LIWF day 2 and the Ritz (well, Langan's)

13-May-09 - The day did not start well. I had told the client that I'd be at the Masterclass Theatre inside the LIWF by 09:30 in time for my presentation at 10:15, and duly checked out of the hotel at 09:00, asking them to call me a cab, which they did. Guests are identified by their room number (mine was 329) and there's usually about a ten-minute wait, so I waited outside laden with shoulder bag and wheelie bag. After about ten minutes a car arrived, and I was astonished to see a group of people starting to get into the car. The driver asked for the room number and, apparently, theirs was 239. He obviously couldn't tell the difference and drove off. The receptionist came out very apologetically and said that it had, indeed, been my taxi, but there was another on the way. In the event it was the same driver who apologised profusely for the mistake... But he still charged me the full £8.

So I got to Ex-Hell twenty minutes late and had to make my way the three miles down the central concourse to the theatre (right at the back of the hall, natch) to prepare for the presentation. Fortunately, all was well under control and I was able to set up a suitable high stool behind the lectern, load the presentation, check for any last-minute typos (there's always at least one). Nora and the team of organisers were sorting out the wines and I was ready to roll, which gave me the opportunity to go to the loo before we began. One block down, across the concourse and into the stairwell and... What's this? A lift! Miracle of miracles. At the lower level I still had to fight through several (single) doors to get to the Gents, but it was a start...

The presentation went very well, and was a sell-out: the theatre holds about 50 people but Nora told me that 65 had signed up to come, so I think a few latecomers were disappointed. The presentation was part of a campaign organised by the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce specifically to promote Rioja wines from the Alavesa (Basque Country), which has only 21% of the Rioja wineland but 56% of the bodegas, most of which are small and family owned. It has the highest (up to 600m) and northernmost vineyards in Rioja, and I nicknamed it 'Tempranillo Heaven' because of the Basque love for their wines young, fresh and fruity. They're not all jóvenes, however, as we were to discover:

2007 3 de Olano, Bodegas García de Olana, Paganos - Temp, minimal oak, 14% abv
This has just the barest touch of oak to smooth out the green tannins and a lovely fresh mid-palate. It could probably do with another six months in bottle.

2001 Izarbe, Bodegas Larchago, Lapuebla de Labarca - Temp, 24 months Fr. 13.5% abv
This is a classy wine with some maturity, just coming into its peak drinking period and showing impressive fruit/oak balance but with that classic Alavesa delicacy.

2003 Fincas de Ganuza, Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza, Samaniego - Temp/Grac/Viur&Malv 95/5/5, 23 months new, 14% abv
Masterly winemaking from a master of the craft, and from a year that wasn't considered to be particularly brilliant, too. Great extraction and lovely warm fruit balanced with the tannins, and great generosity on the length. Drinking now.

2005 Ángel Santamaría Vendimia Seleccionada, Bodegas Santamaría López, Laguardia - Temp, 12 months Fr. 13.5% abv
This was an outstanding year and although this wine is still pretty tight in the fruit department it is beginning to drink (in front of the 2004s - see below) and showing some real class. Given another couple of years this should become a classic of the genre.

2004 Casado Morales Reserva, Bodegas Casado Morales, Lapuebla de Labarca - Temp, 20 months new Fr. 13.8% abv
This was another excellent year and we felt that this wine had so much going for it that it would be a pity to drink it yet, even though it's older than the 2005. Wonderful structure, power and complexity all locked in by the tannins. Three years.

2004 Zuazo Gastón Reserva, Bodegas Zuazo Gastón, Oyón - Temp/Maz/Grac 90/5/5, 20 months Fr. 13% abv
And this is another excellent example of the year, also needing more time to give of its best. The addition of Mazuelo and Graciano here gives an 'edge' to the structure, matching the 'perfume' of the Tempranillo and toasty oak. Note the slightly lower strength, too - that's another clue to the Alavesa style.

A selection of lovely wines, indeed. I wish them very well in their on-going campaign.

