Description:

Rudy Millard attends a food and wine matching event at riverstation restaurant in Bristol where he takes the opportunity of tasting produce from the Castilla y Leon region of Spain

On a sunny Wednesday in Bristol I was fortunate to be invited along to one of Bristol’s most popular restaurants, riverstation, where I spent a delightful afternoon sampling a selection of fine wines and foods from Castilla y Leon in Spain.

Castilla y Leon is the largest region of Spain with a variety of produce, and so we were treated to a great selection of foods and wines to try.

We were led through the wine tasting by wine writer and speaker Simon Woods. I have to say that Simon was a very interesting speaker, very knowledgeable and truly passionate about the wines he was describing. If they had been awful, I’m sure his entertaining way of describing them would have made up for it completely.

The wines were, of course, far from awful, and over a couple of hours Simon guided us through a selection of wines that were just heavenly. My favourite of the wines, a 2010 Abad Dom Bueno Godello, was a delicious white with a taste that was a cross between a sauvignon and a chardonnay.

Amongst other wines of note that afternoon from a variety of D.O.s including Rueda, Bierzo, Tierra de Leon and Cigales, I was a real fan of the 2007 Bodegas de Blas Serrano Phylos of Ribera del Duero, which had a very fresh taste and wonderful fruity nose.

The chefs at riverstation in Bristol had taken a variety of ingredients from the Castilla y Leon region and used them to create a menu that complemented the wines that we tasted. All of this was delicious, but I must make special mention of the Longaniza cooking chorizo from producers Embutidos Cuellar, which was quite wonderful. Also, though it probably gets overlooked when such other fine fare is on offer, the Soleae extra virgin olive oil that came with our bread before the meal was served was of quite exceptional quality.

All in all it was a great afternoon at a charming Bristol restaurant, and for someone who generally favours the New World wines, it was a real education about the great wines that Spain has to offer.

If you wish to get more information about the food and wines of the Castilla y Leon region, please contact Rumpus Communications on 0161 942 9988.

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