Barcelona Supper Club

Our Indian Summer may have fizzled out, but before it did, I got the chance to indulge in an evening of Barcelona-themed food and drink, courtesy of the Codorniu Supper Club.

Over the course of a single evening, I genned up on Codorniu's range of Cavas, cooked some authentic Catalan food and - the highlight - learned how to carve that Spanish delicacy, Jamon Iberico.

I wouldn't say that I'm now an expert and ready to be let loose on my own whole ham, worth around 400-500 Euros.  However, I made a fair fist of producing some wafer-thin slices under the watchful eye of Master Carver Chuse Valvor.  The best part, of course, is that you get to eat the ham.

The Master Carver at work

Looking and learning

Iberico is a style of cured ham produced by the pata negra or black pig, which grazes in the cork oak forests which populate just four provinces in west and southwest Spain.  Over the winter the pigs snaffle all the acorns which the trees produce and this part of their diet seems to be key in producing the sweet nuttiness of the final ham.  Once slaughtered, the hams are cured in sea salt for up to four years, losing over half their original moisture content.

Putting it into practice

Of course you don't need to know all this in order to enjoy the melting, sweet-savouriness of Jamon Iberico.  But it does help to give an understanding of why it is so expensive.

Over the course of the evening, our three groups each helped to cook and then serve one course of our Catalan meal.  We started with a delicious fresh wild mushroom broth and moved onto a main course of duck breast with pears and spinach cooked with sultanas and pinenuts.  My small contribution was towards the dessert of walnut custard cream dessert, which was described by Rachel McCormack, of Catalan Cooking, as rice pudding using ground walnuts instead of rice.  You'll have to be the judge of how delicious that sounds, as I had to head home before it was served so that I could catch the last train home.

It wasn't just the food and drink that was Catalan, the timing of the evening meant that we didn't sit down to our first course until around 10pm, in true Spanish style.   

If you fancy a go yourself, Codorniu are running a Supper Club open to all at L'Atelier des Chefs on 16th November.  For details visit the Codorniu website on www.codorniu.co.uk or go to the facebook page:  www.facebook.com/TheBarcelonaClubByCodorniu.

Spain - is there life beyond Rioja and Cava?

We love Spain – love its warm weather and late-night tapas-munching bar culture when on holiday. Love its wines – Cava, all the fizz of Champagne at a fraction of the price and Rioja of course, lovely soft, fruity red wines.

Well yes, I wouldn’t want to argue with any of that but, as the world’s third largest producer of wines, there is a whole sea of Spanish wines out there to explore. We have been happily paddling in the shallows of Cava and Rioja – but perhaps it’s time to strike out for deeper waters in search of adventure.

Catalonia
Most of the Cava that we know and (some of us) love hails from the Penedés region near Barcelona in Catalonia, north east Spain. But there is much more to area than cheap and cheerful fizz. Miguel Torres, one of the most important figures in Spanish wine for the last four decades and more, is based in Catalonia. His wine stable includes all wine styles (and prices) but a delightful introduction to the modern face of Spanish white wine is Torres Viña Esmeralda. It’s a blend of highly aromatic Muscat grapes, along with a dash of Gewurztraminer. Muscat is about the only grape variety that can be said to smell of, well, grapes; Gewurztraminer adds a hint of rose petal to the pot. All this might lead you to expect a sweet wine – but Viña Esmeralda is dry, with plenty of clean, aromatic fruit. It’s also just 11.5% alcohol, so makes a great choice for sipping in the garden on a sunny afternoon.
Torres Viña Esmeralda, Waitrose £6.99; Thresher/Wine Rack £8.49 or £5.66 at the 3 for 2 price; Majestic £6.64 or £4.99 if you buy two.

Rías Baixas
This cool, rainy northwestern corner of Spain probably has a hard time attracting the average British holidaymaker – why go all that way for weather we can get at home? Its white wines, however, are definitely worth seeking out. These are made from Albariño, a grape which combines the slightly peachy aromas and flavours of the increasingly trendy Viognier, with the crisp acidity reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc. What’s not to like? Great for fish and seafood.
Albariño 2007, Martín Códax, Majestic £10.99 or £8.24 when you buy two.

Cariñena
Spanish wine regions are like the washing up: there seems to be an endless supply of them. Cariñena is one of the ones with little to distinguish it from countless others – but this low profile makes it a good source of bargain bottles for wine shoppers. Spain does a good line in spicy, heart-warming reds and this one is a blend of Grenache, topped up with around a third of Tempranillo – the predominant grape of Rioja. Grenache produces punchy, spicy wines that go down well at this time of year. The Tempranillo gives more tannic structure and classy black fruit. If this were from Rioja, you’d have to pay considerably more for this amount of drinkability.
Castillo de Montearagón Reserva 2003, £4.49 at Tesco.

Calatayud
Another region you’ve probably never heard of, but a familiar grape in the form of Grenache – or Garnacha in Spanish. It’s got plenty of meaty flavour and dark bramble fruit – and its tannins need something meaty to eat alongside to enjoy this wine at its best.
Viña Fuerte Old Vine Garnacha 2007, £5.49 at Waitrose.

Navarra
Navarra is one of those wine regions which suffers from being next door to a much better-known neighbour: in this case, Rioja. Rather than trying to plough their own furrow, many of Navarra’s winemakers seem content to produce wines in the mould of Rioja, but sadly most are just not as good. This wine, however, is an exception. It’s made from the Graciano grape, which is sometimes used in small quantities in better quality Riojas, but it’s rare to see a wine made entirely from this variety. This is not because Graciano is a poor quality grape, but the fact that it’s hard to get it to ripen fully. Underripe, Graciano makes wines with mouthpuckering tannins and rasping acidity – not a good combination. Viña Zorzal’s Graciano, though, is fully ripe with plenty of silky blackcurrant fruit, but with enough acidity and tannin to keep it fresh and balanced.
Viña Zorzal Graciano 2007, The Vineking (branches in Reigate and Weybridge) £8.99 or £15 for two bottles.

New grape varieties, unfamiliar wine regions – and I’ve hardly scratched the surface of what Spain has to offer the wine lover. Cast off your water wings and dive in, the water’s lovely.