The winemaker and writer Joan C gives us an interview. Martín (Valencia, 1953). Awarded the Order of Agricultural Merit from the French Ministry of Agriculture, and Juan Mari Arzak National Prize for gastronomic literature in 2005 for the best journalistic article. He has been director of multinational wineries, large and farm, for many years, being director of the oenology courses of the Aula Vinícola that he teaches in Valencia and Alicante. He has written nearly three thousand articles and books such as The wines of the Mediterranean arc, from Alicante to Montpellier (2009), Gourmand Award 2009 in the category of best book in the Catalan language; Valencians against phylloxera (2012); Passion for wine (2017), Gourmand Award 2018; o He digs, a happy and Mediterranean wine (2018). with your book The Superwines won the Gourmand Award for Best Wine Guide in Spain (Paris, 2010). GINÉS J. VERA
In The best supermarket wines are collected 120 wines with the best quality-price. They range from almost 3 at almost €15. I imagine that tasting and evaluating not only these 120 but some more - taking into account that they have been acquired in eight autonomous communities- It must not have been easy. How is this work managed and what has been the most complicated when it comes to putting that knowledge on paper??
In this type of guides where several hundred wines are tasted, Logistics is always the most difficult and time-consuming. It's what takes the most time. Fortunately, the supermarket shelves bring more references and diversity in type and origin every day., in those tasted and in those selected, there is an almost logical representation of Spanish wines, in origin and type.
Very interesting information accompanies each wine evaluation., in my opinion. I am referring to the one that affects the type of closure, the one on the label or that section on the possible pairing, now in a restaurant now at our house. Do you tell us?
Closing is the most important thing, corresponds to the quality and type of the cap, and from the capsule. It is the guarantee of your food safety, but also qualitative and organoleptic, No one is aware that the cork of an aged wine must be different and more complete than that of a young wine.. Regarding the gastronomic and culinary recommendation, It is an expression of my experiences in restaurants and domestic cooking., no I'm not a restaurant writer, It is already said in the guide that they are experiences of what I have eaten and drunk.
A bit in line with the above, I would like to ask you about the star rating criteria. We find a target here, a rosé, three cavas and twelve red wines with five stars. The maximum score. What have you taken into account to assign this score to these and a little less to the rest??
Five stars is equivalent in my rating to a 10. All information must be complete., absolutely everything, until date of packaging in the servants and date of disgorge in the cellar. Naturally the quality and organoleptic quality, that is capital, and also its quality-price ratio, to have a 10 you have to have all that.
In Spain, according to statistics, more beer is consumed than wine. Everything and that beers also have their universe in terms of varieties, types and organoleptic qualities, it is surprising that in a country with so much oenological and gastronomic tradition and culture, consumers opt less for wine. Is there ignorance, certain elitism, bad press, the price or is it due to other factors? Let us know.
I don't think so, During the Franco regime, wine was fossilized and administratively mistreated, but now it has changed. Beer is popular in warm Spain, because of the weather. I don't like to present a dialectic between these two drinks. Everyone drinks what they want. Wine is my favorite drink, I am a man of the vineyard and wine.. Furthermore, the statistics in Spain are confusing., false we could say. They are used a lot by certain wine operators who are looking for a poster for their type of wine industry.. In Spain last year they consumed 1.300 million bottles of 3/4 I think it's a good number. Furthermore, the current statistics are the result of dividing the total wine consumed by the Spanish population and that cannot be done., should be done between legal population, as it is done in the Anglo-Saxon world, that is, divide between the population that can legally drink, in Spain from the 18 years. That figure of 14 liters per capita is not real.
In this guide, whose clear objective is to help the consumer decide between the multiple references on supermarket shelves and points of sale, there is also a place for wine tourism.. We read, if applicable, whether the winery of the analyzed wine has a contact to be able to visit it and offer visitors tasting experiences.. Tell us about the decision to include this section and what opinion do you have of this effort by some wineries to bring wine culture closer to consumers?.
It was more a decision of the editor Enrique Murillo, he is a great editor who always thinks about the reader., tries to help you make the guide as useful and practical as possible. Wine tourism is a very positive experience for those who do it and beneficial for the wineries..
