Tapas & Wine - From legend to the table


Photo by;SienteAlicante

 When you hear tapas, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Ham, cheese, olives, Al-i-oli, patatas bravas? For those who are at least a little familiar with the expression - these ingredients would be most likely the first ones to pop in to your mind. However Tapas are much more than that! And in this post we will gladly tell you the mysterious legends behind tapas along with the wine traditions in Alicante province.

The origin of tapas: 

For the past few years the idea of ordering small plates to share has become worldwide trend in many restaurants. But do you know the the story behind tapas?
So to begin with lets start with the definition. "A small portion of food served to accompany a drink" - this is how Royal Spanish Academy describes tapas.

Even though the exact historical and cultural details of origin of tapas are uncertain there are various legends and speculations. We will tell you few the most popular ones, but its up to you to choose your favorite ;)

Photo by; TripAdvisor
One of the most known legends of tapas goes two centuries back in time and involves King Alfonso XIII. During his voyage in Andalusia, King arrived in one of the oldest restaurants in Spain "El Ventorillo Del Chato". There he was served a glass of wine with a small slice of cheese on the top of it. The king knew that the cheese was used as "tapadera" (a cover to protect the glass from bugs or dust), but he ate it anyway, so did his entire court. After this event it says that the king asked for a tapas with wine everywhere he went, so from then on all restaurants had tapas to offer.

Another legend claim that "King Alfonso X El Sabio, The wise" needed small portions of snacks and small amounts of wine in between his meals. So he demanded all bars and inns in his kingdom to always offer small tapas and wine for the people.

There are some legends related to the countryside as well - focusing on the working class. These stories and legends are slightly different from royal kings. The legend says that as the working hours where so long and hot, peasants and farmers had to take a glass of wine and a small snack to sustain them selves until the dinner or lunch.
Photo by: Lina Uselyte

Alicante today - Home of free tapas!

Photo by: Lina Uselyte
Even though the legends are telling that origin of tapas comes from Andalusia, tapas is a great economic and socio- cultural income in Alicante today. If you go through the streets of the city you might notice how many so called "Taperias" there is. We visited the most Spanish Taperia you can find in whole Alicante - D'Tablas. The place is easily found, just two minutes away from La Rambla. The bar it self is a typical "Spanish Tavern", with Spanish people talking so loud around you that you cant even hear your thoughts! :)) Of course as it is siesta time everyone is drinking either wine or beer. You wont find any menu or pictures of tapas they offer, a waitress will come to you with a tray full off wooden boards on which you will find all kinds of tapas which you can choose from. (Waitress usually comes every 5 minutes). One tapa costs 0,97 euro cents, so if your on a short budget stay - defenetely worth to go!
Photo by: Lina Uselyte


Photo by: Lina Uselyte

Otherwise if you decide to grab a drink in local bar or pub, the waitress will always come to you with a free tapas. Usually these are some nuts, olives, chips or anything else they offer at the bar. 
However seafood tapas is a huge part of Alicante! As the city is located at the sea shore - locals have plenty of seafood to offer! Most of the tapas may include grilled cuttlefish, mussels, clams, anchovies in vinegar and others. 

Wine is another very important part of Alicantes culture and tapas traditions. 
Alicante has a long history of wine making which starts in the 16th century. 
Wines were exported to England, Holland, Sweden and Scotland but they could only be shipped through the port of Alicante. Province also placed a ban on all wine imports in order to protect the local industry. Today we still have great fields of grapes from which prize winning wine is made. The locals are using wine as a type of tourism. You can find different wine routes which you can visit to get a taste of real wine.

The importance of tapas & wine

Tapas has become a great culinary importance in Spain. This type of eating has become a form of national identification for all. Many Spanish cities are competing to become best places of tapas - as this part of gastronomy attracts lots of tourists. Also Spanish tapas seek to get "intangible cultural status". 

If you yet haven't tasted any tapas - we would like to say one thing - ¡Vamos a tapear!


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