I'd had a call the previous night to meet the publisher of YES CHEF! Magazine in the West End to discuss features in the next issue and so had to get round and shake a few hands (and have the odd glass) before dashing off to get a cab to The Ritz. According to Google maps it's 8 miles and should take about 31 minutes. Hmm... This does not seem to take into account the fact that half of London's streets seem to be under roadworks at the moment. In the event it took just under an hour, including about 20 minutes on Lower Thames Street where two lanes become one and we covered just a few hundred yards, and racked up a fare of £38.60.

At the Ritz, however, there was another challenge. I wasn't allowed beyond the foyer without a jacket and tie and, having been away from home, I didn't have one and, in any case, (unless it's for a VERY special occasion), I simply don't patronise places that dictate how I'm allowed to dress. Eventually the publisher, photographer and freelancer arrived and disappeared down to the kitchen for the interview. The publisher resurfaced (also sans tie) so we decided to go across the road to Langan's instead. I had the fish and chips with mushy peas and tomato sauce, and he had the beef casserole 'daily special'. We managed to get to speak to chef-proprietor Richard Shepherd and fix up an interview at a later date and the meal was excellent - although not cheap. Yes, I know, it's the West End and what do you expect to pay, and it was very good. But watch out if you want to save money by asking for wine by the glass: the house wine is seven quid a glass. I look forward to going back and interviewing Richard, however. I'll probably invest in a bottle. I think it'll be cheaper

I popped into Marks & Sparks across the road for a revivifying bottle of (medicinal) brandy (their own-label is only about a tenner and quite palatable) and then it was a cab back to Victoria for the 15:17, revitalising snifter on the train, and home by five o'clock in time for early apéritifs. But, absolutely knackered. A busy and useful three days, but exhausting. Next week is quieter. I hope.

LIWF day 1

12-May-09 - LIWF first day: the local cab service provide a BMW 7-series with blacked-out windows and vast leather-upholstered seats. It was very comfortable but not cheap at £8 for a five-minute ride. Excel was as awful as ever: no lifts from street level to the concourse and a three-mile walk to the Press Office (which is always at the far end) to sign in; two flights of stairs down to the loos etc. etc., but I've done this all before. This was my post of 21-May-09:

My only beef about this event is the location: ExCel in East London, aka the outer spiral arm of the galaxy. When it was at Olympia I could get there in just over an hour and a half
- two trains door-to-door. Now it's four trains and anything up to three hours, including the Central line sardine-tin packed with Canary Wharf workers and the 'will I live long enough to get there' wait for the DLR from Canning Town and then the million-mile walk (no lifts, endless stairs) to the main entrance. Why on earth they can't simply lay on a shuttle bus from London Bridge I really don't know. But then, I really don't know how there can be so many design faults in a new building. Take the loos for example. (1) they're down two flights of stairs. (2) They're accessed by single rather than double doors, so you stand there for ever waiting for a stream of people to come in or out. And (3) after YEARS of bad examples there STILL aren't enough cubicles in the ladies', which means queues outside the (single) door. Have they learned nothing from the past mistakes of public buildings? Answers on a postcard (clue - it has two letters and begins with 'n').


Nothing has changed, except that even more people seem to be sharing my views. If this is a 21st-century venue for a major world capital city why is there no direct train from central London? Why are there no lifts from the station platform or the taxi rank to the main concourse? And how long before someone out of the enormous crush of people getting out of the tiny DLR carriages on to the tiny DLR platform falls into the path of an oncoming train? It's just a disgrace, and they're building a whole new extension on to the thing to make it even more horrendous. They never learn. Come on, Boris!!

The fair itself, however, is comprehensive and, frankly, a 'must visit' for anyone in the business. My plan was just to spend the morning there today having a quick look round to get my bearings, meet the people from the Rioja Alavesa campaign to get the final brief for my presentation tomorrow morning, and perhaps have a glass with a couple of old friends, a bite of lunch and back to the hotel to finalise the PowerPoint presentation, and it worked well. I bumped into Reg Ward, the man who introduced me to Mario Sandoval, my co-author of COOK ESPAÑA, DRINK ESPAÑA!, and he was working with Giles Cook at Alliance Wines. They're just launching a range called 'Los Pecadillos' based on the seven deadly sins. 'Envy' is a Verdejo/Sauvignon from Rueda, 'Sloth' is a rosado Garnacha from Campo de Borja, 'Lust' is a Graciano/Garnacha from Navarra and 'Pride' is a Rioja. That's as far as they've got - Gluttony (probably a PX), Avarice and Wrath are still in the pipeline, but all are pegged to retail between about £6.50 and £10. The wines were all good, especially 'Lust' which, although it was only a tank sample of the 2008 vintage, was showing well.

