Newsletter May 2024
Dear members
Our April Tasting, hosted by Tim and Sandy Fawle, saw us return to Ca La Iaia restaurant in Moraira for the first time in several years. A total of 52 of us (including 3 new members and 5 guests) enjoyed a great evening. Tim and Sandy presented a really interesting selection of wines from Castilla y Leon sourced from A Catarlo Todo in Teulada. (See the Tasting Report for more details.)
Our May Tasting will be hosted by Fergus and Joan Fitzpatrick at Real Club Nautico in Denia on 16 May. This is a new venue for us, with impressive views over the Marina and located on Denia seafront between the port and Marina de Denia. The evening’s presenters will be Bodegas San Isidro (BSI) from the excellent nearby wine region of Jumilla. BSI is the largest winery in Jumilla, producing 7 million bottles per annum. BSI was founded in 1934 by a number of growers in the region (there are 400 today) and has access to over 3,500 hectares of vineyards. 5 wines will be presented on the night, 1 white, 1 rosado and 3 reds.
This is Fergus and Joan’s first presentation as part of the Tasting Team, so it would be great to have as many of us there as possible. Please book early to secure your place
Bookings will close on Friday 10 May, after which no more bookings can be made and no refunds will be possible for cancellations. Pre dinner drinks will be served from 7.30 onwards. Please do not arrive before that time as the organisers will be busy setting up the venue.
For those of you going by car, take a ticket from the barrier at the Club car park. You must then get your ticket verified at the restaurant on the ground floor. Our Tasting will be on the FIRST floor, accessible by stairs or lift. There is also a free car park available just past the Club, towards Javea. The address of Club Nautico is Marina de Dénia, Carretera de Dénia a Xàbia, 03700 Dénia. The coordinates are 38.83880° N, 0.11535° E. or What3Words is: dame.remodel.mulled
The menu is as follows, with the usual choice of meat, fish or vegetarian for the main course.
Aperitivos
Copa de cava cerveza ó refresco
Sushi de salmón con falso caviar y algas marinas
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Entradas
Crema de champiñones con aceite de trufa
Canelón relleno de marisco bañado en salsa de bogavante
Corazones de alcachofas con salsa de Romesco
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Plato Principal
Atún rojo con costra de sésamo y verduritas de temporada
Or
Ossobuco en su jugo con panmetier de patatas
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Postre
Pasión de chocolate sobre crema inglesa
Our June Tasting will be at Puerto Blanco in Calpe on Thursday 20th, hosted by Sara and myself. Our presenter will be the inimitable Gonzalo Lainez from the major Spanish wine distributor Principe de Viana. This year he will be presenting wines from Rioja with an opportunity to order wines afterwards at substantial discounts. Anyone present at last year’s tasting at Javea Golf Club will not fail to recall his word and pitch perfect rendition of the hymn ‘Jerusalem’. Why ? I don’t know, but it was really entertaining!
As usual we will not be holding monthly Tastings in the hot summer/tourist months of July and August, so our next Tasting after June will be on September 19 when we are hoping to arrange an outdoor event at the beautiful setting of Montesanco vineyard in Teulada, a new and innovative wine producer at the heart of the Costa Blanca.
Thanks to all of you who expressed an interest in the Wine Education Workshop. This will now go ahead on 3 June with approximately 20 attendees, all of whom should, by now, have received details directly from me.
I have had a question recently about our seating at Tasting dinners, specifically about why some people are ‘placed’ and others draw their table number out of a bag. To be clear, there has been no change to our approach. The only people who are placed in advance are; the presenters, new members (who sit with the President or other Committee member), guests (who sit with the person who invited them), and members attending on their own (who are placed in order to balance up the table numbers).
On 7 May, 33 of us will be going for our annual four day wine trip, this time to DO Costers del Segre in Catalunya. These trips are nearly always oversubscribed (numbers are limited for logistical reasons), so if you were unsuccessful in getting a place this year, remember to book early next year.
Enjoy the next few weeks before our May Tasting. Sara and I will be keeping ourselves busy by walking the first 300 kilometres of the Via de la Plata Camino de Santiago, starting in Sevilla.
With best wishes
Neville