Hispania is a restaurant built on the ground floor of the historical building of Lloyds Bank in the heart of London’s financial district. Indeed, to call it simply a restaurant is probably something of an understatement, with two floors dedicated to exhibiting the very best of Spain, it holds a  license to operate as a restaurant, bar, shop and take-away. With a very accomplished kitchen brigade of it’s own, it recently played host to one of Spain’s top chefs, Quique Dacosta, who holds three Michelin stars for his own restaurant in Alicante. At a special 16 course dinner the guest list was not only studded with luminaries from the UK wine and food press (the BBC, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Restaurant, Food & Travel, The Times), but also included representatives from the Spanish corporate and institutional community, including ambassadors, executives from Santander, BBVA, Ferrovial and O2. Suffice to say that it was quite well attended…..

Obviously we were completely thrilled that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate 2012 wine was selected to accompany one of the fish courses, and was subsequently described by a journalist from The Spectator as “as good an Albariño as I have ever tasted”. Quite honestly we were just happy to have our wine served to such an illustrious audience.

Hispania is a restaurant built on the ground floor of the historical building of Lloyds Bank in the heart of London’s financial district. Indeed, to call it simply a restaurant is probably something of an understatement, with two floors dedicated to exhibiting the very best of Spain, it holds a  license to operate as a restaurant, bar, shop and take-away. With a very accomplished kitchen brigade of it’s own, it recently played host to one of Spain’s top chefs, Quique Dacosta, who holds three Michelin stars for his own restaurant in Alicante. At a special 16 course dinner the guest list was not only studded with luminaries from the UK wine and food press (the BBC, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Restaurant, Food & Travel, The Times), but also included representatives from the Spanish corporate and institutional community, including ambassadors, executives from Santander, BBVA, Ferrovial and O2. Suffice to say that it was quite well attended…..

Obviously we were completely thrilled that our very own Castro Martin Family Estate 2012 wine was selected to accompany one of the fish courses, and was subsequently described by a journalist from The Spectator as “as good an Albariño as I have ever tasted”. Quite honestly we were just happy to have our wine served to such an illustrious audience.

Now, call me old fashioned, but when I book a table for two I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a bit of space and relative privacy as we enjoy our meal. These days however, in some restaurants at least, tables can be wedged together, resembling some sort of production line, so close in fact that you can easily share the condiments (and perhaps the conversation) of the table next to you!

For example, in today’s photo, you would be forgiven for thinking that the diners shown are actually eating together, maybe attending a banquet and sharing one long table. Closer examination reveals that they are in fact a series of small tables for two, and that all the diners are eating separately…… well, sort of. I’m afraid to tell you that this is pretty much my idea of hell, and that given the choice, I would actively give such restaurants a miss. I really hate it where there is so little space that you have to re-arrange the table to accommodate your main course plate, or that there is so much noise that you can’t hold a private conversation.

If my memory serves me one of the earliest examples of this style of ‘cosy eating’ was (and perhaps still is), Quaglino’s in London. Created in the early 90’s by Sir Terence Conran, I can clearly remember that the place caused quite a stir, not simply because of it’s overall size, but also because of the close proximity of it’s smaller dining tables – diners were virtually rubbing elbows with their neighbours sitting at adjacent tables.

I remember once going to a small, intimate restaurant in London – our first experience was fantastic. On our second visit they located us on a tiny table at the top of a stair case – a table so small that our cutlery was practically falling off the edges. There was never a third visit!

Now, call me old fashioned, but when I book a table for two I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a bit of space and relative privacy as we enjoy our meal. These days however, in some restaurants at least, tables can be wedged together, resembling some sort of production line, so close in fact that you can easily share the condiments (and perhaps the conversation) of the table next to you!

For example, in today’s photo, you would be forgiven for thinking that the diners shown are actually eating together, maybe attending a banquet and sharing one long table. Closer examination reveals that they are in fact a series of small tables for two, and that all the diners are eating separately…… well, sort of. I’m afraid to tell you that this is pretty much my idea of hell, and that given the choice, I would actively give such restaurants a miss. I really hate it where there is so little space that you have to re-arrange the table to accommodate your main course plate, or that there is so much noise that you can’t hold a private conversation.

If my memory serves me one of the earliest examples of this style of ‘cosy eating’ was (and perhaps still is), Quaglino’s in London. Created in the early 90’s by Sir Terence Conran, I can clearly remember that the place caused quite a stir, not simply because of it’s overall size, but also because of the close proximity of it’s smaller dining tables – diners were virtually rubbing elbows with their neighbours sitting at adjacent tables.

