25/04/2014
Wandering around Almendralejo in the afternoon, I stumbled on Pámpano Vinatería, a modern cafe/wine bar. Over coffee and a fantastic risotto I got chatting to the owner, Piedad. She told me about the cheese and wine tasting they were having that night, and that there would be a few English speakers attending, would I like to join them? At first I said no, as it was only starting at 9pm and I knew it would continue until about midnight, but then I thought 'What the hell, why not!'. What a delightful evening - thanks to Jésus (front left) and Douglas (second from front right) for doing a lot of translating and for sharing their knowledge and experiences of the area with me - Jésus as a local and Douglas as his USA born, much travelled partner. The ladies sitting each side of Douglas are their mothers. The two gentlemen at the rear are retired Brits living in Portugal, involved in the wine industry, along with their local Spanish host (behind me). The woman between myself and Jésus is from the tourist office. So it was a fantastic mix of cultures, experiences, personalities and backgrounds. I am very pleased I decided to go.
Piedad even made the effort of sourcing some gluten free bread for me and made me up a special plate that didn't concentrate so heavily on cheese (although I did try a little of each). All the wines and cheeses were Spanish.
