WTN: Germany v. Spain, preliminary match

So I had told some people last week they could call for help on Monday, once I was at office I realized how few things were open (Independence Day observed). It was slow, so I closed a bit early, and fished around for dinner companions. Only Roger bit, but we had a nice seafood spread- squid, sardines with an herb sauce, and halibut; plus a bean/corn salad and grilled baby zucchini. Roger is both a total soccer fanatic and German, so knowing where conversation would center I decided to do Germany vs Spain as a wine theme (much better than Holland/Uruguay from a wine standpoint!):

2004 Selbach Oster "Zeltinger Schlossberg" Riesling Spatlese
This is actually showing quite well, lush almost creamy texture balanced by vigorous acidity. Lively and long, green apples accented with citrus and river stones. Very solid wine, drinking well but with a future. A-

2000 Lopez de Heredia "Tondonia" Rioja Gran Reserva Rosado
Like most people meeting the LdH rose for the first time, Roger is startled, then confused, and then happy (well, sometimes people don't make it to happy). Intensely dry, strawberry and blood orange fruit, accented with citrus zest and onionskin. I quite enjoy, but it's a tad soft and doesn't seem to have quite the zip/verve of the '93 or '97, my benchmarks for this wine, this reminds me of the 95 and 98. Still, that's no complaint! B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.  

Like that prognosticating octopus, does your grading predict a German triumph??

I think Octopus Paul voted Spain!
No, my notes have no bearing, too easy to throw (could have been the 97 LdH Rosado v a Zeller Schwarze Katz)

Like that prognosticating octopus, does your grading predict a German triumph??

Or to put it anotther way, had Dale opted for an aged Ldh Tondonia Gran Reserva tinto against a relatively new Spatbugunder, would a Spanish victory be close to imminent?

Hmm. We're going to have to make that a Spain vs. Netherlands match. Does the Netherlands produce any wine? Or, perhaps to turn the tables around, does Spain produce any beer?

-Paul W.

Hmm. We're going to have to make that a Spain vs. Netherlands match. Does the Netherlands produce any wine? Or, perhaps to turn the tables around, does Spain produce any beer?

-Paul W.

I think you'll have better luck with the latter of those propositions.

[David M. Bueker]

A local restaurant sells an adult beverage that is a pre-made blend of Dutch chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon. It sounds so horrid that I may have to try it. It might be the only thing worse than the officiating during the Cup tournament.

Hmm. We're going to have to make that a Spain vs. Netherlands match. Does the Netherlands produce any wine? Or, perhaps to turn the tables around, does Spain produce any beer?.

I think there's a CA winery called Dutch Henry, that's about as close as I can think of.

Hmm. We're going to have to make that a Spain vs. Netherlands match. Does the Netherlands produce any wine? Or, perhaps to turn the tables around, does Spain produce any beer?

-Paul W.

While beers from Holland are more widely known, beers from Spain are pretty decent, too, and can be competitive if only they can be made readily available outside of the country. While Dutch beers are still probably better, I believe that Spanish beers have an outside chance of going toe-to-toe with them.

3 good Spanish beers that come to mind are Mahou, Alhambra and Estrella. Mahou is produced by San Miguel and should not be confused with the other San Miguel crap that’s served from the tap in almost all tapas bars all over Spain. Estrella is a regional beer produced in Galicia … but it’s a pretty good brew.