After traveling for over 17 hours I found myself in a taxi rocketing into downtown Bilbao, Spain at about 8:30 pm local time on Monday, June 25th. This was our scheduled time for dinner to begin, very early for Spain as I would find out, but most likely due to our travel schedules. After dropping my bags in my room at the Silken Gran Hotel Domine, I took a taxi for a short ride to Restaurante Etxanobe. There I met my hosts, Alberto de la Iglesia and Africa Romero from Osborne International and Jenn Turner from their U.S. PR firm, along with the other journalists on the trip, Wini Moranville, Charyn Pfeuffer, Glen Putman and Scott Clemens.

Since it was a early for dinner when I arrived a few minutes before 9:00 pm, the restaurant was empty except for a large round table in the center where I met my traveling companions and hosts. After quick introductions, the dinner immediately began with a trio of appetizers matched with Bodegas Montecillo Blanco 2006. The wine, made from the native Viura grape grown in Rioja, matched well with each starter. But to me, the final appetizer of scallop and leek was best with the crisp citrus flavors of the Viura nicely complementing the sweetness of the fresh scallop.

The other highlight of the dinner was chef Fernando Canales’ signature, Solomillo a distancia – Sirloin grilled “at a distanceâ€? paired with Montecillo Reserva 2001. This would be the first of three times we would taste this wine made from 100% Tempranillo and it’s power and grace is impressive holding up with the perfectly prepared rare tenderloin. Chef Canales came to our table in the now filled restaurant to explain that the beef is grilled slowly on a custom built chrome grill of his invention where the meat is at more of a distance than normal. Whatever the trick, this was one of the finest pieces of beef I have ever had and the wine harmonized well with the flavors of the meat.

The final highlight was the dessert sampler; several bites of different sweets paired with Osborne Pedro Ximenez 1827 Sherry. A very nice way to end a most memorable meal and a great way to start my conversion to the wonders of Sherry. Chef Canales then autographed his cookbook for everyone before treating a few of us to an impromptu chocolate tutorial and tasting.

The next time I’m in Bilbao I will definitely stop by for another meal at Restaurante Etxanobe. The food and service are world-class. I can see why the folks at Obsorne picked this as our opening dinner venue but there would be two other very memorable dinners ahead in Madrid and Jerez which I will cover a bit later in the week.

Next, I will write and podcast about my visit to Rioja and Bodegas Montecillo; stay tuned…

In just over a week I toured five D.O.’s in Spain and tasted wines from ten D.O.’s. My overall impression is that some of the world’s finest wines are made within one of the most diverse terroir for wine grapes. Starting with the cool climate of Rioja Alta where Tempranillo struggles to ripen to the scorching hillsides of Priorat where winemakers are challenged to maintain reasonable levels of alcohol, Spain provides the wine lover with nearly every style of wine. That’s probably why most wine stores there only stock Spanish wines with the occasional French or even California bottle a rarity.

But most American consumers don’t know about this diversity in wines from Spain which has created the false impression that the finest wines come from Rioja, only reds are worth seeking out and most everything else falls into the value tier from $20 and under. In the next week or so, I hope to dispel some of these myths as I return to my notes to post about each day and record four podcasts based upon my visit.

Photo by Ryan Opaz / Catavino

My apologies for the blogging silence these past several days but I have been traveling and had problems with my global wifi service. All that has been worked out now, so I will play catch up for a couple days.

As readers of my Twitter feed already know, I am in Spain on a press tour organized and sponsored by Grupo Osborne, one of the larger wine and spirits firms here. My intention is to bring you a sense of the food and wine through blog posts, podcasts and photographs.

I accepted this trip after consulting with a few bloggers and podcasters who assured me that if fully disclosed, there would be not conflict of interest. My hosts at Osborne have not asked for any specific coverage and all my posts and reviews are completely my opinion.

Although the first few days will exclusively feature Osborne wines, I will be touring independently this weekend with Gabriella and Ryan from Catavino where other producers will be written — and I hope podcasted — about. If there are any specific Spanish wines or regions you would like see covered, post a comment here or send me an email.

So come to Spain with me this week…

Salud!