Next up I spotted old chum Graham Hines, looking astonishingly robust and in good health. He was originally the director of the Sherry Institute but had to leave through ill health and went through several rather serious operations. I've seen him a few times since his 'retirement' but not looking as well as this, nor, indeed, as pleased with himself now that he's back in harness (this time as a freelance) promoting Sherry. This is excellent news, indeed, as the last PR agency to handle the Sherry account appeared to be quartered on another planet, given the contact they had with me in spite of many e-mails and 'phone calls. We may expect an upsurge in interest, perhaps, at last.

Also present were several refugees from the CWW dinner the previous night, some of whom looked as if they'd stayed rather later than they should have but, of course, the work has to be done. I introduced myself to the lovely Nora Goitia from the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, who was masterminding the Rioja Alavesa presentation the following day. We worked our way through the PowerPoint presentation and discussed how to approach the subject, and I took the final copy away with me to add in the last details. Then it was down to the Press Office, sign in, pick up e-mails and head back towards the main entrance, some several miles away. On the way I shared a salt and vinegar crisp with Jo Maclean of Codorníu, who was having lunch on the main concourse. She very kindly sent me a range of new vintages from most of the Codorníu properties a few weeks ago, and I was fascinated by a red and white branded 'The Spanish Quarter'. They're Vino de Mesa with grape variety and vintage date under the new EU regulations, which don't actually come in until July but hey, this is Spain. I have the empty bottles on my desk and I will be writing about them when I get time, honest.

There are bars, kiosks and restaurants all along the main concourse but it's busy and noisy and crowded and besides, I had formulated a cunning plan. Between the main entrance and the railway station is the Fox bar, which has an upstairs café-bar and a downstairs café-bar... And a lift. Better yet, the downstairs bar has an exit directly to the taxi-rank, which is a bonus. So, I ensconced myself downstairs with a plate of bangers and spring-onion mash with red onion gravy, and a pint of Guinness (sometimes only Guinness will do) which was not only very good but very reasonable at a tenner all in.

Then it was back to the Travelodge, an hour's siesta, and to work on the PowerPoint for tomorrow morning. This was completed by about 18:00, after which I sauntered down to the cafeteria for a Thai Green Curry and a modest Sauvignon Blanc from the Vin de Pays de Gascogne whilst reading through the local Docklands freesheet.

I know what they're trying to do at Docklands, and the architecture is occasionally magnificent, but somehow it's still seems to be an attempt at civilisation bolted on to a wasteland. Huge office buildings and towers of yuppie flats are still going up, but there doesn't appear to be anybody there, nobody walking down the streets in the evening, no atmosphere. There are trendy bars and cafés but they all feel a bit ad hoc, and there must be shops, newsagents, perhaps even post offices somewhere, but I didn't see them. It feels 'empty' somehow. Like a human-scale toytown, a bit like Milton Keynes. I admire what the planners have tried to do there but MK has been going for more than 40 years and it's still a soulless place, with minimal atmosphere and deserted streets once everyone's got home from work. Maybe Docklands will develop its own character in the next 40 years, but there's not much sign of it yet.

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Speeches, Meetings, Tasting and Dining

11-May-09 - It was blowing a gale at Splash Point for the handover, and although the sun was bright and the sea sparkled, it was absolutely freezing... Or maybe I should have worn a jacket. The background here is rather odd. Back in 1999 I was playing Baron Hardup (typecast again!) in Horsham, and so was away from home a lot over the Christmas period (this did not go down well at the Eversley, but you gotta go where the action is). One night just before Christmas there was a violent storm and quite a bit of debris was scattered along the seafront. James was staying with us over the holiday period and was out walking his dog the morning after the storm when he found a notice, lying in the street, obviously having been blown there from somewhere. It read 'WORTHING BOROUGH COUNCIL - STAND RESERVED FOR THE DELIVERY OF SERMONS AND PUBLIC SPEECHES' which he thought was amusingly old-fashioned. We were relatively new to Worthing at that time and I had a vague idea that I'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't remember where, but I intended to take it to the town hall once the world got back to normal after Christmas. Anyway, it gave us some amusement over the holiday period, after which he went home and I went back to Horsham for the rest of the panto run, which was about ten days. By the time I was back home the notice had been put away somewhere and I had completely forgotten about it.


