International expert Judy Ridgway will lead on November 5th in London a guided tasting of eight Spanish extra virgin olive oils around the screening of “Spanish Gold” a documentary about the culture and production of olive oil in Spain.
Zev Robinson filming Spanish Gold
The event will be part of Zev Robinson and Albertina Torres multidisciplinary exhibition “The Art and Politics of Eating”, 1-15 November 2015, at the Embassy Tea Gallery, London.
After six years, thousands of kilometres, changes of focus and titles, and obstacles overcome, our latest documentary Spanish Grapes will be premiering on June 29 at Copa de Cava in London, followed by a wine tasting of wines from around Spain.
The hour long film features interviews with leading figures John Radford, Manuel Moreno, Norrel Robertson MW, Giles Cooke MW, Mauricio Gonzalez, covering Sherry, Cava, Rioja, Ribera, Priorat, making wine, changes in production over the last couple of decades, the challenges of marketing and exportation, and much more, from the biggest producers to a small natural wine maker.
A series of other events are being planned for both Europe and North America over the next couple of years.
Copa de Cava, 33 Blackfriars Lane, London EC4V 6EP
June 29, 2015 – Doors open: 6:00pm. Screening 6:30 pm.
Wine tasting: 7:30 pm. Special menu available for £10
Free for trade.
Limited tickets on sale: http://bit.ly/WineTasting_Event
RSVP – albertinatorres@gmail.com
Pdf invite – SpanishGrapes_London
La Bobal Revisited https://vimeo.com/101941669 had a very successful screening, followed by a wine tasting in NY on May 27, and will pave the way to a series of events in the USA over the next eighteen months.
WR Tish, who, together with his son Nick, was extremely helpful in organizing the event, presented the wines and spoke about lesser known grape varieties. Gerry Dawes also did a presentation of his work as both a writer on Spanish wine and food and as an importer and his wines complemented Bobal wines from Finca Sandoval from DO Manchuela and Vera de Estenas from DO Utiel-Requena. Unfortunately, Bobal wines from four other wineries never made it for one reason or another, but there was an assortment of Albariños from Rias Baixas as well.
La Bobal in New York – May 27
More than 50 people showed up from from the worlds of wine, food and culture, and a good time was had by all. They learned a lot about Bobal and Spain and a few found Bobal wines in stores and restaurants afterward. The event has paved the way for more screening and tasting events in NY and elsewhere in the US over the next 18 months, and for those who missed this one or are curious to try more, we’ll be back soon.
In the meantime, Spanish Grapes will have its premiere in London on June 29.Invitation here.
Thanks to Babette Holland Diane Letulle Suzanne S. Felber for the photos and we hope to see you soon.
Trailer La Bobal Revisited:
On May 20th, after the screening of Zev Robinson’s documentary Spanish Gold about the olive oil production in Spain, there will be an exclusive tasting of some of Spain’s very finest Extra-Virgin Olive Oils, many top award winners, some newly established producers, several organic ones, and some certified kosher.
Doors open at 6:00 – Venue: Copa de Cava – 33 Blackfriars Lane, London EC4V 6EP
The event will be presented by Graham Stoodley from Harvey & Brockless.
Limited Tickets for the screening and tasting available:
La Bobal Revisited (trailer) from Zev Robinson.
Bobal is Spain’s second most planted grape variety, grown almost exclusively in the neighboring La Manchuela and Utiel-Requena regions in SE Spain, used only for making bulk wine. Over the last decade or two, smaller wineries have started developing quality Bobal wines and giving it some sort of recognition, but it still remains a struggle for an unknown grape more or less confined to one part of Spain.
Canadian-British filmmaker and artist Zev Robinson moved to a small village in the middle of Bobal country in Utiel-Requena in 2005, and in early 2008, he made a documentary about Bobal and the culture, politics and economics behind it as he interviewed farmers, winemakers, importers, wine writers and winery owners who populate the world of wine. “La Bobal and other stories about wine” was finished at the end of the year and was shown in London and New York and various places in Spain, and blog posts were written about it as far away as Argentina, Brazil and New Zealand, and the film was recognized as having an impact on the marketing of Bobal.
Fascinated with the culture, politics and economics of wine, and how urban and rural cultures are so closely intertwined, Robinson went on to direct several other documentaries on wine, food, agriculture and sustainability, and, in 2014, he re-edited the first one to include wineries from La Manchuela. La Bobal Revisited https://vimeo.com/101941669, with over 50% new material, was shown in London and Brussels, and its North American premiere will be at Speyer Hall, University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, New York on May 27, 2015.
After the film, W. R. Tish www.wineforall.com, managing editor of the trade magazine Beverage Media, will a present a tasting called “La Bobal and the Grapes of Spain” afterward, with Bobals alongside a variety of Spain’s other important varieties such as Monastrell, Garnacha, Graciano, Cariñena, Verdejo, and Albariño, to show that Spain is rich and varied in culture and regions, and so much more than just paella and flamenco. As Tish notes: “Rarely have Americans ever had the chance to experience Bobal in the context of its peer grapes, and with the backdrop of Zev’s revealing film. This is an opportunity to witness a true shift in what wine from Spain can be.”
“…his ability to connect with the audience, not just visually, but emotionally…”
“…films (that) have the power to enter naturally in the lives of farmers…”
La Bobal Revisited screening and tasting, Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
May 27, 2015. Doors open at 6:00pm, screening at 6:30pm, “La Bobal and the Grapes of Spain” wine tasting at 7:20 presented by W.R. Tish
Speyer Hall, University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street, New York
Tickets $17 at Eventbrite – eventbrite.co.uk/event/16691840745
Free for trade with advanced reservation.
