Enjoying Tapas with Spanish Wines from Catalonia #WorldWineTravel

 We are still exploring the wines of Spain in our World Wine Travel Group.  This month we are traveling to Catalonia. 

Image from wikitravel

Susannah of Avvinare  chose this area and invited us to join her in talking about the wines and foods of the region and to share any memories if we have been lucky enough to visit the area.  I haven't but Spain is definitely on my bucket list.  You can learn how to join us in Susannah's invitation post.

Susannah will also be hosting a twitter chat on Saturday at 11 AM ET.  Anyone who is interested in this topic is welcome to join us for the chat following #WorldWineTravel.  We hope to see you there.  Here are the topics we will be discussing.........

• Allison and Chris from Advinetures look at Cava: Spain’s Answer to Champagne.
• Andrea from The Quirky Cork enjoys Tapas with Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava.
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Pollo a la Catalana + Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat 2019.
• David from Cooking Chat shines with Mushroom Fricassee and Red Wine from Priorat.
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator brings Sparkling Wine Secrets: Catalonia Cava from Marqués de Cáceres with Spanish Chorizo Kale Bean Stew.
• Jeff from Food Wine Click looks at Exploring the Variety of Still Wines from Catalunya.
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass showcases Pere Mata Cupada Rosé Cava: Finesse in a Glass.
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest posts Beyond Cava: Loxarel and Gramona Organic Sparkling Wines.
• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog waxes poetic about A Taste of Can Descregut; Grower Spanish Sparkling Wine From The Corazón del Penedès.
• Melanie from Wining With Mel muses about Innovative Winemaking in Catalunya’s Penedès: Torres Gran Coronas Reserva.
• Nicole from Somm's Table pens On a Hilltop in Priorat.
• Payal from Keep The Peas joins with Bartender’s Choice from Priorat.
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles focused on Priorat DOQ in Spain’s Cataluña Region and Franck Massard’s 2015 Humilitat.
• Steve from Children of the Grape describes Cava by the Sea.
• Susannah from Avvinare thinks about Two Key Areas in Catalonia Wine Scene: Cava and Priorat.
• Terri from Our Good Life dished about Chicken Empanadas and Azimut Cava.
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on The Farm adds Enjoying Tapas with Spanish Wines from Catalonia.

Best known for the sparkling wine Cava, Catalonia borders Roussillon,France and also offers dry white and bold red  wines.  Along with Cava, Catalonia is home to Xarel·lo, Macabeo, Malvasia all three of which were blended in the white wine I am sharing today.  The red wine grapes grown in the area include Carignan, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. I purchased a red blend to share with you today as well.

Our Christmas gatherings were handled differently this past year.  Instead of large family gatherings, we broke our gatherings down to smaller groups and had more of them.  I served up these wines from Catalonia along with some Tapas at this gathering with our third eldest and second son, Tony, our fourth child, Nicole and her husband, Pierre both of whom were born of Frank's first marriage.  We also invited Frank's sister Roz and her husband, Ron and his brother, Dan and his wife, Rebecca. 

This is a bittersweet post. As I write this on February 23rd, we have just had the funeral Mass for Ron, who had been diagnosed with cancer just 2 short weeks ago. I am so glad that we had this last wonderful celebration with him before he got ill.

So let's talk about the wines.......I opened a bottle of Avaline White Blend and Celler Cal Pla Black Slate Porrera to serve to our guests that day.  I made a tapas tray containing Manchego Cheese, Tuna, Shrimp, Olives, Almonds, Cashews, Bread Sticks, Crackers, Fruit, Pickles and Olives.  

I also served up some hot tapas including Lamb Meatballs and Patatas Bravas. The wine was opened the spread was laid out and folks just helped themselves as the gathering commenced.

The Avaline is from Penedes, Spain.  It is gluten free and made from organic grapes.  It is a light, golden yellow and very crisp and bright.  The white wine drinkers in the group gave it very high ratings.  At a moderate price point of $20 from Wine.com, it has gone onto the list to be purchased again.

The Black Slate from Porrera lives up to it's name.  It pours an inky black and is bold and smooth.  It is a blend of Garnatxa and Carinyena with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon.  I had never heard of Garnatxa so I rushed to look it up.  I giggled when I found that it is Grenache, a wine grape that I know and love.  Likewise with Carinyena which is known also as Carignan.  This wine is also organically grown.

I am very excited about this new wine group that started last month with a trip to Rioja.  You can read about the wine I chose and the food pairing I made in this post.  Next month we are heading to Castilla y Leon.....I have had a hard time locating a wine but I have a couple of tricks left up my sleeve so I look forward to seeing everyone there.