Wine Tasting-Cata de Vinos at Bla3

BCEA students got into the classroom last night for a special kind of class, a bilingual workshop on Wine Tasting at Bla3 in the Gracia district.

Wine tasting is something that demands concentration and an open mind; who´d have thought that you could pick out leather and olive aromas from sniffing a glass of wine? With the help of our bilingual wine dossiers we got to work on the complex and fun task of identifying colours, aromas, flavors and textures in the red and white wines that we sampled.

With the expert help of enologist Juan Manuel, and Bla3 founder Mónica we soon found that we too could identify complex aromas and tastes. Out of the 70 wine producing areas (denominaciones de origen) that exist in Spain today, we sampled a selection of five wines from the five most famous wine regions; La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda and the areas of Priorat and Penedés these last two in Catalonia.

We voted for our favourites, and also discussed wine and food combinations, Juan Manuel recommended that we select a wine which complements the dish we prepare rather than one that overwhelms it. We should look for a balance in strength and flavour. It was interesting to compare the difference in colour, taste and body between a young red wine selected from last year´s crop, and a four year old wine which has been in the oak barrel longer and how those flavours have developed.
A great evening overall, a little theory and

history and lots of practice!! We came away
with new vocabulary and new skills.

Next wednesday, the Gracia walking tour, which will uncover other little gems in this bohemian and artistic district of Barcelona.

Clase de Cocina (Cooking Class)

BCEA students put their imperative tense into good practice today with an intensive cooking cooking workshop at the school.

Students brought in ingredients for three recipes; tortilla española, salmorejo ( a thicker version of gazpacho) and pá amb tomaquet (typical of Catalonia).

We used the gallery area with its great natural light, and long table as our `cocina´. We got to work on peeling and sliceing potatoes and beating eggs for our tortillas.

Another group prepared the ingredients for the salmorejo, we blitzed tomatoes, garlic, cucumber and olive oil into a thick cold `soup´and seasoned with salt. The salmorejo was served with chopped boiled egg, cubed cucumber, chopped jamón serrano and breadcrumbs. We all agreed that it makes a tasty combination and is very refreshing (this is dish typical of Summer ).

Another part of the cooking team prepared the pá amb tomaquet. We rubbed slices of bread with garlic and tomato, and drizzled good extra virgin olive oil over with a sprinkling of salt.

This was an excellent accompaniment to the delicious tortillas de patata that had been cooking away in the meantime. We jotted down the steps for each recipe and it was a great way to practice our Spanish.

We´ll definitely be rustling up these tasty specialities at home, they´re quick, easy and delicious!!

Tapas Night at El Bodegón del Norte.

Wednesday, 13th February, 2008

Local Basque Restaurant El Bodegón del Norte, and its genial owner Eusenio, opened its doors to BCEA students for our Tapas Night. We were introduced to the world of pintxos, the Basque equivalent to tapas. We tucked in eagerly to this delicious and extremely attractive `fingerfood´ which some of us accompanied with a refreshing glass of Txakoli, (Basque white wine).

One of the great things about pintxos is the variety, and all the combinations of flavours. The bar was laid out with an impressive collection of beautifully presented pintxos. Marisco (seafood), jamón (ham), tortilla, chistorra ( a tasty Spanish sausage) combined in different ways and mounted on slithers of bread.

It was great to be taken to a local bar to try out this world famous and quintisentially Spanish speciality, and it was a really nice introduction to the Spanish gastronomic culture; very social as you´re on feet and not formally sat around a table and because you get to try un poco de todo!!