Spanish Gold in London
Zev Robinson’s new short documentary on olive oil production, will premiere in London.
Graham Stoodley of Harvey & Brockless will be giving a talk about Spanish olive oils, followed by a tasting of over 15 of Spain’s very finest Extra-Virgin Olive Oils, many of them winning top honours at international competitions.
May 20, Copa de Cava 33 Blackfriars Lane, London EC4V 6EP
Spanish Gold – A film about olive oil (Trailer) from Zev Robinson.
On March 4, 2015, Zev Robinson presents his documentary “La Bobal Revisited” about the turbulent history of the unknown Bobal grape, once thought fit only for making bulk wine, now producing some of Spain’s most exciting ones. We are very proud to announce that the only Spanish Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros will present the event.
With the best Bobal wines from:
You can read more about it in Catavino post. The Future of Bobal.
With special thanks to Pedro Ballesteros, Master of Wine and DO Manchuela
and to Finnovaregio Foundation
This gallery contains 39 photos.
On November 10, after the screening of Zev Robinson’s documentary Arribes: Everything Else is Noise, about food and sustainability, there will be an exclusive tasting of some of Spain’s very finest Extra-Virgin Olive Oils, many top award winners, some newly … Continue reading
Arribes: Everything Else is Noise portrays the bittersweet lives of the inhabitants of this isolated region of NW Spain, where sacrifice and hard work began at an early age, but where a simpler, basic life-style made room for a sense of community and happiness.
Arribes: Everything Else is Noise / Arribes: el resto es barullo from Zev Robinson on Vimeo.
As people reflect on never owning a car or tractor, walking from village to village to go to communal dances, tending goats and sheep by themselves from pre-adolescence, killing the animals that they had fondly raised, and remembering the region when it was a green paradise, a picture of a eco-system emerges where everything is used, recycled, and interconnected. Producing 80-90% of their own food, there has always been a strong, direct relationship between food, agriculture, and the people who tend the land, making it a concrete example of an healthy, sustainable environment with lessons that can be applied elsewhere. The documentary raises questions about our own way of living and values, and if changes in lifestyles, priorities and population structures are essential for a more sustainable future.
With the depopulation of the countryside, the erosion of this way of life is contrasted with the views of a younger generation who moved there from Madrid, Barcelona and the UK, attracted by what Arribes had to offer.
The sometimes funny, sometimes sad anecdotes are accompanied by details of everyday countryside life depicted with a sense of poetry and care, bringing into focus values often forgotten in a contemporary society with other priorities.
Screening of Arribes in London
Copa de Cava, 33 Blackfriars Lane, London EC4V 6EP
November 10, 2014 –
Doors open 6:30 pm, screening at 7 pm, Olive oil tasting at 8 pm
Limited tickets for film and tasting £9.50,
Tickets here – http://bit.ly/Arribes_Tickets
Special dinner menu £10, can be ordered separately on the evening.
The documentary will be followed by a tasting of some of Spain’s finest, award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oils, introduced by leading expert Charles Carey of The Oil Merchant.
Olive Oil Producers – Aceite 900, Aceite 2B, Aceite Guirado Noguera, Almazara La Alquería, Bardomus, Birdy, Bodegas Vegamar, Casas de Hualdo, Dehesa de la Sabina, L’Estornell,L’Oli del Mar, Hacienda Guzmán, Hacienda Queiles, Jacoliva, Marqués de Valdueza, Oleícola del Cabriel, Santa Teresa 1881, Tot Oli, and others.
On September 15, “La Bobal Revisited” was screened at the Copa de Cava in London.
Director Zev Robinson and Víctor de la Serna presenting the event.
The documentary, a reworking of Robinson’s first documentary called La Bobal and other stories about wine, tells the story of Spain’s second most planted grape variety that traditionally has only been used to produce bulk wine, while new quality wineries have taken up the reins over the last couple of decades.
A tasting with the 14 wineries from regions such as Utiel-Requena, La Manchuela, Almansa, Valencia and Bullas was offered after the screening.
“La Bobal and other stories about wine” had an impact on the international reputation of Bobal wine, and the premiere of “La Bobal Revisited” promises to do even more for the grape variety and the two regions, La Manchuela and Utiel-Requena, where it is produced.
Luis González-Quevedo Counsellor for Agriculture, Food & the Environment Spanish Embassy, London
In attendance were leading communicators about Spanish wine such as Victor de la Serna, who presented the wine tasting of SE Spain’s three main varieties – Bobal, Monastrell and Garnacha – after the screening, Sarah Jane Evans MW, and Bruno Murciano, using social media to reach their many followers, as did many of the representatives of the fourteen wineries presenting their wines.
Victor de la Serna and Sarah Jane Evans MW
Sarah Jane Evans told Zev Robinson that she had been to a big Sherry tasting earlier in the day where they had been discussing alternatives to formal tastings, and that the Bobal event could be the perfect answer. She also mentioned that her favorite part was the contribution of Paco Torres, the farmer and vine-grower who plays a central role in the documentary.
More photos here:
There are plans to take the film to New York and other cities, with another, bigger and better event in London later in 2015, with the main objective to keep Bobal in the news throughout the year, putting an unknown grape in the spotlight.
