Maya Edition
Hola members! Welcome to the Maya edition of The Deli Society subscription.
As we leave summer behind (sad faces) and autumn rolls in, we’ve decided this month is the perfect opportunity to take our first visit to Spain.
We have an unusual but, of course, delicious white Rioja paired perfectly with three Spanish cheeses ranging from very well known to I’ve literally never heard of that before. All equally as moreish!
The makers this month, are a really interesting bunch with some fantastic stories, which are all featured below.
Location: Spain
The weather is getting darker, colder and wetter by the day here. Let’s be honest, it’s been that way all summer really. So to create some real wanderlust and hopefully some inspiration for next summers travels, we’ve put together our insiders track to the Costa Brava. We can’t recommend this place enough!
So, stick on our playlist, plate up, pour up and let’s get travelling!
Disfrutas,
Josh & Harry
#totasteistotravel
Wine
Akemi, Viura Blanco, Felix Jimenez, Rioja
Tasting notes of Grapefruit, Tropical Fruit and Vanilla
Made from 100% Viura grapes taken from 35-year-old vines in a single vineyard plot belonging to the winery. The wine is aged in mostly 2nd use American oak before bottling.
Round, creamy and fleshy but still with a lively acidity, this is no vanilla bomb. The tropical and stone fruit come first followed by the signature texture and feel.
Name: Akemi, Viura Blanco, Felix Jimenez, Rioja
ABV: 12.5%
Grape: Viura
Country and Region: Spain, Rioja
Winemaking: Organic
Sweetness (dry to sweet) 1-5: 2
Acidity (low to high) 1-5: 4
Tannin (low to high) 1-5: 1
Body (light to full) 1-5: 3
Producer
Felix Jimenez
A personal project of Felix Jimenez. The wine was made specifically to match with the Japanese fusion cuisine that has earned Felix a Michelin star at his restaurant Kiro in the capital of Rioja, Logroño. The name Akemi means “Beautiful Dawn”.
Cheese 1
Villarejo Manchego dop cured
Cured Manchego cheese made with raw milk from Manchega sheep, obtaining the qualification of cheese with Denomination of Origin.
High expression cheese, with an excellent aroma, powerful and balanced. It maintains, despite its long maturation, a pleasant sensation of butter and a floury granularity. With a very intense flavor, high persistence in mouth and very nice spicy aftertaste that appears in the end accompanied by notes of nuts (toasted almonds) and cereals.
The hard texture and punchy flavour of our cured manchego pairs well with our wine’s body, and the subtle oaky, dryness. One makes the other sing and vice versa.
Age: 180 days minimum cured
Country + Region: Spain, La Mancha
Milk Type: Sheeps
Pasteurised: No
Strength Of Cheese (1-5): 3
Style Of Cheese: Hard
Texture (1-5): 5
The doors opened to the public a company dedicated to making authentic artisanal Manchego cheese, in the municipality in Villarejo de Fuentes. The village, located in the heart of La Mancha Alta Conquense has always enjoyed clean air and temperatures suitable for the practice of this profession.
Added to some shepherds of excellent qualities, his cattle get the raw material needed for such development. In fact, one of the economies that proliferated in the municipality, and from the Bronze Age, around 1800 BC C., was grazing, because in a hill near the town were located and useful cheese related to cheese production was closely linked to that tradition. Patron of the town itself retains name attesting that: “The Holy Christ of the Shepherds”
Cheese 2
la retorta
Melt in the mouth Retorta, perfect for dipping.
SOFT PASTE CHEESE WITH ROUND SHAPE, MADE WITH MADE FROM UN-PASTEURIZED SHEEP’S MILK, THISTLE AND SALT. FINE BARK BUT CONSISTENT AND FLEXIBLE, CREAMY SOFT PASTE. IT HAS AN IVORY COLOR AND INTENSIVE, SOFT AND PENETRATING TASTE BUT WITHOUT TOO MUCH BITTERNESS. THE FLAVOR OF THIS CHEESE IS CHARACTERIZED FOR BEING NOT SALTED, WITHOUT ACID MATICS, WITH CERTAIN TOUCHES OF PARTIALLY FERMENTED MILK. ITS AROMA IS STRONG BUT NICE WITH VEGETABLE AND FLORAL MATICES ACCORDING TO THE TIME OF THE YEAR OR SHEEP
This cheese pairs well with our wine because:
The creamy ooziness (is that even a word?) pairs well alongside the wine’s tropical notes. As the tang of the cheese comes through, the wine’s oakiness brings a certain depth to the whole thing that we love. It’s gooey cheese and wine. It’s great.
Name: La Retorta
Age: 60 days minimum
Country + Region: Spain, Extramadura, Caceres
Milk Type: Sheeps
Pasteurised: No
Strength Of Cheese (1-5): 4
Style Of Cheese: Torta (Slice the top & dip!)
Texture (1-5): 1
Finca Pascualete is a family run business whose origins date back to the beginning of the XIII Century. In 1232 Don Fernán Ruiz Altamirano, after helping in the conquest of Trujillo, was given this land that is today Finca Pascualete, located in the heart of Extremadura’s pasture lands. It is here where, for centuries various generations of farmers have been supplementing their families’ diets by making cheeses from their sheep’s milk. Over time their recipes evolved, competing amongst each other to see who could achieve the most exquisite flavour, as well as creating varieties of cheeses that could be stored during months in their primitive stone huts.
Crowned by an old mansion from Romanic origin, the estate finds itself nestled in a unique environment, thanks to the Magasca and Tamuja Rivers which run through it. On the estate one finds forests filled with Holm Oaks, Cork Oaks and many herbs and spices, like rockrose, juniper, thyme, tender leaves of the blackberry bush, and rosemary, which provide their livestock with a natural diet.