And so it remained until about two weeks ago, when one of the local papers mentioned that the sign had been at Splash Point and had disappeared 'ten or fifteen years ago'. This jogged my memory, and a quick scout round the house revealed the sign, still intact if a little battered by the storm which dislodged it, behind the sofa in the guest bedroom. I wrote to the paper, and they arranged a handover to Keith Mercer, leader of the borough council, with a reporter and photographer from the Brighton Argus and an astonishingly pretty girl from the council called Linda who had, it transpired, been trying to find the sign for at least a year. Anyway, they took the pictures and did the interview and, apparently, a new 'pulpit' of some kind is being designed to rehouse it close to its original spot... Nine and a half years after it 'disappeared'.

Then it was off to London on the 11:06 for the 'prequel' to the London International Wine Fair (LIWF). A note about the Electrostars (Class 377) which are run by the Southern Railway on this route - when they were introduced in 2002 they seemed to offer a level of comfort and ride which were streets ahead of the old slamdoor stock which they replaced, but on this journey the train jerked, bobbed and lurched all over the place like a fairground ride. Perhaps after seven years and who-knows-how-many-million miles it's time for new suspension.

But back to the day before the LIWF. The Circle of Wine Writers has a committee meeting, then the AGM and our annual dinner on this day each year, on the basis that members from distant parts will be in London ready for the fair the following three days. And, indeed, so it proved, including a seminar on matching wine and charcuterie (terrine, saucisson sec, duck rillette and jamón de Teruel) by Fiona Beckett, with some fascinating wines (including La Gitana Manzanilla which, of course, went with everything, and a fabulous Malvasía Canary wine from El Grifo on Lanzarote which everyone loved but which, sadly, almost no-one can sell). The other wines were a St.-Tropez rosé (good with the ham); Assyrtiko Hatzidakis (went well with everything); Riesling Weingut Christmann, Pfalz (excellent with the terrine); Chapel Hill Verdelho (good with the duck); Lambrusco Reggiano Concerto (er... Better all by itself); Marcillac Cuvée Lairis (corky - both bottles); Morgon, Jean Poillard (good with the duck); and Isabel estate Pinot Noir from NZ (just a very lovely wine).

The dinner was at the same venue - Terroirs in William IV Street - and was a sell-out, and what a great pleasure to see so many old chums, It did remind me (yet again) that the Circle contains a lot of very affable and companionable people with whom it's always a pleasure to share an event. The restaurant has had rave reviews and was packed on the night (a Monday night in the middle of a recession ) which is very good news, but the food was, well, patchy. We started with panzanella which was pleasant enough, and then Lincolnshire smoked eel with a celeriac remoulade. The combination of two cold dishes was a little challenging for me, I have to say. Next up was new season's asparagus with Hollandaise sauce - perhaps one of the greatest combinations in gastronomy. Except that the asparagus was pale and floppy and barely warm, as was the sauce. Snails, bacon, garlic and parsley came on a crouton and were practically cremated, and porchetta and salsa verde which was delicious but, again, barely warm. It's probably not fair to judge a restaurant on a set meal cooked for a private event, and I may have to go again to see what the food's really like. I did also suggest that they might consider putting in a lift: from street level to the sub-basement dining room involves 48 stairs although, interestingly, they have a fire-exit directly into the Charing Cross Underground Station, which would seem to offer a range of possibilities.

The wine theme of the evening was 'island wines' and we tasted wines from Crete, the Canaries, Long Island (NY), Ontario, and Kangaroo Island amongst others - a really eclectic selection.

