THE CURIOUS QUAFFER
A TRIP TO SPAIN - THE TAPAS KITCHEN - WEST KIRBY
For many of us Spain is both a holiday destination of choice and a country to savour . Sun , great cities , lovely beeches , culture , wonderful food , sangria , beer , football , iconic wines – the list goes on . It is a land where time never really seems to matter . It was Ernest Hemingway that once said : “ There is no night life in Spain . They stay up late , but they get up late . That is not night life . That is delaying the day .”
Yet , in the world we currently live in , our wings have well and truly been clipped when it comes to Spain . For much of the time , earlier this year , it was effectively totally out of bounds to us here in the United Kingdom . Even now , it is still difficult to get to . Even if we manage to get there , we now have to lock ourselves away for two weeks on return .
So , the message this month is simple - if you can ’ t go to Spain , then let Spain come to you . In some ways , on the Wirral , it has . For some time now I have been hearing glowing reports from some of those who have visited the Tapas Kitchen , on Banks Road , in West Kirby . It is , in fact , a restaurant that was voted the best restaurant on the Wirral , in both 2018 and 2019 , at the Wirral Life Awards . Until recently I had not been to visit . This all changed when I was alerted to the fact that it had a smart and interesting wine list . Perhaps unsurprisingly , therefore , I paid it a visit . For those of you with a discerning eye , and who read Wirral Life each month , you will have noted that the food at the Tapas Kitchen was reviewed in last months edition . Equally you will have noticed that the very same article announced : “ There is an excellent wine menu ( a full wine review is coming in the next issue ) ….” Well here it is .
So often Spanish restaurants in the UK are a bit of a let down when it comes to wine . Very often we find the household names , like Rioja , simply pushed onto a wine list because it feels like the name should be on it . Often this is at the expense of quality and often our choice is limited too . Sometimes not all the wine actually comes from Spain . There are , of course , exceptions to this . One of these is the Tapas Kitchen . Another in my view , on Merseyside , is Lunya in Liverpool which , one day , I will also hopefully write up for you too .
Probably , and only some 20 / 25 years or so ago , Spain was really only best known for Rioja , sherry and as a wine producing country that produced bottle after bottle of cheap wine . Not anymore . In Spain the wine scene is truly amazing these days . Huge diversification and regeneration of the wine industry has been taking place there for a while . Today we find great wines coming from areas like Rias Baixas in Galicia , in Toro , Jumilla , Priorat , Navarra , Manchuela and Bierzo . New wines , new grapes , new blends , clever wine makers and , in essence , the re-creation of a wine nation .
So , hopefully , topic by topic , here goes :
Is Spain and its wine regions properly represented on the Tapas Kitchen wine list ?
I guess the first thing to say is that all the wine on the list is from Spain . A good , and important , start . Yet it is not just this that makes the wine list at the Tapas Kitchen unique . On the list we do find a small handful of wines from the well known Rioja region . It is only right that this great wine region is represented – as it is with both red , white and rosado wines . Importantly , however , there are wines from Jumilla , Rias Baixas , Navarra , Rueda , Manchuela , Priorat and Cava on the wine list . Pretty impressive for a relatively small wine list . Nothing wrong with small – as long as its good . This wine list is good .
So , the answer is – yes , Spain and many of its fine wine regions are well represented on the wine list at the Tapas Kitchen . Many of you reading this article may , or may not , be familiar with some of the great wines that come out of these regions . Many are still very well priced and there is little rubbish coming out of any of them these days . For the purposes of this article can I give a shout out for three of my favourite regions . Firstly Priorat - the small wine region in the province of Tarragona in north eastern Spain . Classically think , for reds , predominantly the glorious garnacha ( grenache in other parts of the world ) and cariñena ( carignan elsewhere ) grapes . For whites think predominantly garnacha blanca , macabeo and also the fabulous pedro ximenez . Secondly Rias Baixas - the home of fabulous white wines made from the albariño grape and which are to be drunk with fish and seafood . Thirdly , and finally , Jumilla – the wine DO title of Murcia , a small region on the Mediterranean coast of south eastern Spain . Jumilla specialises in wines based on the monastrell grape , together with plantings of varieties such as syrah , cabernet sauvignon and merlot . The principal white varieties are airen , macabeo , pedro ximenez and malvasia . Other international grapes are authorized , as well , including chardonnay . All three are wonderful wine producing regions these days .
30 wirrallife . com