Wine Recap

At The Spanish Table, new wines arrive weekly. The bounty of Spanish and Portuguese products is such that we find new, exciting products all the time. For those of you who have  been away for the summer I thought it might be helpful to review some of what has crossed our path [...]

Cerveza y Sidra

The weather is warm, the Labor Day weekend is upon us, Cal is back in session, everybody but you and me has run off to the dessert for Burning Man and the Bay Bridge is closing for three days. Pick the reason that best suits your purpose but it all boils down [...]

Bold Reds From Spain And Beyond

We have been featuring plenty of bright, refreshing white and rosado wines lately, so this week we will catch you up on some of the dark, expressive red wines that have arrived here recently.
Flor de Pingus 2006 Dominio de Pingus produces some of Spain’s most sought after wines. The newly released [...]

Summer Wines & Padrón Peppers

Pimientos de Padrón Alert
We interrupt regularly scheduled wine news to announce the arrival of the new crop of Pimientos de Padrón. These small, seasonal  green peppers are traditional bar snacks in the north of Spain and  are one of the few fresh vegetables that we carry here. Simply fry a batch up in some good [...]

Affordable Varietals & Substantial Reds

As Spain continues to forge ahead as a major exporter of wines, regional styles that were once found only in Spain are finding their way to our shores.
As vineyard land grows more expensive in the recognised Denominación de Origen regions, those who wish to produce wine at everyday prices must look elsewhere [...]

Memorial Day

Got big plans for the holiday weekend? Of course you do. Chances are you’ll be firing up the grill and (hopefully) pouring a little vino. To facilitate the choosing of appropriate beverages for Memorial Day, here are a few new options for your consideration.
Don Simon Sangria You want the real Spain? [...]

Many Are Tasted, But Few Are Chosen

It is that time of year again.
I speak of the spring tasting season when all the wine importers and distributors conduct tastings for the trade. New wines are featured along with new vintages of familiar favorites. At these events buyers like me get a chance to sniff, sip, compare and contrast dozens (no, hundreds) of [...]

Renewal

Following the cycle of seasonal change, the annual wine calendar has returned once again to the moment when new wines enter the market.
In Berkeley we have just started to receive new vintages of red and white wines from Spain and Portugal (Argentina and Chile too).
First up are the red wines appearing now, followed in a [...]

Daylight Savings Time

How does that little mnemonic device go; “Spring forward, fall back”?
This Sunday we all ’spring forward’ as we reset our clocks for Daylight Savings Time (and lose an hour in the process). Yes, it will be dark and cold in the early morning hours until the Sun catches up with the clock, but the evening [...]

Grape Love

As Valentine’s Day is this Saturday it is my duty (and a pleasurable one at that) to remind you of the many excellent ways you can express your love with a well chosen bottle of wine.  From the traditional to the unusual, a unique and delicious wine can set the right tone for a romantic [...]