I left before the cheese as I had a long haul to docklands. Finding a taxi-driver who knows where anything is east of Tower Bridge seems to be impossible. Last year I stayed at the hotel attached to West Ham United at Upton Park, and hailed a black cab in Tower Place. The driver appeared never to have heard of either West Ham or Upton park, drove round in circles, tied to palm me off on another cab and finally arrived after an hour or so with forty quid on the meter. This time I asked the restaurant to call me a mini-cab (on the basis that they charge a fixed fee rather than on the meter) and specifically asked for a driver who knew docklands. The (statuesque and very attractive) girl on the front desk duly sorted it out and I was on my way by 21:45. According to Google maps the distance between Terroirs restaurant and the Docklands Travelodge is 6.1 miles and should take 21 minutes - perhaps rather less at this time of night? But no. After going through the security gate at Canary Wharf three times, asking directions twice and trying to drop me off at the Holiday Inn, the driver eventually stopped, got his AtoZ out and, after a few further false starts, finally got me to the hotel at 22:30. Oddly enough he had a satnav in the car but didn't use it. He did, however, only charge me £22.50 which, for a London cab is about par for the course. But I sink into despair whenever I have to come to Docklands. In the daytime you can use the Jubilee Line or the DLR, but late at night the chances of getting a short-distance taxi are minimal. Please, please, please can they move the LIWF back to Olympia?

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FENAVIN day 4: home again

07-May-09 - And this time it did work. Cab to the station to catch the 10:32 from Ciudad Real to Madrid, then another cab to Barajas Terminal 1. Arrived there well and early but AE has a continuous check-in (none of this 'check out opens two hours before departure' nonsense) so I was through airside and in the lounge by about 13:00, helping myself to a large one and settling down to a good couple of hours' work typing up all my notes from the fair. The lounge in Terminal 1 is very spacious and, if you're so minded, has huge deep and comfortable sofas and armchairs. Unfortunately, with my dodgy hip and knee if I get down into one of them it's almost impossible to get out. Fortunately they also have individual cubicles with lamp, electric socket and swivel chairs and I swiftly commandeered one of these. After a thousand words or so, another couple of large ones and a sandwich and a glass of wine (the sandwiches, to be honest, aren't up to much, but at least they are food, as opposed to the pretzels, peanuts and cake which are a feature of most UK airport lounges), it was off to the gate, which was conveniently situated immediately below the lounge: minimal walking!

I got a seat in the waiting area next to an attractive young woman who appeared to be reading religious texts on her laptop, which seems an unusual thing to be doing at an airport departure gate - although it's probably no more weird than immersing yourself in an airport bonkbuster. She asked me in a kind of indeterminate accent if I would be here long, and I replied that I wouldn't be going anywhere until the flight was called. She asked me to keep an eye on her laptop and bags while she went for a smoke (they have special smoking areas at Madrid airport, allowing for human frailty, unlike some countries I can think of). She returned in due course, picked up her laptop again and appeared to say "have you heard of Vegas?". I asked her if she meant Las Vegas, but apparently not. She spelled it out to me and what she was saying was 'Zeitgeist', although how you get it to sound like 'Vegas' I don't know. "Yes," I replied cautiously, "but it seems to change repeatedly according to the political climate..." At that moment the flight was called and I made my escape, just in case she was about to try and sell me some religious tract.

The flight was on time (I slept through most of it anyway), and the gate at LGW was less than three miles from immigration, so just two or three pauses for breath did the trick, a quick stagger through baggage reclaim and the car was waiting for me, mercifully not parked on the other side of the car park, and home in time for apéritifs. As travelling days go, not the worst by any means.

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FENAVIN day 3

06-May-09 - The gig wasn't until 17:00 so I went for a late start, arriving at the fair at about 11:30 and catching up on my last two or three promised appointments (after logging in at the business centre and going for the regulation pee - really rather disgusting mobile bogs with not a towel in sight by Hall 1 but that's another story). Then onward to Amézola de la Mora to try their new range which includes a 100% barrel-fermented Viura and a 'high expression' red both named Iñígo after the company founder, Iñígo Amézola de la Mora, who tragically died in a car accident in 1999. At the time his two daughters, María and Cristina, were only 17 and 18, and couldn't legally take over the business, so their mother assumed control until the girls were of age. Since then she has retired and the girls now run the business between them.

