the other night. The triumphant return of the Spanish National football team, brandishing yet another trophy to add to their growing collection. Spain is certainly on top of the world in footballing terms if nothing else – hopefully this success might give a small, much needed boost to the economy.

The all-conquering team and their entourage used open top buses to negotiate the crowded streets of Madrid, the buses themselves obviously being sponsored by Adidas, their kit supplier. On the front of each bus appeared a slogan: la roja is all in, adidas is all in…… All in what exactly? Answers on a postcard please.

The other day Angela and I opened up a bottle of a recently bottled 2011 over dinner (for quality control purposes of course)! One of the immediately apparent characteristics of this new wine was the zesty, salt-lick character, often associated with young albariño from the Salnés Valley (the northern part of our DO where we are located). Where this sensation actually originates from is open to conjecture, and could be the combination of several factors. The gentle Atlantic sea breeze, the natural salts in some of our sandy soils, or perhaps even the particular clone of albariño itself…. whichever is responsible, it’s delicious, and gives our wine one of its unique, cool climate characteristics.

It reminded me of something that I read in the press only a few weeks ago. The story of how one particular French wine had been deliberately stored on the seabed in order to see the effect this would have on its evolution. Of course this is nothing new, and has been tried before, in barrel, bottle and sometimes other specially constructed containers. On many occasions it is done knowingly, by way of experimentation, but on some occasions it has been done by accident as in the case of shipwrecks. Very recently eleven bottles of 200 year-old Champagne were sold at auction for about US$140,000 – they had spent the last couple of centuries at the bottom of the Baltic Sea until they were uncovered in 2010. The well chilled, lightless seabed had apparently preserved the contents perfectly, indeed some tasters actually claimed that the bottles had been improved.

Experiments with red Bordeaux wines stored in barrel under the sea have also noted some interesting changes – not only a loss of alcohol, but also an increased level of sodium, apparently adding a very subtle salty note, that helped to integrate the tannins.

In our albariño we enjoy this zesty, salty note for free, and it’s still perfect with seafood!

The other day Angela and I opened up a bottle of a recently bottled 2011 over dinner (for quality control purposes of course)! One of the immediately apparent characteristics of this new wine was the zesty, salt-lick character, often associated with young albariño from the Salnés Valley (the northern part of our DO where we are located). Where this sensation actually originates from is open to conjecture, and could be the combination of several factors. The gentle Atlantic sea breeze, the natural salts in some of our sandy soils, or perhaps even the particular clone of albariño itself…. whichever is responsible, it’s delicious, and gives our wine one of its unique, cool climate characteristics.

It reminded me of something that I read in the press only a few weeks ago. The story of how one particular French wine had been deliberately stored on the seabed in order to see the effect this would have on its evolution. Of course this is nothing new, and has been tried before, in barrel, bottle and sometimes other specially constructed containers. On many occasions it is done knowingly, by way of experimentation, but on some occasions it has been done by accident as in the case of shipwrecks. Very recently eleven bottles of 200 year-old Champagne were sold at auction for about US$140,000 – they had spent the last couple of centuries at the bottom of the Baltic Sea until they were uncovered in 2010. The well chilled, lightless seabed had apparently preserved the contents perfectly, indeed some tasters actually claimed that the bottles had been improved.

Experiments with red Bordeaux wines stored in barrel under the sea have also noted some interesting changes – not only a loss of alcohol, but also an increased level of sodium, apparently adding a very subtle salty note, that helped to integrate the tannins.

In our albariño we enjoy this zesty, salty note for free, and it’s still perfect with seafood!