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36. Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel gerrydawesspain.com

"My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life. . .” - - Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019; Chef-partner of Mercado Little Spain at Hudson Yards, New York 2019

11/28/2011

Tom Perry, Inside Rioja. Interview with Gerry Dawes: “The 1947 Bosconia is the best red wine I have ever drunk.”

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November 14, 2011

Gerry Dawes with Maura Villanueva, the owner of El Lagar, Logroño, La Rioja.
Photo by Casimiro Somalo.


After several attempts I’ve finally gotten my interview with good friend, eating, drinking and bullfighting buddy Gerry Dawes, who I’ve said many times is one of the two guys with the most comprehensive knowledge of Rioja.

Here are my questions and his answers, which I have copied verbatim. Hold on to your hats.  This is vintage Gerry, once again pulling no punches.


When did you first taste a Rioja? Do you remember what brand and vintage it was? What were your impressions? 


Back in the late 1960s, like everyone else who visited (or in my case lived in) Spain, I drank Federico Paternina Banda Azul. Rioja wines were Spain’s best red wines and I developed a taste for them over a period of several years. I thought many Rioja were great. Marqués de Riscal was a bit of a luxury and so was Cune Imperial and Cune Viña Real, but once in awhile I got to drink them. I still remember finding Cune Imperial Gran Reserva 1959 on the shelf of a Costa del Sol shop for 225 pesetas a bottle when I lived in Mijas overlooking the Costa del Sol. I grabbed all three bottles.

READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW HERE:  INSIDE RIOJA
Posted by Gerry Dawes's Spain at 5:47 PM 0 comments
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11/21/2011

Tapas Hopping in New York: Nov. 1 Tertulia Tapas Bar, Salinas, Bar Basque, El Quinto Pino; Nov. 19 Tertulia

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Chef Seamus Mullen's paella de mariscos and whole grilled fish cooking on 
his specially designed Spanish fire pit and parilla at Tertulia Restaurant, New York. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


(Slide show of photos taken at Tertulia, Nov. 19, 2011.  Double click on the images to see a larger version.)


New York Anthony Chiellino Tapas Tour Nov 1 2011 Tertulia - Salinas - Bar Basque - El Quinto Pino
(Slide show of photos on a tapas tour that began at Tertulia. Double click on the images to see a larger version.)

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About Gerry Dawes   

Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

 
Trailer for a proposed reality television series  
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
Posted by Gerry Dawes's Spain at 6:54 PM 0 comments
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11/12/2011

Fideuà and Fideuà Negra (pasta from Valencia province, cooked like paella).


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Fideuà (pasta from Valencia province, cooked like paella), Casa Emilio, Gandía (Valencia). 
The dish is said to have been created in 1930 on a boat by a young fisherman/cook from Gandía.  
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.

Fideuà negra (black pasta in Catalan) is a riff on paella negra or arrós negre (rice made black by squid ink).  It is usually served with aioli.  


Fideuà negra, colored and flavored with squid ink, at Restaurante Nemesio in Madrid.
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.
 

My fideuà negra with squid and bay scallops with lime-cilantro aioli on the side. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


And here are a couple of other versions of arrós negre and fideuà negra from restaurantes around Spain (Casa Nemesio, Madrid; Azahar, Valencia; Can Majó, Barcelona) and an excellent modern stylized version of fideuà negra from Terrance Brennan's Picholine in New York. 


Chef Terrance Brennan's fideuà negra with squid ink, shrimp and alioli, Picholine, NYC, May, 2011. 
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2011. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com.


Fideuà slide show



(Double click on images to enlarge.)
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About Gerry Dawes
   
Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 


". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 


Trailer for a proposed reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
Posted by Gerry Dawes's Spain at 1:37 PM 0 comments
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11/11/2011

Tertulia Chef Seamus Mullen Buchering a Small Pig and Making a Rolled Pork Loin, New York Nov 1, 2011


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Chef-owner Seamus Mullen of Tertulia restaurant, NYC, butchering a small pig. 
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2011 / gerrydawes@aol.com.


Slide show of Seamus Mullen butchering a small pig and making a pork roll dish at Tertulia, NYC. 
(Double click for a larger image of the slide show.)
______________________________________________________________________________

About Gerry Dawes


". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts.
 

Trailer for a proposed reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 
Posted by Gerry Dawes's Spain at 2:42 PM 0 comments
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11/10/2011

Another Brouhaha Involving Pancho Campo, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate and Parker's Spain Correspondent Dr. Jay Miller


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English wine writer Jim Budd of Decanter Magazine and Jim's Loire blog continues to write about the controversial Pancho Campo MW, sidekick of Robert M. Parke, Jr. of The Wine Advocate, personal guide to Parker's Spain correspondent Jay Miller and a man associated with such wine world figures such Jancis Robinson and Kevin Zraly.  

According to numerous sources, Campo's Marbella-based Wine Academy of Spain has charged or is attempting to charge substantial fees (from 20,000 to 100,000 Euros) to arrange Jay Miller's visits to Spanish wine regions and for tasting the wines of the regions in question (Navarra, Jumilla-Murcia and Madrid [D.O. Madrid declined] are the regions figuring in recent press reports).  Critics are comparing this situation to the payola scandals of the record industry in years past.  

Miller's ratings for wines in Navarra, the only region so far known to have paid (100,000 Euros), should carry gold stars, since Navarra wineries paid their weight in gold to get their wines reviewed The Wine Advocate, a publication that has often been likened by Mr. Parker to Ralph Nader's supposed consumer advocacy.  (Lest we forget, Ralph Nader's candidacy in 2000 drained enough votes from Al Gore to swing the election to George W. Bush.)


Robert Parker in La Rioja for Pancho Campo's Controversial 
WineFutures-Rioja Conference 2009. Photo by Rioja.com.

Jim Budd is not the only writer reporting on this Pancho Campo-Jay Miller flap.  Tyler Colman's  Dr. Vino and Mike Steinberger's Wine Diarist blogs have also reported on it.  And  some observers have speculated that this situation (and other reports of other questionable activities concerning writers for Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate that have been circulating for some time) have undermined the credibility of both Parker's wine writers, of The Wine Advocate and of Robert Parker himself. 

Here are some related posts.  

 
Saturday, 5 November 2011 The Wine Academy Spain solicited 20,000 euros from DO Madrid for Jay Miller visit
 
Comment:
Russ Raney said... (The late Russell Alan “Russ” Rainey of Evesham Wood Vineyard and Winery)
 
Hello Jim, 
 
I (happily) stumbled across your blog while doing some research for my own little blog project. The Jay Miller issue immediately caught my eye - and was no surprise to me. Here's why: I'm the former owner of an established Oregon (Willamette Valley) vineyard & winery, whose wines routinely garnered "good" scores from The Wine Advocate over the years. However when Jay Miller assumed the Oregon wine reviewing responsibilities (after the departure of Pierre Rovani)he scheduled a visit to our winery - along with our new owner, after which he gave us the lowest scores in my memory - while complaining about the tasting conditions (we were in the process of moving out that day). Afterwards one of our top retail customers who knew Jay's modus operandi, commented that "you just didn't pamper him enough - you know, pull out the foie gras and époisse etc". My suspicions were confirmed when I saw which producers received the highest marks in this issue of the WA. I personally find it unprofessional for wine writers to make a definitive assessment of a wine tasted on premise (esp. from barrel) with the proprietor - it's simply too easy to get cozy (or not!) with the host. I started reading the WA back in 1979 when Parker was still using a typewriter - and have sadly watched as the publication has become less and less of an "advocate" for consumers while more and more a hype machine using the "pay to play" approach. Their abuse of the overly subjective 100 point score system was one the incentives I needed to push me into my own wine review project. Thanks for making my day! Keep up the vigilance!  
 



There’s no point! Wine retailers that say no to scores

Regional group charges wineries fees for Wine Advocate tasting

Changes at The Wine Advocate? Correspondence with Parker and Miller (2009)

The Wine Diarist (Mike Steinberger)


Dinero Por Nada, November 3 by Mike

"As you may have seen, there’s a new flap involving Wine Advocate contributor Jay Miller. Producers in the Murcia region of south-eastern Spain received a letter last month informing them that if they wanted their wines tasted by Miller during his upcoming trip to the area, they would have to pay $275-$415 for each wine submitted." Read the rest of the story here.

Given the controversy stirred up by Pancho Campo's and Jay Miller's actions in Spain, can the following report be a great surprise?

Posted by Gerry Dawes's Spain at 5:06 PM 2 comments
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