Shortly after leaving college a new night spot opened up on Calhoun Street. It was a subdued little place that was opened by a couple of doctoral candidates. The wine bar was their thesis..It didn’t last long, but while it was there, it was wonderful.
It served expresso and coffees and wines with desserts, cheeses and nuts. It was a place for conversation and just lingering over a snack, after dinner and theater.
My favorite was Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry, walnuts, raisins and french brie, served at room temperature, of course.
Thinking about this place reminded me of how much I like sherry, but have somehow in the passing years, allowed to slip away from me, during my adventures in discovering the other wines of the world.
Sherry is very food friendly. In my humble opinion, the Spanish make the best sherries. They range from the sweet to the very dry. If sweet is your bag...then try Pedro Ximenez. If you want it a little less sweet then try an amontillado...I like Sandman amontillado. A good dry sherry would be a montilla.
All of these wines work well with food....ham, cheeses, salted nuts, and olives, bread...think tapas.
For those of you who don’t know, tapas are small plates of food...meats, fish, cheeses, nuts, olives..appetizers...several of them served for grazing while talking...
The word tapas refers to the bread which was actually used in olden times to keep the insects off the glasses of sherry between sips. The natives rested the bread on the rim of the glass like a cover...
Mangia!
Salud!
