Food and Wines

When in Rome, do like the Romans…

So when  we are in Mallorca, we like to drink  the local wines from Mallorca and eat local Mallorcan food.

Wine

 

Another little known fact about Mallorca, even perhaps to wine conaisseurs, is that Mallorca has indeed some very good locally produced wines that are gradually getting an excellent reputation also outside of Spain.

If you are interested to learn a bit more about them, read this article on  Mallorcan wines.

Below are a few local wines that we have come to like and that you may want to try. All of them are readily available in most wineshops and supermarkets.

There is a good wine shop in Sineu, less then ten minutes from Finca Cassiopea, with a large selection of mainland Spanish and Mallorcan wines : Sumiller Balear.

You can also visit many of the local wineries. Many of them have a shop and/or a restaurant. Most of them are in the area of Binisalem, the wine capital of Mallorca, which is within half an hour’s drive from Finca Cassiopea.

 

 

If you would like to make an organized tour of some of the wineries, try the Mallorca wine express.

Here are some of our favorites:

 

Jose L. Ferrer crianza .You can find their orange labeled crianza in virtually every wineshop or supermarket in Mallorca. It is a 60%/40% blend of  the local Manto Negro and  variety of other grapes including cabernet and syrah. In oak barrels for 12 months. Excellent value at around 7.50€. We also like their Dues wine: 50% cabernet and 50% Manto Negro. A bit higher priced. You can a buy all their wines at their shop (well worth a visit) in Benissalem just before entering the town coming from Palma.

 

 

 

An/2 or Anima Negra from the AN Negra winery in the Southeast of the island near the town of Felanix

Probably the most well know Mallorcan wine outside of Spain, and one of the best. This is a blend of the most important varieties of the  island of Mallorca; callet, manto negre and fogoneu, which make up 80% of the wine’s composition.  Aged in oak barrels over a period of 13  months gives it a balanced and elegant wine. Expect to pay about 14€ in a wine shop.

 

 

Ses Nines  Negre is also ablend with 46% Manto Negro, 18% Calet and th rest a mix of caberent,merlot and syrah. Oaked for only 3 months. Won a ‘commended’ award at the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards, the most important wine competition in the world with more than 14,500 entries. This wine also comes in a very handy 50 cl bottle.

It is made in the ultra modern Tianna Negre winery in Binissalem, the capital of the mallorcan wine industry. Its vineyards are at the foothills of the Serre de Tramuntana. The winery itself is well worth a visit

 

 

 

 

Macia Batle crianza from the Bodegas Macia Batle in Santa Maria de Cami with vineyards in Binissalem. THis bodega has alwo won multiple awrds and medals. The crianza is a blend of the local Manto Negro with caberenet,syrah and merlot grapes. According to the winemaker, it is an ‘intense cherry red with brick red reflections. Translucent appearance with quite distinct tears.Ripe red fruit bouquet with spices such as clove and pepper. Balsamic and vanilla bouquet. Slight aerating in the glass increases the complexity of the bouquet, highlighting pleasant dark-roasted notes. On the palate, it is potent and flavourful with an intense aroma. Smooth tannins well-blended with wood…’

 

 

 

 

Sa Rota. The Anada is a 90%/10% blend of cabarnet sauvignon and the local Callet grape. It has won numerous medals. It is made by the  bodagas Bordoy located between Lucmajor and Cap Blanc. In the words of the winemaker : ‘The climate of this area keeps its peculiarities, we are in the most arid part of the island, with a very low rainfall and intense sunlight that benefits the vines with lower yields but higher quality.The wines of Bodegas Bordoy are protected by the Denomination of Origin Pla i Llevant, a certification that allows us to guarantee the identity and source of origin of wines. ‘

 

 

 

Food

 

Mallorca has been at the crossroads of the Mediterranean for centuries, so local cooking is mainly a result of a fusion between foodstuffs that were available locally and the gastronomic heritage of those people who, for whatever reason, passed this way, such as the Romans, Arabs, Jews and Catalans.

Here is a sample of some of the more typical food stuffs

 

Pa amb oli

Simplest and most well known dish on the island, it is literally just bread with olive oil and salt.  Pa amb oli I tomátiga is a slice of bread rubbed with half a tomato (traditionally ramellet), seasoned with salt, sprinkled with virgin olive oil and served with pickles typical of the island: pickled sea fennel, olives and capers.  At restaurants you will find pa amb oli con jamon (serrano ham) or with queso (cheese) or a mixture of the two.  Very reasonable, very filling, and normally very good.

 

 

The ensaimada

is a circular cake created by coiled sweet pastry, made from flour, sugar, yeast, eggs and lard.  It’s popularity both on and off the island is indisputable. Tourists can be seen at the airport with their stacks of ensaimada boxes ready to take home.

 

 

 

 

jamón serrano

Although it’s not specifically Mallorcan, it’s worth noting here  (the literal meaning is mountain ham, because the dry curing process is traditionally carried out at higher altitudes).  Jamón Serrano is such a staple of Spanish culture – most households have a leg or a shoulder (paleta) in their kitchens and slice off it as and when required. Great in bocadillos (baguettes filled with ham and/or cheese, or tuna salad), or wonderful just served on a plate as a starter with some crunchy bread and olives. A much more expensive alternative is Jamón Iberico, produced from the black Iberian pig.  The absolute top of the range is Jamón Iberico de Bellota

 

 

 gambas

The sea provides for the freshest of fish and seafood and some excellent recipes have developed in fishing folk households to make the best use of this produce.  Some of the best seafood restaurants are located in and near traditional fishing ports and fresh fish is on sale daily at the major markets.  There’s plenty of choice, but if you like prawns, try the red version from Sóller

 

 

Empanadas Small round pies usually available with either carné (meat), guisantes (peas), or atun (tuna).  A bit like British pork pies.

• Coca de albaricogues, a sweet sponge cake made in the spring during the apricot season.
• Doblegats (folded).  Half moon shaped puff pastry filled with cabello de angel (preserve made with strands of pumpkin in syrup), confectioner’s custard or chocolate.  Folded to hold the filling.

 

 

 

Sobrassada

is one of Mallorca’s most representative food products.  The best quality meat from the pig is selected, chopped and mixed together with a generous amount of sweet paprika, cayenne pepper and salt.   The mixture is then packed into selected and cleaned intestines, then hung up to dry.  Once the moisture is lost, the mass blends together and both the flavour and the intensive red-orange colour become more apparent.  To make sure that nothing is wasted from that wonderful animal, the pig, a whole variety of similar sausages or embutits has developed.  Names you may see are arrissada, bisbe, botifarró, bufeta, camaiot, culana, and llonganissa