Thinking-Drinking
  • Blog
  • Erin
  • Index
  • Articles
  • News
  • Contact

Port Tongs and The Wine List at Rekondo (Spain)

5/15/2012

1 Comment

 
Rekondo Restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain, is well known for their amazing wine list.  See below for just a page from the heavy tome showing almost a century of Vega Sicilia.  When we mentioned that we were headed to San Sebastian a winemaker friend of ours insisted that we eat at Rekondo and check out their wine list, filled with old wines at reasonable prices. 
Picture
Picture
To keep the drinking semi-local, we ordered a 1970 Rioja (it went great with the local delicacy of rustic fish stew). Martin Flea (the sommelier in charge of the amazing collection- really amazing guy, super nice with a quiet, dedicated personality) recommended that we remove the top of the bottle instead of trying to remove the 40+ year old cork. He brought out port tongs (pictured left) to get the job done. First he lit a propane fire beneath a round iron disk affixed to tongs. Once the disc was glowing red, he placed it over the neck of the bottle and held it there for about 1 minute. This super-heated a ring of glass at the very base of the neck. Then he removed the tongs and brushed the area with cold water. The neck of the bottle snapped off due to the drastic change in temperature. 

After dinner, Martin was very kind and took us on a tour of the wine cellar. We entered a temperature-controlled room lined floor-to-ceiling with wine-packed shelves on each wall. A grand table sat in the center-- I assumed this was a VIP private dining area. I made my way around the perimeter, marveling at all the Sauternes. Then, he opened a door and led us into another room-- filled very much in the same way with wine, a long banquet table, and with several glass cabinets housing and showcasing particularly amazing bottles (including what appeared at first glance to be a complete vertical of the Mouton Rothschild artist series); ok I figured, this must be the VIP private dining room and the real cellar.  

He opened one more door and led us into the real real cellar. This was an extremely large underground room, very dark and cave-like with wrap-around perimeter shelving and library-style shelves spaced throughout the room in rows about 3 feet apart. Here all the bottles were sleeping. It was pretty overwhelming being there-- each bin filled with incredibly amazing wines. We left in a dreamy daze.

Picture



As a side note, we had this incredible dessert: simple, sweet milk-soaked bread with vanilla ice cream. It doesn't look that impressive from the photo, but it was so delicious, I'm still dreaming about it. 

1 Comment
green card link
9/16/2012 10:47:19 pm

After reading your blog post I am inspired with the writing and looking forward to write a blog on the same including my view points. I will share my writing content soon!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    _

    Erin

    I’m Erin, and this is my wine blog. Here, you'll find information about wines from around the world, and Virginia.  



    Top Posts

    Elizabeth Bird
    Sommelier History
    Stars & Terroir
    Dry German Wine
    1962 NYC Wine List

      Want to subscribe?

    Submit

    Archives

    March 2024
    February 2023
    December 2021
    May 2021
    June 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.