Follow-up episode: More on stolen wine and A-bombs!

Brian's Spain Domain
Brian's Spain Domain
Follow-up episode: More on stolen wine and A-bombs!
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I recently read some articles about the same subjects I featured in a couple of episodes. One is about a famous wine heist that took place in Caceres in November of 2021; and the other retold the infamous story of a mid-air collision between a B-52 and a refueling plane that resulted in the avcidental dropping of 4 nuclear bombs on the coast of Spain. The consequences could have been apocalyptic but miraculously the damage was moderate at worst. Still, the area has yet to be fully cleared of the radioactive waste left behind. The authorities are inching towards this aim. 

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon, Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

Music by Ahmadmusic from Pixabay

LET’S OPEN A BOTTLE 9: D.O. Toro

Brian's Spain Domain
Brian's Spain Domain
LET’S OPEN A BOTTLE 9: D.O. Toro
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If you haven’t already tried it, it’s time you gave wines from Toro, especially red wine, a go. These are classics from Spain. Some even assert they were the first to reach the New World. They are bold and full of personality. The name, which actually refers to a town, aptly describes their boldness. In the past 20 years, they have experienced a well-deserved show of resounding approval. Listen and learn more. Enjoy!

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon, Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

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Let’s Open a Bottle: Wines from Madrid

Brian's Spain Domain
Brian's Spain Domain
Let’s Open a Bottle: Wines from Madrid
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It may seem counterintuitive to think that the region of Madrid, with its massive capital and built-up bedroom communities, would in anyway be a place for bodegas to make wine, but the reality is quite the opposite. Wine-producing has been going on here for centuries, and after overcoming a rough streak in the middle of the 20th Century, the winemakers of D.O. Vinos de Madrid are enjoying a renaissance.  Listen and enjoy!

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon. Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

Let’s Open a Bottle (5): Wines from Madrid

Store featuring wines from Madrid in the Mercado de las Ventas

It may seem counterintuitive to think that the region of Madrid, with its massive capital and built-up bedroom communities, would in anyway be a place for bodegas to make wine, but the reality is quite the opposite. Wine-producing has been going on here for centuries, and after overcoming a rough streak in the middle of the 20th Century, the winemakers of D.O. Vinos de Madrid are enjoying a renaissance.  Listen and enjoy!

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon. Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

Cordials for Kids: the bizarre story of alcoholic drinks that were given to minors to whet their appetite.

Brian's Spain Domain
Brian's Spain Domain
Cordials for Kids: the bizarre story of alcoholic drinks that were given to minors to whet their appetite.
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We know that in the 1960s and 1970s certain products, namely cigarettes, were often unabashedly sold as something nearly harmless, if not beneficial for conditions like asthma. But who would have guessed that booze, like beer and sweet wine, were sometimes marketed as ideal for children for nutritional and dietary reasons. Two drinks, Quina Santa Catalina, and Kina San Clemente, were sweet wine cordials and particularly famous for this purpose. But they weren’t the only ones. Listen and discover more about this mind-boggling publicity campaign. 

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon. Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

Cordials for Kids: the bizarre story of alcoholic drinks that were given to minors to whet their appetite.

We know that in the 1960s and 1970s certain products, namely cigarettes, were often unabashedly sold as something nearly harmless, if not beneficial for conditions like asthma. But who would have guessed that booze, like beer and sweet wine, were sometimes marketed as ideal for children for nutritional and dietary reasons. Two drinks, Quina Santa Catalina, and Kina San Clemente, were sweet wine cordials and particularly famous for this purpose. But they weren’t the only ones. Listen and discover more about this mind-boggling publicity campaign. 

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon. Apple and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, click on our PayPal donate button or check us out at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

The Great Spain Wine Heist

Brian's Spain Domain
Brian's Spain Domain
The Great Spain Wine Heist
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In today’s podcast we look at a bit of very recent history. In October, 2021, 45 bottles of wine were stolen from the cellar of a famous upscale restaurant called Atrio, located in the magnificent city of Caceres, Spain. But they weren’t any ordinary bottles of wine; they were some of the finest in the world, and one, in particular, has a unique history of its own, turning it into one of the most expenisve bottles around. This most recent chapter has probably only increased its value. Find out what it was, and how the theft took place. 

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, check us out at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

The Great Spain Wine Heist

Atrio’s world-famous wine cellar. Site of a historic theft of a historic bottle of wine

In today’s podcast we look at a bit of very recent history. In October, 2021, 45 bottles of wine were stolen from the cellar of a famous upscale restaurant called Atrio, located in the magnificent city of Caceres, Spain. But they weren’t any ordinary bottles of wine; they were some of the finest in the world, and one, in particular, has a unique history of its own, turning it into one of the most expenisve bottles around. This most recent chapter has probably only increased its value. Find out what it was, and how the theft took place. 

You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon and Castos. Or if you wish to support Brian’s Spain Domain, check us out at https://www.patreon.com/briansspaindomain

Our Spanish Wine of the Week: Dido 2015 (D.O. Montsant)

For our first week, Lorena and I have started with a wine from a little known wine region in the Spanish region (that term should really tick the secessionists off) of Catalonia called Montsant.  Partly, because I know a thing or two about these wines, and partly because, the way things are going, we may not be able to call them Spanish long from now.

 

Most people people have never heard of this region because they don’t read my book and therefore don’t learn about these things.  This is not a personal thing. The 47 people who did buy my book 15 years ago learned a lot.  The rest have relied on unreliable sources.  That’s their problem.  Even today, with all that is available online, it’s shocking how little even the experts know about Spanish wine.  Shocking because I was shocked fifteen years ago. Shocking because little has changed since then. But the world has changed a lot.  Donald Trump is president of the United States, my friends. It’s something we should remind ourselves about every single day before we brush and flush. We don’t say it enough.

 

Anyway, Montsant is located in the province of Tarragona and it literally forms a ring around the more well known wine region of Priorat, which took the country by storm in the 1990s by launching some of Spain’s most exclusive wines.  This had to do with the high quality of the old vines, its limited production and the unique minerally characteristics of its wine.  They all translated into specialness, which really means hefty prices per single bottle.

 

Why are we talking about Priorat if we want to hightlight Montsant?  It’s to provide a little context.  Montsant used to be a subzone of the Tarragona wine region until it separated (that seems to be a Catalan thing) and started up as its own denominación de origen in 2002.  You get the feeling that Montsant is kind of like the poorer relations of the highly touted Priorat, that cousin who has to stay in your pool house instead of the local hotel, but we can assure you that it stands on its own just perfectly well, thank you.  Priorat’s wines are excellent, especially because they are so different, but they tend to be special occasion bottles, unless you own an island or two.

 

Montsant, on the other hand, tend to be a mighty value for your money, and they don’t compromise on quality.  Without trying to sound too much like a sponsored article, Venus La Universal’s Dido, created by Sara Pérez and Rene Barbier, is a perfect example.  These two winemakers each come from families with roots deep in Priorat and beyond (The Barbiers have been at it since the 13th Century, so I kind of feel I can trust their know-how without risking it).  All the same, their presence in Montsant seems to have given them more freedom. This red made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Merlot and Syrah, just blows your mind a way.  It takes a little time to get up and running,  but it once it does, there is no saying, “Let’s put the cork back and finish it tomorrow.” There is no tomorrow.

 

Lorena, who has far finer senses than I do, noticed the leathery aroma open up to something more like redcurrant.  It was full-bodied but silky smooth.  It evolved wonderfully throughout the meal and she enjoyed finishing it off with a bit of chocolate.  And all for little more tha twelve euros.

 

We’re praying Venus stays in Spain!