<a href="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/el-timonel-grilled-calamar.jpg" title="El Timonel grilled calamar in Marbella"><img align="right" src="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/el-timonel-grilled-calamar.jpg" alt="El Timonel grilled calamar in Marbella" /></a>I took a week off blogging for a vacation in Marbella, located in Malaga Province in southern Spain.  It’s always a great break to go to the coast, one of the few places I can really relax.  I always feel like it’s a spa week as I go to the gym, walk a lot and eat really healthy.  We eat nothing but fish and seafood when we’re down there, either grilled or fried…so fresh and delicious.  The food in southern Spain tends to be simpler than <a href="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/el-timonel-coqinas.jpg" title="Coquinas at El Timonel"><img align="left" src="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/el-timonel-coqinas.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Coquinas at El Timonel" /></a>elsewhere and can be repetitive, but it is really perfect for a few days.  We ate simple food at simple place….the one exception being Calima Restaurant, which I will write up separately. Food highlights typical down there are coquinas, tiny clam-like shellfish, chopitos, baby fried squid, grilled large shrimp, and grilled sardines.  There are also wonderful salads, especially a typical roasted pepper salad and a tomato-garlic salad.  Our favorite restaurant for fish and shellfish in Marbella is El Timonel….great value and delicious food….their grilled calamar with a garlic olive oil is one of my favorites.  The wine scene in southern Spain is pretty dismal. Read on for more on the terrible wine choices available and my review of the most popular white wine in Spain:  Barbadillo.

<a href="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/barbadillo.jpg" title="Barbadillo white wine"><img align="right" src="http://myplanetavino.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/barbadillo.jpg" alt="Barbadillo white wine" /></a> Only top restaurants in southern Spain have a decent wine list…the rest stick to a few basic wines that you find everywhere.  The typical whites are Barbadillo and a couple of Torres wines:  Viña Sol or Viña Esmeralda.  The typical reds are usually pretty poor Rioja.  When you’re lucky you find a Rueda white on the wine list and you stick with it….I overload on Rueda down there!  It had been years since I tried Barbadillo and I always speak badly of it, so I gave it a go again to bring myself up to date.  Terrible!  I think it’s worse than I remember.  It’s scary to think that this is the white wine that is most sold in Spain!  It is produced by the Barbadillo bodega from Jerez, which makes some great sherries.  It has become the wine that most represents southern Spain besides Fino Sherry.  It’s made from the Palomino grape and typically comes in a dry version, though a semi-sweet version is available.  People seem to love it but I don’t understand it…the wine is painfully neutral with an almost beery tang and slight spritz.  Barbadillo used to be inexpensive, but now it costs the same as the Rueda on most restaurant wine lists.  Almost any Rueda is far superior. 
 