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Wining & Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes
A Six-part Chronicle
by John Sconzo
Dr.
John Sconzo, aka Docsconz, writes and photographs one of the most
important gastronomy and travel blogs in the world. John is
indefatigable and covers more ground than anyone we know. It has been a
great privilege showing him Spain on multiple occasions. This is just
one of three extensive trips (and numerous shorter excursions) that we
have taken together.
Gerry Dawes, John Sconzo and Aldea Chef-owner George Mendes at Casa Botín, Madrid
I have said this before and I’ll say it again, nobody knows Spain like
Gerry Dawes. I sincerely doubt that there is another American, and very
few, if any, Spaniards can approach, let alone surpass his knowledge of
the people, food, wine and culture of Spain."
Gerry con una caña y Fondillón at Bodegas Salvador Poveda, near Alicante.
With a four day stop in Madrid for Madrid Fusión 2015 now history, it was time to begin the next leg of the trip. Galicia was the part of Spain that I hadn’t yet been to that I most wanted to visit. It would be the main focal point of the trip as we squeezed a ton of tasting both food and wine into a very abbreviated time frame. It would not be our first stop, however.
Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 3 – North By Northwest
I used to think way back when, that Spain was all about red wines, but then I had my first Spanish whites, which happened to be from Galicia. My view changed in a hurry and I came to realize that Spain is full of excellent white wines, yet, Galician whites remained my favorites.
Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 4 – Rapturous Ribeira Sacra
Vineyards are inherently beautiful and I am never less than enthralled with a visit to one, but despite visits to gorgeous vineyards in France, Italy, Germany, the United States, Chile, South Africa and elsewhere in Spain, I was unprepared fo the unparalleled gorgeousness of Galicia’s mountainous Ribeira Sacra region.
Gerry Dawes showing off one of his wine finds
Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 5: Loving and Leaving Galicia
While I don’t know how the street food octopus was, I suspect it was pretty darn good. However, once again, Gerry knew what he was talking about. At the quaint, unadorned Pulperia El Dorado, the boiled pulpo Gallego was sublime and as delicious as I have ever had anywhere. Bathed in quality Spanish olive oil and pimentón, it was supremely tender and full of flavor. Snipped into manageable bites, I couldn’t resist going back for more and more. This is the kind of cooking one hopes to find along one’s travels – authentic, of the area, expertly prepared and consummately delicious – something that can’t quite be repeated as such anywhere else.
Pulpo a la Gallega at Pulperia El Dorado, O Barco de Valdeorras
Sunday nights in small town Spain are generally quiet affairs and it was no different in sleepy San Asensio as we followed our GPS through dark,
empty streets and alleys to reach Bodegas Lecea, perched high on one of the area’s many hills, in what appeared to be one of the older areas of
the town in a neighborhood called “Barrio de las Cuevas” or “Neighborhood of the Caves” named for the proliferation of wine caves
underneath. We were greeted at the large, heavy door by Luis Alberto Lecea, the winemaker/owner of Bodegas Lecea, who escorted Gerry, Bill
and I upstairs to a cozy, fire-warmed apartment at the back of the winery. Lecea was in the process of making dinner to share with us – a
typical, delicious meal of tortilla Española with bread, embutidos, and, of course, wine.
Posts with more trips with Gerry Dawes and Docsconz to follow.
Read More Adventures with Gerry Dawes & Docsconz here (coming soon).
Experience Gerry Dawes's Adventures in Spain: Unique Customized Culinary, Wine, Cultural & Photographic Tours for You, Family, Friends and Colleagues
Read More Adventures with Gerry Dawes & Docsconz here (coming soon).
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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.
In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés.
". . .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.
Pilot for a reality television series
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain
Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@gmail.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com
Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@gmail.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com
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