Interestingly the white wine is yet another example of 'new wave' Viura, showing just how the variety can perform under the hands of a skilled winemaker. As recently as March, 2007, when we launched YES CHEF! Magazine, I was having a conversation with Ricardo Aguiriano, who handles the publicity for Rioja. I was taking him to task over the OIPVR's decision to allow Chardonnay, Verdejo, Sauvignon et al (albeit in minority proportions) into white Rioja, and he challenged me to name any producer in the region who was making a world-class white wine from 100% Viura. At the time I quoted López de Heredia for the 'classic' style (96 months in oak!) and Álvaro Palacios with Plácet for the 'modern' style. Since then I've come across a few more (not many, admittedly, but some) who are doing the same, most notably Fernández de Piérola (whom I shouldn't really mention as he's a consultancy client, but I'm sure he won't mind) and this new one from Amézola de la Mora. There is life in the old Viura yet.

Then it was on to the tasting of wines from Grandes Pagos de España which was so heavily oversubscribed that people were queuing out of the door. Fortunately I had put my name down early and did manage to get in, along with old chum Aarno Magnusson from Finland who co-hosted me at the Rauma wine festival in 2003 - happy memories. The seminar slots are only 50 minutes long and, this being Spain, nothing ever starts on time, so we had 20 wines, one from each member of the association, in about 40 minutes, which was a bit of a marathon. The wines were uniformly fab, however, and I gave at least three 18.5 marks, a lot of 18s and 17s, and only a few 16s - too many to list here but for further info e-mail me at john@johnradford.com. I also had the chance to say hello to another old chum, Carlos Falcó, Marqués de Griñón (founder member of Grandes Pagos) and, later, his beautiful daughter Xandra who was sitting on the panel of a seminar on 'women and wine'. Yes, I know, it sounds a bit PC but there is a certain logic to it which is too complicated to investigate here.

After that there was time to taste through the range of wine from Bodegas P. Peciña in Rioja, including their new 100% Viura (again!) which is hand-selected on the sorting table (40% of bunches are rejected). The range is impressive but was bedevilled by glasses which had that 'dishwasher' aroma about them. We rinsed and rinsed again but never quite got rid of it. The top wines - Gran Reserva and Chobeo - still pulled in 18/20, however.

Onward to the 'round table' in conference room 4, and my fellow panellists were Félix Solís Ramos, Patrick Rabión of Finca Omblancas in Jumilla, and the chairman, the lovely Marie Calderón Sund, who is one of the organisers of FENAVIN. It was a lively session in which we discussed where wine is going in the next five years, what styles were the most likely to succeed and, of particular interest, the internet as a means of distribution. My own view on this question was that the internet - in the UK at least - was increasingly important. Customers who are looking to trade up from supermarket shelf-talkers may be reluctant to go to a specialist wine-merchant if they lack confidence in their wine knowledge. On line, however, they can sift through dozens - hundreds of wines, even, check the prices, research the background, read other people's tasting notes and then decide what to buy... And have it delivered. Indeed, even the finest of fine-wine merchants all have a web presence now, and as it's virtually impossible to park anywhere in any major town or city in the UK, delivery is likely to become the norm.

Now, if only we could persuade those arrogant courier companies that people do go out to work and there is no longer a compliant housewife behind every front waiting until they choose to deliver, we might get somewhere.

Back to the hotel after a very cold beer in the cafeteria, and some of the others were going to a restaurant in the park which they'd discovered the previous night and which was very cheap and cheerful. Being in the middle of the park, however, meant a lengthy walk so, after a day's travelling and two days' tramping around eight pavilions at the fair, I headed for the cafeteria. Unfortunately it was packed, apparently because the wide-screen television was showing a game of 2OHCBWAF*, so I decided to take an apéritif in my room and try out the hotel's restaurant, El Rincón de Cervantes, instead.

This proved to be an inspired decision. The restaurant was quiet, with widely-spaced tables and quick service: revuelto de bacalao con patatas followed by cochinillo, glasses of Lucía Canforrales La Mancha 100 años, Campos Reales 2008 Airén 12% abv with the fish, and Autor de Arúspide VdlT Castilla 14% abv Cencibel with the pork. Fab! €26 all in and excellent value for money. You don't usually expect particularly good food in hotel restaurants, but this certainly worked for me. I've stayed at the Guadiana before and it is a very pleasant hotel, and also excellent value from €65 a night.

*2OHCBWAF - 22 Overpaid Haircuts Chasing a Bag of Wind Around a Field.

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FENAVIN day 2

05-May-09 - The first full day of FENAVIN: when this fair started it was rather smaller, with the advantage that you could get around it easily and see everyone there. In addition, it attracted generic regions and smaller bodegas who couldn't have afforded to go to such as the London Wine Trade Fair or Vinexpo, Intervin or Vinitaly. Since then, of course, it has grown considerably and, in 2009, has 8 pavilions and nearly 1,000 exhibitors. This means that, once again, it's important to plan ahead and make a list of the people you want to see but, of course, it doesn't allow for the old friends who will pounce on you and drag you to their stand to taste the latest vintage. It would be rude to refuse but sometimes you just have to explain that you have limited time and need to visit 'new' friends while you have the chance. Most people are very understanding.

Anyway, without going into too much detail (which would fill the blog - if you want more info please e-mail me at john@johnradford.com) I was able to taste wines from the DDOO Abona (Canary Islands), Uclés (Castilla-La Mancha), Utiel-Requena (Valencia), Málaga and Sierras de Málaga (Andalucía), Bullas (Murcia), Almansa (Castilla-La Mancha) and Pla de Bages (Catalunya) and I must mention Barranco Oscuro, the bodega run by the eccentric Javier Valenzuela in the mountains of Granada, whose Blancas Nobles is one of the most individual white wines from Spain which I have ever tasted. It's made from mainly from Vijiriega (which has died out elsewhere on the peninsula but is still found in the Canary islands) in vineyards at more than 1,000 metres altitude. It reeks of thyme, sage and rosemary (herbs which grow around the vineyard) and has a wonderfully savoury, bone dry character (18/20). This bodega is a member of Vinos Singulares de Pagos Andaluces, which is a voluntary grouping of independent bodegas which share marketing and administrative costs. An even smaller such grouping is the family-owned Bodegas Aires del Duero, with wineries in the DDOO Rueda, Toro, Tierra de León and Arlanza, which last two are very much up-and-coming areas of Castilla y León.

So, about 50 wines tasted on the first day, and the 16:30 bus back to the hotel for a siesta - well, interrupted by a bocadillo de jamón and some more Corcovo (this time the 1999 reserva which was drinking remarkably well). I toyed with the idea of going to the 'Life Dedicated to Wine' presentation in the evening, especially as old chums Félix Benito from the UK and Aarno Magnusson from Finland were being gonged, but I went last time and found the ceremony to be incredibly long-drawn-out and boring with endless speeches, and blessèd relied came in the form of a 'phone call from YES CHEF! Magazine about features for the next issue which meant I had to spend more time with my laptop. I snuck back down to the cafeteria at about 21:00 for a pepita de ternera (€5) plus egg and chips (it's a good thing Jill doesn't read this blog) and the remainder of the Corcovo, after which it was a large brandy and zonko. Another good day. Tomorrow, of course, it's for money.

Working hard: Clara Verheij (Bodegas Bentomiz, Málaga), Manuel Valenzuela (Barranco Oscuro, Granada) and me.

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FENAVIN day 1

04-May-09 - It's FENAVIN week in Ciudad Real and I had a cunning plan to avoid having to fly into or out of Madrid terminal 4, which is where the souls of the sinful go after death to spend eternity tramping the endless marble walkways in search of their gate, waiting endlessly for a flight which is never going to depart. The lounges are rubbish as well.

Madrid terminal 1, however, is a delight. Out of the taxi and through security in 10-15 minutes, then into the Priority Pass lounge and a couple of large ones and a sandwich before a manageable walk (even for me) to the gate. Good, eh?

