Let’s Open a (Spanish) Bottle

I should have done this a long time ago. In the fall of 2007 I received a review copy of Let’s Open a Bottle, a private publication of a journey through the Spanish wine regions, by Brian Murdoch. Every now and again, I read a chapter, but never got around to reading the entire book or to writing that review.

Until I started reading up on our next holiday, which we will spend in France’s southernmost wine region, the Roussillon. We will stay for two weeks at a camp site in Argèles-sur-Mer, a very crowdy and probably noisy area of the French coast. But that’s life with teenagers: they require discos, swimming pools and fun, where my husband and I are content with shade, a glass of wine and a book.

My husband wondered if winegrowing just stopped at the border? Or would there be wine on the other side of the mountains? I delved into my books and found the DO Emporda – Costa Brava, the northernmost wineregion of Catalonia, indeed of the whole of Spain. And I picked up Murdoch’s book, to see what he had to say about the area. Well, after reading his chapter on this area, I was complete hooked: we must and we shall visit this area! ‘Traditionally it is famous for stronger, sweet wines, but also for making standard rosé. But lately there has been a strong push towards classier whites and more elegant reds.’ In a few minutes I had a complete picture of the area: history, grape varieties, wineries, cultural attractions (the back country of the Costa Brava is Dali-country!) etc… And that is exactly what Murdoch is trying to do: not only introduce you to Spain’s interesting wine regions ánd the revolution that has taken place in recent decades, but also give a general cultural background, mentioning quaint villages, beautiful cathedrals and breathtaking vista’s.

Murdoch has a clear and witty style, which make that the book reads like a novel. I think it is only the fact that Spain is such a large wine country that I never got around to reading the entire book. But may be that is just as it should be: every once in a while, when you want to read up on some part of wine producing Spain, you pick up this book and read the appropriate section. Of course it gives Murdoch’s opinion as a wine amateur, not of a wine professional, but that is rather refreshing. A lot like I write about wine on this blog…… Or, as the cover mentions: ‘The author, a U.S. expatriate living in Madrid for the past fifteen years, takes the reader on his personal journey to search out a three-thousand-year-old tradition undergoing a veritable turnaround of the likes never seen before. Along the way he shares with us an entertaining array of characters and scenes that represent the inseperable bond between a culture and its most venerated drink’.

Let’s Open a Bottle is available through Amazon. Only two copies are left!
Brian Murdoch, Let’s Open a Bottle. My Journey through the Spanish Wine Revolution, New York 2004, isbn 0 9743359-0-8, price $ 14,95.