Winemaker Emilio Rodriguez of Terras Gauda in Rias Baixas

High expression, or “alta expresion” is a termed used in Rioja for new wave red Rioja, but in the northwest of Spain, winemaker Emilio Rodriguez of Bodegas Terras Gauda seeks ultimate expression of the heirloom whites of Rias Baixas and reds of Bierzo. Combine his wines with the tapas of Gerald Hirigoyen’s Bocadillos Restaurant, and one experiences the authentic flavors of Spain the way they are meant to be.
Rias Baixas is the only exclusively white wine appellation in Spain located in the northwest region …

You may not realize it yet, but you love this wine!  The U.S. is the #1 export market, by a wide margin, for the wine region Rias Baixas which is located in the far northwest of Spain by the ocean.  Rias Baixas means the “lower estuaries” because it is marked by inlets of water that extend miles from the Atlantic.  Rias Baixas is the only exclusively white wine Denominacion de Origen (regulated quality appelation) in Spain and is dominated by the white grape Albarino.  Albarino grapes produce light-bodied, crisp and faintly …

I think if we called it pulpos  more people would be encouraged to read on.  Pulpos is prepared in many different ways in Rias Baixas, all with the objective of keeping it tender to eat.  Some barely poach it, others stew it for an hour.   Being of Japanese heritage, I was raised eating octopus raw, so I was delighted to eat it in as many ways as our various hosts could prepare it.   At the Adega d’Altamira, their technique is to dip the live octopus in boiling water nine times – not eight …