A Beginner's Guide to Amontillado and Spanish Tapas #WorldWineTravel

 #WorldWineTravel is offering another wonderful wine from Spain this month which is wines from Andalusia. I have decided to talk about Lustau Los Arcos, an Amontillado sherry that is so very delicious.  To learn more about Andalusia wines, visit our host Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog as he discusses the history and more of the area here.

First things first:  not all sherries are sweet.  It's not an old person's drink.

Now we can talk.  

How do you get an Amontillado sherry?  It is what happens to a Fino or Manzanilla when it continues to age. After the flor dies off, it interacts with oxygen and creates a nutty character that is just delicious.  It reminds me a bit of salted caramel.  I chose a Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado.  It has this wonderfully unique copper color, with a nut-bread character.  

Our pairing was traditional Spanish tapa ingredients of Manchego cheese, Iberico ham, Marcona almonds, and quince paste.  Manchego cheese is an uncooked cheese produced from Manchego sheep in the La Mancha area of Spain.  It has a hard rind with a distinctive herringbone pattern if it was molded in traditional grass molds.  It is firm but flaky, with a nutty taste. We buy ours from Aldi and it is delicious. Iberico ham is from Spain.  It is the Jamon Iberico pig which is fed on acorns only.  We ate enough Iberico ham to feed a small country when we were in Spain.  

Did you know that sherry wineries are called bodegas?  I didn't, and now I want to go and some to visit. I have heard the term but I didn't know what it meant!  

Quince paste (membrillo) is made from the quince fruit. It is a jelly-like substance that can be spread on bread or crackers.  We love it on our tapas trays as it also adds a texture unlike the rest of the food and its sweet taste. I love it with a bit of Manchego cheese and Iberico ham on a cracker.  Delicioso!

Check out the year's worth of articles from Our Good Life.  It has been great fun to share our adventures in Spain with you this whole year!

January: Our First Rioja
February: Chicken Empanadas and Azimut Cava
March: Exploring Castilla y Leon through Wine and Food
April: One Grape: Three Unique Experiences with Albarino

May: Calatayud, Aragon Wines: Evodia + Fully Loaded Pork Taquitos

June: Basque Country Wines for Beginners and Great Food Pairings

July: Pollo con Ajoy y Limon and Spanish Hard Ciders

August: Coco am Recapte

September: The Kalimotxo

Check out these posts from our friends at #WorldWineTravel!

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla offers Tapas on Toast: Spanish Montaditos + 2017 Sierras de Málaga Laderas de Sedella Anfora.
• Lynn of Savor the Harvest reveals Three Facts About Sherry and Why You Need to Try a Bottle.
• Terri of Our Good Life gives us A Beginner’s Guide to Amontillado and Spanish Tapas.
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm brings us A Friday Night Cocktail that starts with Alvear Tres Miradas Vino de Pueblo 2018.
• Susannah of Avvinare is Learning to Love Sherry One Style at a Time.
• Reggie at Wine Casual offers Tips for Sherry Lovers Visiting Sevilla and Jerez de la Frontera.
• Jeff Burrows of Food Wine Click! asks Sherry is a Fortified Wine, or is It?
• Nicole of Somm’s Table dishes Bodegas Dios Baco PX and a Banana Cake.
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley declares Oh My Corazón: Spanish Songs, Soup, Stew, and Sherry in Andalucía.
• Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog serves up 2018 Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Moscatel Old Vines Botani + Trout Tartine with Stone Fruit.