What does it Take to Become an Expat Winemaker in Iberia?
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What does it Take to Become an Expat Winemaker in Iberia?
Tue, 27/07/10 – 20:23 | 5 Comments

Over the years, Ryan and I have shared several stories with you regarding our lives as expats in Spain. We’ve lamented days when our heat, gas or electricity have been shut off with no previous …

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Home » Blog

They Say It’s My Birthday!

Submitted by Ryan on Saturday, 24 March 200718 Comments |
New Grill

I’m 32 today and not afraid to say it! We’re 2 years y pico, or pinch over two years, into our Spanish experience and things are inching their way to perfection. The job is starting to become a bit more secure, our lives are becoming more stable and the most important sign that we are making it, we now own a GRILL! Yes, today for my birthday, the parents and the kind wife conspired to get me a grill. Granted, I had to not only go pick it up, but also take it apart so that it would fit back in its original box and reassemble it once again on our roof. Now, we have a mid-sized Webber grill for which our friends are drooling over. Most homes have a tiny little terrace that would promptly blow smoke directly into the adjacent building. We, however, have a monstrous terrace that is perfectly designed to send the beautiful aromas of steak, sausage, chicken and fish well up into the mountains! My birthday dinner will now be comprised of steak, a full glass of Tempranillo, and some scotch to top it all off (another sweet little gift from the wife). Sounds like a perfect night. In addition to my birthday heaven of scotch and grilling, we are also having some 240L of soil delivered today to fill in our roof-top garden so that we can start growing vegetables. I believe we have perfected the art of nesting?

I digress back to grilling. We’ve obviously been living in Spain without a grill for years, leaving me with only a handful of opportunities to grill – which is a incredibly sad statement to admit. But life isn’t so rough considering that I will have the “ever so difficult experience” of teaching myself the old techniques of grilling again, in addition to the new Spanish techniques of grilling green onions – a Catalan tradition, baby lamb chops, squid and so much more. Work, work, work! It’s a bitch but someone has to do it!

We’re having a quiet and relaxing weekend, filled with celebrating birthdays, a gathering at our house tomorrow while listening to the outdoor Jazz festival here in Terrassa, and then I head down to Alicante to meet with some wine makers. I do plan on having a new Podcast out, and I also want to encourage everyone to check out the Wine Blog Atlas’ Forums. Next week, we have a new feature that Gabriella is spearheading, a Virtual Tasting! I’ll let her tell you about it, but basically we hope to engage you in an online tasting of a varietal, style, or maybe even a bodega’s wine.

Off to set up a grill and plant a garden. Cheers to all and have an extra glass of wine for me tonight!

Ryan Opaz


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