Barcelona’s casual ethos and market cuisine has birthed a new version of haute cuisine. For years, some of Catalonia’s best chefs have been serving diners at the bar, no tablecloth, and by now names like Gresca and Dos Palillos are legendary in Spain. It’s now the most exciting time to eat in the Ciudad Condal (City of the Counts) in years.

With so much variety to choose from, navigating Madrid’s restaurant scene can seem like a daunting task.   Before you even set sail, it’s worth taking stock of the city’s idiosyncratic dining customs.  Most notoriously, the timetable.    Madrid eats late: lunch is commonly taken between 2pm and 4pm while dinner is not much earlier than 9pm and often (especially in summer) as late as 11pm. 

Preliminary thoughts and updates on Barcelona these days. Short reviews on hotels, restaurants, wine bars and cocktail bars. Many of these spots will be written up more fully in upcoming blog posts.

A new generation of Rioja winemakers is bringing vineyard, varietal and terroir focus to the region. What these innovators in Rioja have in common is a focus on single vineyards, some planted with old vines. Young winemakers are searching for an expression of terroir–the essence of the vineyard, soil and climate. Vignerons, grower-producers, artisan winemakers or terroiristas are commonly used terms for these new producers.

Rioja doesn’t have Grand Crus, but certain wineries in Spain’s most famous wine region have a reputation for fine wines. Classic Rioja wineries make long-aged immortal wines, while new-style producers focus on single vineyard Tempranillo wines.