* * * * *
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. He has been frequenting the
depths, breadths and heights of the country as a second home for nearly
fifty years, leaving no stone, and especially no wine, unturned during
that time. I have come to know him as a good friend over the ten years
or so and have now had the pleasure to travel around Spain with him on a
number of occasions, including last year, when he led my son and I on
La Ruta del Ibérico, a tour of the major Jamón Ibérico de Bellota
regions of Spain, which is to say the finest pork producing regions of
the world. This year, Gerry and I did something a little different and
no less unforgettable – we visited the finest wine regions of Spain,
wining and dining like kings along the way.
Chef and all-around Spanish food star María José San Román and John Sconzo at one of the chefs restaurants, Tribeca,
a great hamburger and casual food restaurant in Alicante.
a great hamburger and casual food restaurant in Alicante.
Photo by Gerry Dawes©2015 / gerrydawes@aol.com / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Pinterest.
Canon G15 / Canon f/1.8 – f/2.8 5X 24-140mm IS USM.
Gerry is in the midst of unrolling a new Spanish wine importing company, The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group – Gerry Dawes Selections.
With a life built around wine, both Spanish and otherwise, Gerry has
long experience tasting, importing and selling wines from Spain and
elsewhere in Europe as part of such major importers as Frederick
Wildman, Vineyard Brands Robert Haas Selections, the legendary Gerald
Asher at Mosswood and Winebow. He has long bemoaned the influence of
Robert Parker on the wine world, espousing wines reflecting terroir with
low alcohol, little to no oak and a strong acid backbone with lush
fruit expressing the varietal origin of the grapes. For years, that had
been a difficult battle as more and more of the global world of wine
fell under the sway of Parker’s mantra of big, bold, and brutish wines
of high alcohol, full extraction and low acid, all bound together by the
unifying flavors of wood.
Paco Torreblanca and John Sconzo at at Paco's taller (workshop) and International School of Pastry Arts in the town of Petrer (Alicante). Photo by Gerry Dawes©2015 / gerrydawes@aol.com YouTube / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest. Sony RX100 III 20.1 MP / Zeiss 24-70mm f1.8-2.8.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About Gerry Dawes
About Gerry Dawes
Gerry
Dawes is the Founder, President & Chairman of the Board of The
Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group - Gerry Dawes
Selections.
He 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, including for such chefs and culinary luminaries as Thomas Keller, Michael Chiarello, Norman Van Aken, Ryan McIlwraith, Terrance Brennan, Mark Miller, Mark Kiffin, Michael Whiteman and the Club Chefs of New York & Connecticut.
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.
He 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, including for such chefs and culinary luminaries as Thomas Keller, Michael Chiarello, Norman Van Aken, Ryan McIlwraith, Terrance Brennan, Mark Miller, Mark Kiffin, Michael Whiteman and the Club Chefs of New York & Connecticut.
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@aol.com.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment