Wine & Words

We continue our tour of Spanish wine regions in the autonomous community of Catalunya. That’s the way the Catalans name what they think of as their native country, though you might be more familiar with the English designation “Catalonia.” The Catalan capital is the city of Barcelona, where all the street and other official signs are in both Castellano (“Spanish") and Catalan.
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One of our favorite foods from Spain is cheese, or as we say when we order there..."queso" (KAY-so). Since most of Spain is dry and mountainous, most Spanish cheeses are made from the milk of the sheep and goats that can handle the scrubby provender and rugged terrain. The exceptions are in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coast ("green Spain") and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. This month, to go with our featured Spanish wines, we have chosen to highlight some of the various styles of cheese to be found in this cheese-loving nation.
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From the mountainous Pyrenees border with France to the Straits of Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean, Spain is a country, literally, of ups and downs. It is the second most mountainous country in Europe, after Switzerland. From a grape growing and winemaking point of view, this up and down nature means there are lots of microclimates. The weather varies depending on altitude and proximity to the ocean, and the soil varies depending on which particular geological wrinkle a specific plot occupies.
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America is a country of immigrants. Our forefathers and mothers brought their food traditions with them. This month we celebrate American cheesmaking with American versions of cheeses from England, France and Italy.