m.i.a... drinking wine in Malaga, Spain

Sorry I was MIA for the last two weeks… but I was in Malaga, Spain on a work trip and drank too much wine most nights to blog when I got back to the hotel.

Speaking of wine… and Spain…

I am now a true lover of Spanish red wine, or “vino tinto” as I so frequently ordered it with my porr excuse of a Spanish accent. My co-workers and I made it our mission to try out as many as we could while in Malaga and we did a damn good job. Because bottles range from 11 to 25 Euros in restaurants ordering a minimum of two each meal was totally reasonable. (Right?)

Here were a few of my favorites:

• Protos – Ribera Duero Robles 2009 (average price $26)
• Azpilicueta – Rioja Crianza 2010 (average price $23)
• Venus La Universal – Montsant Dido 2011 (average price $24)

 First bottle of the trip to be scanned into my Vivino app.

Then there was also the traditional Spanish sangria and the “tinto de verana” (translation is red wine of summer) that was also consumed. The tinto is a bit too sweet for me (its table wine mixed with a sweet soda, usually Fanta) and it didn't feel quite right drinking sangria in January, so I only indulged in one glass of both on the sunny Sunday.

 My Sunday afternoon sangria with free tapas!

Before leaving, as a treat, I stopped by a little store by our hotel and bought a 2009 Reserve bottle of Tinto Pasquera, Ribera del Duero to take home. I managed to make it through a weekend without cracking it open… but we’ll see how much longer I last! I will report back once I do give it a taste.

My glass of "para llevar" wine and dinner the one night we stayed in. 

P.S. I now use the “Vivino” app on my phone to track all the wines I discover. It lets you scan a picture of the wine and then automatically stores it in your history along with the date, any notes you make, and average price/ratings. By the end of our trip I had everyone using it!