Cheese 3
mahon dop menorcan semi cured
Completely handmade.
Semi-cured Torralba cheese has a ripening period comprised between 2 and 5 months. Its color is ivory-yellow inside and orangey or brown outside. The semi-cured cheese is greasy and has an elastic texture that makes it easy to cut. It usually has a variable number of small holes distributed irregularly inside. Its flavor and aroma remind us of butter.
This cheese pairs well with our wine because:
That oakiness again brings something out of the buttery tangy Mahon cheese. Both the wine and the cheese are a sort of medium to well, in terms of flavour profile. A little bit punchy but neither are too strong to overpower the other. The crisp dryness of the wine also gives a bit of a backbone to the elastic texture of the cheese.
Name: Mahon DOP Menorcan Semi Cured
Age: 2-6 Weeks
Country + Region: Spain, Balearic island, Menorca
Milk Type: Cows
Pasteurised: No
Strength Of Cheese (1-5): 3.5
Style Of Cheese:
Rind washed
Texture (1-5): 4
After the Civil War, in 1939, Josep Cardona, known as “Bep de Torralba,” and his family founded “Quesos Torralba”, a small family business in the heart of the town of Alaior, in Sa Bolla street. Next to the house where Bep and his family lived, they owned some premises where they stored the cheese that, once mature, they sold to “El Caserio”, a dairy company, and to different shops around Minorca and Majorca islands. The cheese was produced by the farmers of the area, with whom Bep exchanged food; he offered them oil, salt, sugar and fabrics and received turkeys, milk, cheese, potatoes, tomatoes and vegetables that those farmers had cultivated in their land.
Little by little, the business of ripening and sale of the “Quesos Torralba” grew and the amount of customers grew with it. Due to the need of more space for the ripening process of cheese, in 1964 “Bep de Torralba”‘s family moved her business to a larger warehouse, which had drier areas to ensure the preservation of the qualities of the cheese. This store was located in “Carretera nova” road, where we can still find it today. From its creation until nowadays the business has been managed by two more generations. First, by Bep’s son, called Jaume Cardona, and nowadays by his grandson, Nicolas Cardona.
Charcuterie
Sarta de chorizo iberico
Produced by a partner in Spain that has been producing Iberian Acorn Ham since 1965, exactly the way
it was made in the past. Following an old artisanal recipe handed down from one generation
to the next.
The result is a truly unique smoky, nutty flavour that can only be achieved with this Iberian breed.
This piece of charcuterie pairs well with our wine because:
The slight oakiness of the wine perfectly compliments the smokeyness of the chorizo. Also, may we just suggest you dip a slice of this into your retorta cheese. Thank us later.
Our partners in Spain are located in the Natural Park of Sierra de Francia, Salamanca.
Its ecosystem was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and it’s hard to imagine a better place to produce the most iconic charcuterie in the world.
Together we place a special focus on environmental friendliness, ensuring that nothing we do damages the land around us, which in turn promotes animal welfare.
Our pigs are raised on a truly free-range system, free to graze the pastures (dehesas) where the oak trees create the perfect ecosystem by producing the acorns that the herd feed on.
Chocolate
cold brew dark with coffee
The oak is subtle in this wine, so we don’t think it’s a problem with chocolate and coffee. And the smooth vanilla tones pair brilliantly with this dark bitter chocolate.
We have partnered with COCO Chocolatier to provide you with the very best artisan chocolate.
Challenging industry norms, COCO Chocolatier begin the making of the chocolate at origin before passionately transforming it in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a result, more wealth remains within developing economies.
Travel Guide
Located in the coastal region of Catalonia, Costa Brava, or ‘rugged coast’, stretches 75 miles from the northeast of Barcelona to the French border. It’s the perfect location for sun, sea, beaches and amazing seafood, beer and wine.
Before officially being recognised as Costa Brava in the 1960s, other suggestions were thrown in the mix! It was nearly called Costa del Corall, translating to ‘Coral Coast’, as well as Costes de Llevant, meaning, ‘Levant Coasts’.
La Malcontenta: This 19th century, country mansion has taken care of everything, so you don’t have to. It sits over the Torre Mirona landscape which hosts some of Costa Brava’s most beautiful and unspoilt beaches.
Café Orient: Located in Palafrugell, this cosy spot sits in the town square, perfect for a Pan Con Tomate, OJ, Espresso and watching the world go by. (They also do a great cheese board if you’re feeling adventurous at breakfast).
Countryside Handmade Pottery: Drive down to the town of La Bisbal d’Emporda to immerse yourself with the locals and take part in a handmade pottery workshop. It’s the perfect way to take a break from eating and drinking yourself to the brim while experiencing cultural heritage and current day tradition in Costa Brava.
La Fabrica: Gironas first boutique café, expect unrivalled views, old cobblestone alleyways and the smell of fresh coffee beans.
Tragamar: Arrive early and ask for a table outside. Located on the beachfront, settle in for an all-day seafood and wine session while listening to the waves smashing against the rocks. Try out the Grilled octopus with kimchi, parmentier and Iberian veil.
Catch sunrise on the coastal path. Bring your walking shoes and a bottle of agua. Earn that cold beer.
Villa Mas: Located by the beachfront, this restaurant boasts a traditional villa-style setting (hence the name), with its terrace and sea views. The menu is created around seasonal, locally sourced products and hosts an extensive Catalonian and global wine list. We recommend the tuna tartare, followed by the Galician beef.
Alabriga Sea Club: Worth the drive to sip sangria overlooking the turquoise water and amazing views of S’Araro. Expect a tranquil playlist and a nice vibe.