I remember once going to a small, intimate restaurant in London – our first experience was fantastic. On our second visit they located us on a tiny table at the top of a stair case – a table so small that our cutlery was practically falling off the edges. There was never a third visit!

Every few months we used to receive an attractive, professionally presented food and wine magazine called Spain Gourmetour. It was produced and distributed free of charge by ICEX, the Spanish Government trade office. The printing of this magazine has now “been suppressed” – no reason was given, but I have absolutely no doubt that it is down to budget cuts. Gourmetour and its accompanying website have now been replaced by a new website called Foods from Spain.

As the name implies this new site is all about the foods (and wine) from the different provinces of Spain, and includes information and recipes from around the country. As you might expect the recipes include wine pairing suggestions, albeit that the real detail of Spanish wine is covered on their sister website…. Wines from Spain (they must have spent hours deliberating over that name!) Believe me, there’s a lot of really useful information to be gleaned from both the food and wine sites, and I would recommend that you add them to your list of favourite tourism web pages too.

For example, if your looking for somewhere to eat there is a page listing some of Spain’s best Chefs, and consequently, their restaurants. It comes as no surprise that my own personal favourite here in Galicia is included on the list. Pepe Vieira, with its fabulous Chef/Proprietor Xosé Cannas. Don’t forget to pay them a visit when you’re next in the area, and tell them that I sent you! Their restaurant is a bit off the beaten track, hidden in the hills above Raxo (mid way between Pontevedra and Sanxenxo), but I can assure you, it’s well worth the detour.

Every few months we used to receive an attractive, professionally presented food and wine magazine called Spain Gourmetour. It was produced and distributed free of charge by ICEX, the Spanish Government trade office. The printing of this magazine has now “been suppressed” – no reason was given, but I have absolutely no doubt that it is down to budget cuts. Gourmetour and its accompanying website have now been replaced by a new website called Foods from Spain.

As the name implies this new site is all about the foods (and wine) from the different provinces of Spain, and includes information and recipes from around the country. As you might expect the recipes include wine pairing suggestions, albeit that the real detail of Spanish wine is covered on their sister website…. Wines from Spain (they must have spent hours deliberating over that name!) Believe me, there’s a lot of really useful information to be gleaned from both the food and wine sites, and I would recommend that you add them to your list of favourite tourism web pages too.

For example, if your looking for somewhere to eat there is a page listing some of Spain’s best Chefs, and consequently, their restaurants. It comes as no surprise that my own personal favourite here in Galicia is included on the list. Pepe Vieira, with its fabulous Chef/Proprietor Xosé Cannas. Don’t forget to pay them a visit when you’re next in the area, and tell them that I sent you! Their restaurant is a bit off the beaten track, hidden in the hills above Raxo (mid way between Pontevedra and Sanxenxo), but I can assure you, it’s well worth the detour.

Despite being sold at many a top restaurant around the world, to be very honest I don’t think that our wines have ever appeared on the list at Spain’s famous El Bulli – and of course, now that it is closed, they never will. Our only rather tenuous connection is that their sommelier, Ferran Centelles, was a judge in last August’s Decanter tasting of Albariño, selecting Castro Martin as one of the very best, awarding us a fantastic 95/100 and classifying the wine as “outstanding”. Perhaps if the restaurant had remained open we might have been in with a chance of being added to the list….. we will never know.

El Bulli, the three star award-winning restaurant, headed for 27 years by the celebrated chef Ferran Adria, have now decided to auction the remnants of their extensive wine collection in two sales early next year. Sotherby’s will oversee the sale of some 8,800 bottles to be held in Hong Kong and New York during April of 2013.

Among the highlights of the sales will be 2,000 bottles of Spanish wine, including several vintages of Vega Sicilia ‘Unico’ (but regrettably no Castro Martin). There will also be full cases of Chateau Latour 2005 and three bottles of Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Romanee Conti 1990, which have a pre-sale estimate of $32,500 to $47,500. I suspect that these might be targeted at selected wealthy Chinese businessmen who will snap them up perhaps without really appreciating the true value of what they have bought. Whatever amount they pay, and however they decided to consume the wines (not as spritzers as has been rumoured in the past), the proceeds will at least go to a good cause – the financing of Sr. Ferran’s El Bulli Foundation which will eventually replace the restaurant, opening in 2014.

Despite being sold at many a top restaurant around the world, to be very honest I don’t think that our wines have ever appeared on the list at Spain’s famous El Bulli – and of course, now that it is closed, they never will. Our only rather tenuous connection is that their sommelier, Ferran Centelles, was a judge in last August’s Decanter tasting of Albariño, selecting Castro Martin as one of the very best, awarding us a fantastic 95/100 and classifying the wine as “outstanding”. Perhaps if the restaurant had remained open we might have been in with a chance of being added to the list….. we will never know.

