The tapas bars of Andalusia

Andalusia is the autonomous community of southern Spain: broadly the area ruled by the Moors for about 800 years, from 700 CE to nearly 1500 CE — its principal cities (they’re not just towns) are Seville, Málaga, Córdoba and Cádiz.

This area is where both flamenco and Spanish bullfighting originated — both continue to be practised here.

I was in this region for two weeks recently and have come back fascinated by the local culture of tapas bars: since in summer the sun sets here at 9 pm, many people head out after offices close (5 pm) to meet friends at one or more of the hundreds of local bars and restaurants for tapas and vino.

Tapas is a snack that may consist of bread with various combinations of cheese, olives, veggies, ham, fish and egg. A tapas may be given free with your drink or ordered, and will cost anything upwards from about €2 (Rs 160) per plate.

Doing this business must be easier in Spain than in India as there are said to be over 9,000 such establishments in Madrid alone. Every tapas bar serves a variety of short eats (tapas) along with either cerveza (beer), vino (wine), vermut (vermouth) or Tinto de verano (red summer wine), the last two served in a shot glass with ice and a slice of lemon or orange.

The thing to do is to visit several such places in an evening, sampling a tapas or two at each along with the libation of choice. Most tapas bars are open till midnight or even later; some establishments specialise in particular types of tapas, others in wine or sherries. Some have been around for over 100 years, others are relatively new.

What is particularly interesting is that the prices of the drinks are very reasonable, between €2 and €3 (Rs 160 to Rs 240) for the beer/vermouth/house wines, and of course more for better wines: at La Tana in Granada (which stocks 500 wines) one can even buy a glass of Castillo de Ygay 2007 for €15, with the most expensive wine being the Vega Sicilia Unico 2007 for ^50 (per glass)!

Of the many I sampled, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2007, a Rioja from the Marqués de Murrieta winery, stood out. Wine expert James Suckling rates it at 98 points

“Good god,” one might think, “don’t people get drunk going to so many bars?” Not at all, since the whole point is to eat, and wash it down by stuff that is quite low on alcoholic content, over a period of several hours. I did not see a single inebriated person despite having visited nearly 30 tapas bars during this visit — yes, there was a lot of animated conversation and laughter, but no obvious incapacitation. More interestingly, I did not see a single policeman at or outside any bar, whatever the hour.

So why aren’t there any tapas bars in India? I think that we Indians don’t have a bar-hopping culture and tend to go out to a single establishment for the evening; in any case few bars are at walking distance of each other (unlike in the cities I visited in Spain) and driving around is time-consuming and calls for a designated driver. 

Also, the cost of doing business (both formal and informal) is so high that most decent places have high prices — even draught beer costs Rs 250-300 in brewpubs, while wines are priced at Rs 350-plus per glass. Let’s hope this will change over time.

Wines I’ve been drinking: Of the many I sampled, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2007, a Rioja from the Marqués de Murrieta winery, stood out. Wine expert James Suckling rates it at 98 points, and says, 

“A truly great wine on the nose, with an amazing freshness of flowers and herbs. Full-bodied, racy and linear, with great length and future.” Needed more decanting, but still was yum. Salud!

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant