Online Tasting: Exploring Galicia with Diego Munoz and Jimmy Smith

The team at West London Wine School are excited to be joined by native Galician and wine aficienado Diego Muñoz for this fantastic three-part tasting series. Diego was born and raised in Vigo, Galicia. His first experience with hospitality was at the age of 21 and worked at restaurants in both Galicia and London. He discovered a love of organic food after his youngest sister founded a small company, growing organic vegetables in 2008. He set up Iberiandrinks in 2010, importing and wholesale of wines, food and spirits and specialising in artisan wines from the producers, especially from Iberian Peninsula, with the core of the wine list around his native Galicia. Diego will take us through three fantastic evenings where he will lead us through two wines each night, talking through Galicia in terms of history, geography, topography, geology, viticulture, vinification, gastronomy, culture and of course through each wine estate he is presenting including L'Ombre from Ribeiro (tasting two whites), Carballal from Rías Baixas (tasting two whites) and Cume do Avia from Ribeiro which is a biodynamic and red-focused estate (tasting two reds). Details on the optional, supplementary wine case are below. Galicia In the north-west of Spain lies the green, lush and ragged landscape of Galicia at the end of the pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, where pilgrims have flocked to for centuries. Rain-bearing clouds speed in off the Atlantic, which forces its way into the mainland along many-fingered estuaries called rías, bringing an enviably rich variety of fish to an originally Celtic population. For years Galicia made slightly fizzy, bone dry, light-bodied whites quite similar to the Vinho Verde made in Portugal just across the border. Such wines rarely escaped the fish restaurants of the region itself. But since the early 1980s Galicia has been increasingly valued by Spaniards as their one source of fine, often exotically scented, crisp white wines. The top white Galician wines, usually made from the Albariño grape, are some of the most sought after in Spain and have a growing following around the world. COURSE DATES (Each of the 3 sessions begins at 6:00pm and will last approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour): - Thursday 18th June 2020 - Thursday 25th June 2020 - Thursday 2nd July 2020 COURSE STRUCTURE AND FORMAT: Each week Diego and Jimmy will review everything and anything about Galicia in Spain. He will host each tasting session live at 6:00pm over 3 consecutive Thursdays. Each tasting session will be approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. Unable to commit to each evening? No problem! Anyone registered for this course will gain access to the video recordings of each tasting session, so you can always revisit any of these at anytime in the future - whether its because you missed participating in the live evening or if you want to revisit the presentation at a later date. Each evening, Diego and Jimmy will also be tasting two wines that are representative of the styles discussed during that evening's session. A case of each wine covered throughout the course (6 bottles) will be available to order for anyone registered to attend the course, so if you'd like, you can also purchase and enjoy the wines with Diego and Jimmy (or at a later date). The cost for this 6 bottle case is £105. Any wine orders received after 12pm will be processed on the next working day. We are working hard to deliver your order within two working days of the order being processed however due to the current environment the wines may arrive a day or two later than expected. PLEASE NOTE: As this is a virtual tasting, only one seat needs to be booked per household UNLESS individuals will be logging into the tasting series with different computers/tablets. OPTIONAL TASTING CASE PRICE: £105 (Comprised of 6 full bottles) You will receive a link to purchase the wine after you have registered for the session. If you have registered at the weekend it will be sent to you on the Monday. If you have registered after 4pm Monday to Friday it will be sent to you the next working day. FIRST EVENING L' Ombre, Ribeiro (natural) whites L' Ombre Treixadura 2018 RRP £20 Pinka Caiño Blanco 2016 RRP £22 SECOND EVENING Carballal, Rías Baixas whites 7cepas Albariño 2018 RRP £16 Prólogo. Albariño 2018 RRP £19 THIRD EVENING Cume do Avia, Ribeiro (biodynamic) REDS Colleita 5 Tinto. Caíño, Sousón, Brancellao 2017 £16 Dos Canotos Tinto. Caíño, Sousón, Brancellao 2017 £19