As I mentioned in a previous post, our friends Erik and Roma at Balt-Scandic Bodega in Algorfa host a wine tasting every Saturday afternoon. As is the way of the world, ever since we found out about this, we've had other things happening on Saturdays, so yesterday was our first chance to go to the wine tasting. Okay, as Erik says, every day is wine tasting day at the bodega, but we wanted to see what was happening, and if there were any new wines in.
As it was Easter Saturday, it was much quieter than usual, because there were lots of other things going on. However, a few people showed up, and we tried a very nice Francisco Gomez white, and also a rose. Then Erik regaled our taste buds with a sweet red dessert wine that tasted more like port than anything, followed by a really nice Moscatel. At just 9 Euro for half a litre, these are wines to be savoured rather than slugged.
It was quite a convivial afternoon, with a few people coming in 'just to look and taste' and going away laden with wines and seafood. Obviously the winte tasting afternoon is a great sales technique - nobody went home empty handed. We bought the Francisco Gomez white for Tony and I to share, and the rose, which is mine, all mine!
We're heading back to the UK at the end of April, so I also bought a 5 litre wine box of rose to try. I needed to make sure the wine was good enough to share with our friends and family back in the UK, so by the time I've worked my way through the box, I should have a good idea. At least, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!
Actually, if you're driving back to the UK, wine boxes are a good idea. They don't take up so much space, they're lighter than bottles, and you won't get that annoying rattling as you drive along. Another bonus is that you can carry a lot more. With decent wine coming out at at least £5 a bottle in the UK, and Eriks' 5 litre boxes at 8 Euro, there's no contest.
The wine boxes are also produced by small independent growers, and although they're classified as table wines, they're much better quality than you'll get in the supermarkets. We bought a red wine box from Consum a while back, and it was so bad, it went down the sink. That will not happen with Erik's wine box - the wine is great. Don't take my word for it, though - if you're around La Finca, call in and try it.
As ususal when we head for the bodega, we spent more than we intended, so I paid with the plastic. I left the wine on the counter while I put in the PIN number, and there was a resounding crash - the bottles had slipped onto the stylish but unforgiving grey tiles, and rose and white was pooling in a pretty swirl of colours. Tony, being practical, asked if Erik had a couple of straws so we could limit the wastage. I reminded him that even if he did - and he didn't - when we got down there we'd never get back up without assistance, and there was only Erik and Roma there to assist.
Erik was even more practical - he poured us another glass of wine and sat us down out of the battle zone while Roma cleared the mess. Of course, I blamed myself. I've always been clumsy - my mother, bless her, used to say I was the only person she knew who could fall over fresh air. However, Erik said it was nobody's fault, and nobody got hurt, so let's have another glass of wine and relax.
Over the second glass of wine - which of course followed a number of tastings - we got a bit silly and said perhaps it was a poltergeist, and maybe we should market the place as 'The haunted bodega of La Finca.' Erik was the most sensible one, as he hadn't had any wine, and he thought maybe it would put people off, so we dropped that idea.
I do have one dubious distinction as a result of the visit, though. In the two months since the bodega's been open, not one single bottle has hit the tiles. Of course, I had to go for overkill and demolish two, but a great afternoon was had by all.
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