By Hartin Ballabani, General Manager of Barcelona New Haven
Brian and Hartin taking in Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain (and shaking off jet lag).
On our second day in Spain we stared out the day by tasting some “ funny wine.” Yes, “funny wine” because that is how the winemaker at the Ameztoi winery referred to their wines. The reason being is because after a few sips, he noticed that the visitors tend to become a bit “ funny.” And so it was true, after a few sips the inappropriate jokes and awkward laughs started to happen.
"Txakoli is funny wine. When you drink enough, everyone starts to laugh," says the winemaker at Bodegas Ameztoi, producer of Getariako Txakolina wines in Pais Vasco, Spain.
That all came to an end once we were presented with the wine we were all so anxious to try, Rubentis. Rubentis is a sparkling rose that came into our Barcelona world a few years ago and we all fell in love with it. For the time being, we don’t carry it so I was super excited to try some, even though it was 10:00am. The winery is small but has a lot of history. Being five generations deep and located at the top of a mountain overlooking the town of Getaria, Xakolina is the wine to drink around here.
Pergola trained vines on steep rolling hills is the trend in Getariako Txakolina.
Traveling on the coast, the seafood is amazing. Whole fish such as hake and turbot are grilled on the parrillas and served simply with olive oil and sea salt. The fish was definetly one of the most amazing things I had to eat here, and it was the simplest thing. No need for fancy ingredients when the fish is so fresh, accompanied by cold Xakolina wine and the oceanfront at your view.
Grilled turbot with lemon, oil and garlic at the Mayflower, Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain.
The day was just beginning. After the winery, we jumped into our cars and headed for a small town called Ondarroa. One of our party members, Laurence, who later received the nicknamed “Lead Foot Larry” for his love for speed on the windy roads was doing the driving. I don’t know if it was the funny wine or the fact that we had a delicious lunch waiting for us, but he was determined to get us there.
The parilla at the Mayflower, Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain.
We finally arrived to the small fishing town where the anchovy and tuna factory, Conservas Ortiz, is located. But first we had to have lunch. We started out with salted anchovies and boquerones and then grilled flounder and monk fish with potatoes.
Monkfish and potatoes, a traditional lunch with Conservas Ortiz.
After lunch, we headed to the factory right up the road. Tradition is the word here. The factory workers have all been there for over 20 years and almost all of them were women. The reason being is because that is how it was back in the day.
All the products made at Conservas Ortiz.
The men went to fish and the women stayed back to clean and prepare the fish. Even the techniques they used to cut and clean the tuna were simple and mostly done by hand. Another reason why the women did the cleaning of the anchovies was because they found that men were too rough and often would ruin the anchovies.
Cleaning the tuna after cooking at Conservas Ortiz.
We had a chance to clean some anchovies ourselves, but we were no match to the women that were doing them also. We were unable to see the fresh anchovies that day because they hadn’t caught any but we did see them in the fermentation process.
Laurence taking a stab at cleaning anchovies for packing at Conservas Ortiz.
The night came to an end with hopping around some tapas bars in St.Sebastian and having some more of that “ funny wine.” Gin & tonics were the drink of choice and small canas of beer did the trick when bouncing from place to place. There were so many more memorable days ahead of us with so much great food. One of the things I definetly brought back with me was the raw hospitality we received on our visits. NO was never the answer. Our hosts catered to our every need and even did little extra things like showing us their kitchens or parrillas or even their incredible wine cellars. My standard on hospitality has diffidently moved up a few notches.
Gintonics at A Fuego Negro in San Sebastian.