Well, yes and no. I had elected to fly with Air Europa (AE) because BA only fly to terminal 4 and AE fly to terminal 1, and this had worked beautifully last month when I went to the Salón de Gourmets and Vinus Durii. This time was different: apparently, a weak bridge at LGW south terminal had closed the upper-level drop-off zone so I had to get off at the lower level which offers only an escalator coming down (not up) and a six-level ramp up. There is, however, a lift, some several miles down the walkway outside... Which was out of order. A helpful traffic warden pointed me towards a lift several miles up on the other side... Which turned out to be staff-only and you had to have a key to access it. So I returned to the bowels of the terminal building and started the long, slow push up the ramp.

At the top there's a moving walkway into the terminal which is several miles long, but at least the queue for check-in (slight downside to AE - you can't check in online) was short, although I don't understand why I am always behind a huge group of people with children, extended family, pushchairs, skiing equipment, motor bikes, kitchen sinks and shotguns who have written their ticket number down incorrectly, necessitating hour-long 'phone calls by the booking clerk to some computer centre somewhere in the airport. Security was relatively painless, however (eventually), and I managed the better part of an hour in the Lingfield lounge where the ice was cold, the whisky plentiful and the soda water the real thing (have you noticed that it's virtually impossible to find proper soda water outside the UK? Whisky and agua con gas is a poor substitute, and if the agua is Vichy Catalan forget it unless you like your drinks salty). The flight was called to gate 34 - low number! Not far to walk! Fat chance.

This proved to be a walk more or less the length of the London Marathon, down endless, faceless, featureless corridors with NOWHERE to sit. The other passengers flew by in droves and I felt a bit like Orpheus in search of Eurydice, passing through the vestibule of Hell, ever overtaken by the souls of the futile chasing a ragged flag back and forth without reason.

Once on board, however, I found my seat (4c) and nodded off, as I always seem to do just before take-off and landing. I wonder if it's something to do with the change in air pressure. It was a busy flight and, as I've mentioned before, the seat-pitch in economy is too tight for me to be able to drop the table, so I have developed another cunning plan. Once the 'craft is upstairs and the seat-belt light is off, go to the loo and, in so doing, suss out whether there are any rows of three with only one passenger, ideally in a window seat. I found the one and only in the very last row (but handy for the loo) and took up residence for the duration so that I could use the table on the middle seat. Good, eh?

Well, yes, except that the seat pitch on the back row (no reclining back) is even tighter than that further forward, and my knees were pressed hard against the seat in front, but this was a small price to pay for the convenience of being able to get something to eat - at this point I'd been up for six hours and eaten nothing. It's not cheap: a bocadillo of jamón, little bottle of water, little bottle of Rioja (Antaño - very good) and a large one to finish came out at just over €16, but it filled a hole. Afterwards I made my way back to row 4 - near the front, no-one in club, first off the 'plane!

Or not. The pilot overshot the stand by about 3 metres and so we had to wait until one of those 'shunter' trucks could come and move us back, and the tube thing could be attached. This took about 20 minutes and impatient fellow-passengers were pushing forward towards the doors. I eventually escaped only to discover that we were somewhere near the outer spiral arm of the galaxy, not only with two flights of stairs up and a further two down (no lifts, no escalators) but also endless, featureless corridors which were as bad as, or even worse than, LGW. There were, at least, strategically placed air-conditioning units at just the right height to perch on for long enough to get the breath back and assuage the aching limbs. Nevertheless, it took the better part of an hour before I was in a taxi and heading for Atocha.

Once there I found that I had an hour to spare, and had a cold beer and a plate of salad in the station buffet, which was very pleasant. The train departed and arrived immaculately on time, of course (about 200 km in 53 minutes - that's an average speed of just over 140 mph) and there was a bus waiting for us at the station to take us to our various hotels.

I am lodged the Hotel Guadiana which is very pleasant indeed, with a comfortable bed, big armchair, spotless bathroom and good air conditioning as well as free wifi (which didn't work for me) and the alternative of a free ethernet cable connection (which did)!

There were several delegates staying at the hotel and some of us decided that, after (in my case) nine hours of travelling we didn't want to go out for dinner. The beauty of so many hotels in Spain is that, as well as a full restaurant, they have an excellent cafetería where (in my case) you can get a very acceptable steak and chips for about €15. Sadly, the 1993 Señorío de Los Llanos was corky but the 2005 Corcovo hit the spot. Then it was cafe con leche and a large Carlos I and zonko. Good? Yes.

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