February Recap
What I’ve been up to:
I’m still on my paperwork grind, but there is progress being made! I am applying for all of the licenses and permits required to sell wine in the US. I am also learning about how to pay sales tax, and general administration for running my own business. It’s not the most fun, but it is empowering to understand how all of these things work. I am also working on selling my wine, going to different wine bars and shops in Spain, giving tastings, connecting with new people. As a person who has identified as “shy” her entire life and always tries to convince people NOT to buy things, this is definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone. If anything, the winter tasks of paperwork and sales have me dreaming of harvest and getting back in to the winemaking side of things. In more fun news I also went to Barcelona for a natural wine fair and to visit my friend Connie who is making wine in the Penedes region. I also took a great hike near the winery with Esteban before trying the Garnacha from 2023 and packing up some wine to deliver.
What I’ve been eating and drinking:
Homemade pizza (dough from Panadario). More homemade ramen again this month, this time from a friend in Madrid and rivaling my dad’s recipe. Jay better watch out. We also went down to Malaga for a week and indulged in some pescaíto and churros. I’ve tasted a lot of great wine this month! My friend Connie’s Sumoll Blanc was great and a grape you normally do not see too much of.
The highlight of the month for sure was a tasting in Madrid at Cuvee 3000 of Esmerelda García (Segovia) and Victoria Torres (La Palma) wines. I love Esmerelda’s wines and especially the way she works. Making each wine using the same process in the winery, with the only difference which vineyards the grapes come from. It shows off the diversity in the soils surrounding her pueblo. I had tried her wines before, but never all in one sitting, so it was very cool to taste the line up and really feel the difference. Victoria Torres led us through a tasting of her wines from the island of La Palma, where vineyards experience very different microclimates based on their positioning in relation to the ocean, the wind, the volcano. I was really impressed by her red wines made from Negramoll. I loved this tasting because although the wines, climates, and projects are so different there is similarity in their process, mentality, and vision which shows in how Esmerelda and Victoria present their wines in both a very technical but also very personal way. A little yin and yang.
That’s all!
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Nicole