Pure Spain on TV
March 5th was the day that Pure Spain had its' first experience on TV when we were invited to appear on the Overseas Property channels' programme - destination lunch. Victoria Low had the pleasure of sharing a Spanish style lunch with Peter Purves, Tessa Sanderson, Helen Lederer and chef Paul Bloxham.
Top rated Vizcarra Crianza
We are delighted that Tim Atkin, the Wine Writer for The Observer has voted our Vizcarra Crianza as one of his top wines of the year. The results, which were published in December's Observer Food Monthly, rates 36 wines in three categories - under £6; under £10 and over £10. Our Vizcarra Crianza is one of the top wines over £10, and interestingly the only website wine!
Vizcarra is a small winery in Ribera del Duero and its wines are consistent winners of awards in Spain. This is the first time that these wines have been available in the UK. We feature three of their wines; Roble (£7.50); Crianza (£12.50) and Torralvo (£25.00)
"I hadn't met this winery until I logged onto the Pure Spain website, but it's a welcome discovery. This oak-aged Tempranillo is still a baby, but very impressive." Tim Atkin, Observer Food Monthly, December 2005.
posted January '06
Jamon Serrano de Recebo
Many houses in Spain have a whole Jamon at Christmas, which lasts them throughout the festive period. These are whole legs of cured ham, with a delicious flavour that is similar to that of parma ham.
It is excellent with cheese, served as a mixed platter with salchichon and chorizo, or just on it own with a glass of wine. It is also an ingredient in many Spanish recipes.
Each ham is supplied with a jamonero (a stand to keep it on) and a special knife to carve with. The hams are shipped to order and will be between 6.5kgs to 7.5 kgs in weight. They will keep at room temperature and will last for many months.
Olive Oil
Good olive oil has an aroma that smells like freshly mown grass and it used to be that all extra virgin olive oil was considered the same; however Spain is increasingly producing a range of distinctive oils by blending certain types of olives in varying quantities to obtain a unique aroma, taste and oil stability. We were adamant that the olive oils that we offered on Pure Spain be a little different. We wanted to be able to capture that fresh cut grass taste and smell and have oil that was excellent in salads and just as good on fresh bread or on its own. We believe we have found it.
At a recent meeting in Jaen, Spain’s centre of oil production, 300 scientists from around the world hailed the health-giving properties of olive oil.
At this same congress scientists stated that a vitamin-filled Mediterranean diet based on olive oil, fish and fresh vegetables was instrumental in keeping Spanish rates of heart disease some two thirds lower than in northern Europe.
Declaring that barely 10% of olive oil's properties were widely known scientists praised its effect on aging as well as fostering strong bone development. It is also seen as a key weapon in warding off Alzheimer's, cardiovascular ailments and cancer.
With Spanish production this year due to reach some 1.3 million tonnes, it has a 50% share of the world's production - far greater than either Italy or Greece.We have sourced a sublime olive oil from the province of Murcia. This is the first time it has been exported to the UK and the oil has just won a prestigious gourmet award in Spain.
24th August 2005
Thank you for visiting Pure Spain. At long last our dream is a reality - an online store that offers a taste of the authentic Spain. The idea has been a few years in the making but the past year has seen feverish activity both in the Spain and the UK to ensure that our initial range of products meet our criteria of quality and authenticity.
It is our aim to continue to source new products and we hope to be able to offer these on a regular basis. Please register with us so that we can make sure you get details of all our new products.
Amongst the 80+ products that we currently have, we have a few favourites.
- The Cuquillo Olives are sublime - we are all olive addicts and have not tasted anything like this before. They have been bottled especially for Pure Spain, so they are truly unique!
- The wines from Vizcarra are excellent. We came across these in Madrid and have been to see Juan Carlos Vizcarra Ramos at his small winery in Ribera del Duero. For a special occasion the Torralvo is exceptional.
- We have three different types of olive oil - each of them with a very distinctive taste. They are made at a small family-run business and have won numerous awards in Spain but this is the first time that they have been exported.
We are keen to get as much feedback as possible, so please email us at info@purespain.co.uk with any comments that you might have on our products or the website.