El Bulli, the three star award-winning restaurant, headed for 27 years by the celebrated chef Ferran Adria, have now decided to auction the remnants of their extensive wine collection in two sales early next year. Sotherby’s will oversee the sale of some 8,800 bottles to be held in Hong Kong and New York during April of 2013.

Among the highlights of the sales will be 2,000 bottles of Spanish wine, including several vintages of Vega Sicilia ‘Unico’ (but regrettably no Castro Martin). There will also be full cases of Chateau Latour 2005 and three bottles of Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Romanee Conti 1990, which have a pre-sale estimate of $32,500 to $47,500. I suspect that these might be targeted at selected wealthy Chinese businessmen who will snap them up perhaps without really appreciating the true value of what they have bought. Whatever amount they pay, and however they decided to consume the wines (not as spritzers as has been rumoured in the past), the proceeds will at least go to a good cause – the financing of Sr. Ferran’s El Bulli Foundation which will eventually replace the restaurant, opening in 2014.

Over the last couple of months there has been a lot of work going on in one particular local Café-Bar. Located in the village of Barrantes the bar is actually owned by Angela’s family, albeit that they chose not to manage it on a daily basis. Between tenants it was decided to give the place a quick lick of paint, but this rapidly developed into a full blown refurbishment. The interior of the place was completely ripped apart and then rebuilt.

As part of the redecoration the family decided that at least one of the long walls (5½ metres) might make a suitable location for another photo montage, similar to the one that we created in the entrance hall of the Bodega. However, this time, instead of a vineyard and wine making theme, the photos would be chosen to represent the local countryside and people. However, on this occasion I didn’t even need to get my camera out, simply because my computer was already packed with the thousands of photos that I have taken in Galicia over the last 10 years – the difficult part would be to sift through them all and chose some of the best.

The advantage of owning the place is that as part of the contract one of the fundamental conditions imposed by the family on any potential tenant is that the only albariño served must be supplied by our bodega (in the same way that a brewery would impose its beer in one of their properties). As part of the decoration this gave us yet another opportunity to showcase our range. In the picture you can see a display of some of the wines that we sell, but you should take note that the bottles we use are in fact empty, otherwise the temptation for some might be too great!

Over the last couple of months there has been a lot of work going on in one particular local Café-Bar. Located in the village of Barrantes the bar is actually owned by Angela’s family, albeit that they chose not to manage it on a daily basis. Between tenants it was decided to give the place a quick lick of paint, but this rapidly developed into a full blown refurbishment. The interior of the place was completely ripped apart and then rebuilt.

As part of the redecoration the family decided that at least one of the long walls (5½ metres) might make a suitable location for another photo montage, similar to the one that we created in the entrance hall of the Bodega. However, this time, instead of a vineyard and wine making theme, the photos would be chosen to represent the local countryside and people. However, on this occasion I didn’t even need to get my camera out, simply because my computer was already packed with the thousands of photos that I have taken in Galicia over the last 10 years – the difficult part would be to sift through them all and chose some of the best.

The advantage of owning the place is that as part of the contract one of the fundamental conditions imposed by the family on any potential tenant is that the only albariño served must be supplied by our bodega (in the same way that a brewery would impose its beer in one of their properties). As part of the decoration this gave us yet another opportunity to showcase our range. In the picture you can see a display of some of the wines that we sell, but you should take note that the bottles we use are in fact empty, otherwise the temptation for some might be too great!

You might be forgiven for thinking that the most famous thing about the village of Barrantes are its traffic lights (about 5 sets in the space of 200 metres – not synchronised), but you’d be wrong. Excluding Bodegas Castro Martin (that is not actually located in the village itself), there is a small family restaurant called O Tìo Benito, which loosely translated means With Uncle Benito, or perhaps At the table of Uncle Benito. Described in our local press recently as a ‘temple of cooking with a common touch’.

Clearly, when we’re working, we usually don’t have time to take lunch outside the bodega, but if we did, this would certainly be at the top of our list for local dining. Now, I’m not suggesting that this is a Michelin starred restaurant, but when it comes to honest, down-to-earth, great home cooking, then this is certainly the place to go. Run by Camilo Lojo, his wife Saladina and daughter Irene, this local landmark was established almost 40 years ago, and I swear that people have been queuing to get in ever since! I should tell you that the place is always packed (with locals rather than tourists), which is always the true indicator of good quality and value. Indeed, in my many years travelling the world as a buyer, I would always make a point of actively seeking out the small local restaurants that were overflowing with local people….. I have rarely had a bad meal working on this basis.

