Wine Shop Talk (XI): Manolo García

Manolo García is an inquisitive artist whose sensitivity colors everything he does, from composing to singing and painting. The same goes for enjoying great pleasures like wine, and opening the mind and palate to new sensations. Whenever he travels, he seeks out locally produced wines. It's about respect and the desire to learn more about a world he is passionate about. He is not, however, an expert, he insists.

“I want to make something clear: I'm not a wine connoisseur. I'm selective, because there are wretched wines as well as true gems, like the one I was drinking a few days ago. The wine was 200 years old and aged in an oak barrel. A shepherd's wine. I was out walking one day, about three or four years ago, in some remote spot near Albacete when I saw a shepherd. I went over to say hello. He recognized me, which I found really surprising. ‘I admire you,’ he said, ‘I have all of your records. I listen to your music while I work.’ Then he asked me to come with him, because he wanted to give me a present. He took me to his wine cellar where he filled a bottle with wine he kept in an oak barrel. A wine from the early 19th century...

A few days ago, I was looking for a different bottle when, as luck would have it, I came across this one at the very back of a closet. I opened the wine and...it's really good! It's a clarete or if it was a red, it has turned into a clarete (he laughs). It's very smooth... The aroma is very soft, and it tastes like... How should I describe it? It's like drinking cognac, the taste has an aged quality. It's awesome. The nice shepherd had already warned me: ‘It might be good or it might have gone off, because it's really old.’ I remember that as he was telling me this, he was writing the vintage on the bottle in ballpoint pen: 1816.

I'm not an expert in enology, but I do know that the regional variety and uniqueness of the wines are what make Spain great. And they’re all good! When you go to Ribera del Duero, you want to live there forever. And what about Galician whites? How can you not love them? And Catalan wines: from Tarragona and the Empordà—especially the wines of the Empordà! They're amazing! Like I said: I'm not an expert, but I know how to appreciate wine. I had two memorable experiences outside of Spain: I drank a great wine in California and then there was a Chilean one, which was out of this world (he laughs).

I don't have a cellar at home, but I have something better: lucky for me, certain people with wine world connections will occasionally give me bottles, at Christmas, even at concerts sometimes. I think it's a beautiful gift. It's interesting: people give me wine and books, no scarves or underpants. I save some of the bottles, and they tend to stay there, because I have plenty of space.

I like reds, potent wines. Sometimes I'll drink a white on a special occasion, and rosés with certain types of meat, but I'm not much of sparkling wine guy. And when I drink, it's always with food, not between meals. Oh, and with someone, because drinking alone is a waste. Wine provides the best opportunity for a long conversation, to share thoughts, ideas and stories...”

Gastronomistas