Spain, Wine and more Wine

22 days to go!

I love wine.  Many years ago, the drink never passed my lips, but when I was about twenty four years old, I had a health issue that required building up my blood.  My doctor suggested that I drink one glass of red wine every day to alleviate the problem.  Oh?  Okay...  Red wine has always been my favorite -- especially Tempranillo, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.  When I started hot flashes in my forties, I was told it must be the red wine.  ("Really?" I cried).  In 1995, I began drinking Chardonnay and it helped a lot --- However, red is still my fave, so I switch back and forth with my mood.   I follow a FB site called Your Spanish Recipes (photo below).

My friend, Rina, told me the wine in the Ribera del Duero in Northern Spain was the best she'd ever tasted.  When my brother, Steven, and I were in Toro, Spain we tasted the wine from that region also.  And I heartily agreed with Rina.  I sipped my way through several types and did not find one I did not like.  I learned that Toro wine has been around a very long time:  Christopher Columbus carried Toro wine in the hold of his ships in 1492.  Again, "really?"
http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-ribera+del+duero

Now, that I am preparing for my second trip to Spain, I have contemplated how much I will enjoy the wine, tapas, Tortilla Española, and of course, more wine.  When a WLM friend posted this wine purse advertisement, I added visualization to my contemplation.  Fill a wine bag and access it through a tiny door in one's purse? To buy or not to buy?  I think I'll just wait for the bottle but this was so ingenious.

http://www.delish.com/food-news/videos/a51513/wine-purse-video/