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Where wine producers are constrained by quotas, the producer has to limit the number of bottles of wine that they are allowed to produce in any one year.  It does not matter that it has been a particularly good year for wine production, the limit is the limit and the producer must not exceed his quota.  In European countries where this regulation is enforced, it can mean that some of the best wine would go to waste.   This quota can however work in your favour because some of the surplus wine is sold to enterprising bodegas where you can have the wine in bottles with your own label.  I don’t know about you, but the label has never been that important to me but the wine is.  You can’t drink a label!

There is such a bodega in Torre del Mar near Velez Malaga, where a charming and very knowledgeable lady sells such wine and at the most affordable prices.  If you buy wine according to price and not taste then you can probably buy a decent wine for just a little over a Euro.  However, my advice would be to ask the lady.  Her knowledge of wine is almost inexhaustible and you might just as well benefit from the advice which has been gathered over a large number of years.

Describe the wine that you like and she will undoubtedly find just what you are looking for.  If you like wine and most people do, even if they are not drinking it all the time, why not treat yourself to a real experience where you can explore using someone else’s knowledge to your benefit and to the benefit of your pocket.  After all, it makes sense to buy the best but it also makes sense to not pay full whack for what you enjoy.

You could also design your own label and have your own HOUSE RED OR WHITE.  It might also be a unique present for friends who have a birthday or some other celebration.

Open Monday to Friday 10 -2 and 5.30 to 8 pm and 10 to 2 on Saturdays
Telephone:  952 545 804
Vinomar can be found at Calle Piscis Bajo 1B, Torre de Mar
For those with a GPS   36°44’48.20″N  4° 5’23.63″W

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Lunch with two friends turned out to be a delightful adventure and experience in the culinary delights of a typical Spanish cuisine.  Hanna chose the fish dish once she had learned that it was to be a fillet of white fish poached in a delicious sauce with prawns and spinach.  All of this was accompanied by mushrooms and red pepper with a few chips.  I had chosen the same, but in spite of a beautifully arranged platter, the amount of food was for someone with a greater appetite than mine.  I felt overwhelmed until I started eating.  It was then that my taste buds switched on and I quickly wanted to consume everything on my plate.

Hannah’s husband, Miro, had ordered something different, chicken I think, but appeared to have the same experience, that of someone enjoying the result of a good chef.

After finishing the main course we had no room for anything else other than a coffee, but left the restaurant well and truly satisfied.

If you are in Velez Malaga and you are looking for somewhere to eat, you will not be disappointed if you find Calle Herreros and restaurante El Canillero.  It is very new, but its reputation by word of mouth is growing and it is quickly becoming a place to eat at.

Address: Calle Herreros, Local 7, Velez Malaga

Telephone: 0034 676 453 574 or 0034 680 141 040

For those of you with a GPS you will find it at 36°46’23.22″N  4° 6’18.34″W

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After watching a broadcast on BBC TV’s Watchdog regarding the dangers of eating some diabetic chocolate brands, I can recommend Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate. In particular, their Mint and Dark Chcolate bar. If you’re not able to buy this locally, you can purchase this (and other fine gourmet chocolate) directly from Green and Black’s, or  the World Wide Chocolate Internet website.

The full transcript of BBC TV’s Watchdog broadcast on diabetic chocolate, as presented by Julia Bradbury on 22 December 2008,  is below.

Chocolate is the perfect gift for Christmas but for 2.5 million diabetics in the UK, it’s not that simple. They have to carefully manage how much sweet food they eat, not just at Christmas but all year round. That’s why two high street stores, Thorntons and Boots offer a range of chocolate labelled specially for diabetics.

The diabetic ranges offered by these shops may seem ideal but many diabetics steer well clear of them.

Lucy and her five-year-old son Miles are one example. Miles was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago. If he has too many chocolates or sweets his blood glucose levels go very high and he has to have extra insulin. Christmas time means that mum Lucy needs to be especially careful because there is chocolate everywhere.

Laxative effect
So what about special diabetic chocolate – surely that’s ok? Lucy explained that she doesn’t give her son diabetic chocolate because, as she discovered, it can have a laxative effect. If it is known to have a laxative effect on an adult, a child like Miles only needs a small amount of diabetic chocolate before its laxative properties take effect.

Ian Day was diagnosed with diabetes back in 2000 and last Christmas his friend gave him Thorntons diabetic chocolates as a gift. Ian only had three pieces but that was all he needed to spoil the rest of his day. He too suffered from the laxative effects of diabetic chocolate. Read More…

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