Sacred Drop 
Ever wonder what it would be like to taste wine with the actual wine maker who made the wine?
Posted on July 22, 2011
I had the opportunity to visit Garmendia Winery and Vineyards in Vizmalo in Castilla y Leon, Spain. It is actually what you would call a Finca or an estate where they not only have an organic winery but also for example grow grain for race horses. This country estate is located between the spanish cities of Burgos and Valladolid.
In this tasting, Raul Tamayo, the enologist or wine maker and Maria Burgoa, managing director, invited me to taste three of their best selling wines in the US.
We tried the Garmendia 2010 Gran Seleccion White- made from Verdejo grapes and ages for four months in oak barrels, 2005 Tinto Envejecido en Barrica (Crianza- Style- Tinto aged in oak for 16 months) and finally the Garmendia Seleccion 2005 with 24 months in french oak.
I was especially impressed with their Blanco Seleccion white wine which was fresh and had incredible aromas of tropical fruit and a wonderfully clean finish. There are only 600 of these bottles made.
Family owned Herencia Martinez- Alvarez Bodega in Rioja Alta- Cosechero/Bodegero
Posted on July 11, 2011
An unexpected visit to Fuenmayor, La Rioja, to pick up some wine from a local vineyard spurred a visit to this country winery; the owner showed us everything from the press onward in his production, and he even allowed us to taste the 2010 harvest that was still fermenting. This experience was such a stark contrast to that of Marqués de Cáceres, a huge well-known international winery in Cenicero, but visits like these are what I live for. It’s in this way one really gets to see what people who live, eat, drink, and sleep wine are like.
If you would like to suggest ideas or like to see more of one thing or another, please e-mail your suggestions to me at sacreddropseeker@gmail.com. Thanks for watching!
Wine Utensils 101
Posted on July 4, 2011
Ever wonder what you need in order to open a bottle of wine or what some wine lovers keep in their homes to enjoy their wines? Well here you have it, a few basic wine utensils I keep in my home in order to try the wonderful wines of the region.
If you want to see more of one thing or another, please email me ideas or suggestions to sacreddropseeker@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon!
