El Porrón, A Spanish tradition that’s perfect for wine lovers!
March 8th, 2007Have you every tried drinking from a fountain? A fountain of wine that is!
After reading about the trip to the Catalan Pyrenees, it reminded me of a similar excursion I made, where I got to have my first experience of ‘El Porrón’, a Spanish tradition which is NOT for the faint hearted (neither for those with very bad aim)!
El Porrón is a type of pitcher, normally made from glass – but you can also find them made of wood and sometimes they are beautifully decorated or carved. It is a tradition throughout Spain, but much more commonly found here in Cataluña.
As you can see in the picture, it is normally shaped like a watering can, with a spout that gets thinner towards the end.
The idea is that you tip the pórron (normally filled with red or white wine), so that you have the spout close to your mouth – which I recommend you to keep WIDE open – and you start to pour, gradually pulling the porrón further and further away from your mouth, so that it creates a wine fountain. This, in itself, is not so easy, but the really difficult bit is when you have to bring the porrón back towards your mouth. It has to be done quite slowly, with a steady hand (easier said than done), then you’re finished.
I have repeatedly ended up with wine in my eyes, in my hair, up my nose and dripping from my chin. Not that I mind as I am a very big fan of wine, but red wine in the eye can really sting!! – Oh and I recommend you do not wear anything white!!!!
The professionals make this look really easy, which it isn’t, but it’s a lot of fun to have a go. There are many traditional restaurants throughout Barcelona, where you can ask for the ‘Porrón’, and one of my favourites is ‘El Portalón’ – Calle Banys Nous 20 (Metro Liceu). It’s a charming rustic restaurant with typical décor and traditional menu, and lots of ‘Porrónes’ to go round.
Go on, give it a go, just make sure you’ve got a camara, or better still, video the event.
/Janine
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Food & Wine, Other, Things to do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