Tìo Benito is a place that we use to take visitors for lunch, so that they can savor the village atmosphere as well as it’s typical food. Famed for it’s Cod, Octopus, Cocido and other local dishes it has a fixed menu, and several other dishes that are rotated on a daily basis. It is also well-known for its award winning Tinto de Barrantes – the local wine that is guaranteed to stain you teeth a deep red colour. I’m afraid to admit that this is not my favourite tipple. On the other hand however, my personal recommendation is the selection of freshly homemade desserts, most especially the oven baked cheesecake, which is often still warm from the oven when it is served – heaven! I love this so much that Angela will often buy a whole one for me in place of a birthday cake. I don’t eat it in one sitting, but it certainly doesn’t last too long, and I only share it with others very grudgingly (typical old git that I am!)

We are currently slotting an oven and hotplate into our tiny kitchen in the Bodega, and I will write more about this later, but in the meantime we will have to settle for the table of our Uncle Benito.

You might be forgiven for thinking that the most famous thing about the village of Barrantes are its traffic lights (about 5 sets in the space of 200 metres – not synchronised), but you’d be wrong. Excluding Bodegas Castro Martin (that is not actually located in the village itself), there is a small family restaurant called O Tìo Benito, which loosely translated means With Uncle Benito, or perhaps At the table of Uncle Benito. Described in our local press recently as a ‘temple of cooking with a common touch’.

Clearly, when we’re working, we usually don’t have time to take lunch outside the bodega, but if we did, this would certainly be at the top of our list for local dining. Now, I’m not suggesting that this is a Michelin starred restaurant, but when it comes to honest, down-to-earth, great home cooking, then this is certainly the place to go. Run by Camilo Lojo, his wife Saladina and daughter Irene, this local landmark was established almost 40 years ago, and I swear that people have been queuing to get in ever since! I should tell you that the place is always packed (with locals rather than tourists), which is always the true indicator of good quality and value. Indeed, in my many years travelling the world as a buyer, I would always make a point of actively seeking out the small local restaurants that were overflowing with local people….. I have rarely had a bad meal working on this basis.

Tìo Benito is a place that we use to take visitors for lunch, so that they can savor the village atmosphere as well as it’s typical food. Famed for it’s Cod, Octopus, Cocido and other local dishes it has a fixed menu, and several other dishes that are rotated on a daily basis. It is also well-known for its award winning Tinto de Barrantes – the local wine that is guaranteed to stain you teeth a deep red colour. I’m afraid to admit that this is not my favourite tipple. On the other hand however, my personal recommendation is the selection of freshly homemade desserts, most especially the oven baked cheesecake, which is often still warm from the oven when it is served – heaven! I love this so much that Angela will often buy a whole one for me in place of a birthday cake. I don’t eat it in one sitting, but it certainly doesn’t last too long, and I only share it with others very grudgingly (typical old git that I am!)

We are currently slotting an oven and hotplate into our tiny kitchen in the Bodega, and I will write more about this later, but in the meantime we will have to settle for the table of our Uncle Benito.

Today is the day that we celebrate our love for each other, or to be more specific, for our partners. It’s traditionally a day of Champagne, roses, chocolates and romantic candle-lit dinners (and of course the greetings card companies will make a killing too).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being cynical about this, because, being the old romantic that I am, I do like to celebrate Valentine’s day. It’s simply that the card manufacturers annoy me a little as they use any event or celebration as an excuse to start producing cards. (Apparently Hallmark have now made a card designed to supposedly to console people who have lost their jobs during the recession!)

Anyway, back to the love and romance….. It’s always reassuring to know that our wine is being used in restaurants around the world to celebrate such occassions. Angela and I often share the odd bottle of albariño by way of celebrating our love!

Today is the day that we celebrate our love for each other, or to be more specific, for our partners. It’s traditionally a day of Champagne, roses, chocolates and romantic candle-lit dinners (and of course the greetings card companies will make a killing too).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being cynical about this, because, being the old romantic that I am, I do like to celebrate Valentine’s day. It’s simply that the card manufacturers annoy me a little as they use any event or celebration as an excuse to start producing cards. (Apparently Hallmark have now made a card designed to supposedly to console people who have lost their jobs during the recession!)

Anyway, back to the love and romance….. It’s always reassuring to know that our wine is being used in restaurants around the world to celebrate such occassions. Angela and I often share the odd bottle of albariño by way of celebrating our love!