This weekend in Valencia I also had my first real Tapas experience. Trying new things can be a little intimidating but as we soon found out tapas are not to be feared. However, tapas as delightful as they are were no match for the experience of trying 2 new drinks in Spain. First we tried Sidra this cold apple cider with alcohol in it. Okay so I am not entirely sure if this is true but I read in a few different articles that sidra was actually banned by Francisco Franco after the Spanish Civil War. Also that production came to almost a standstill as people left the farms for the city. Production later picked up speed in the 80s. The cider is kept in huge barrels called “Kupelas”. After a few more tapas Alice showed us what Txakoli was. This is a sparkling white wine from the Basque region of spain and very smooth on the palate. I enjoyed coming home and reading some information about this beverage. Usually Txakoli is consumed within one year of being processed as it does not store well. Also it is usually poured into flat glasses from varying heights. I did not know however, that this delicious drink almost became extinct because it was home-distilled until the 1980s. It is traditionally fermented in oak barrels however; today many areas are switching to stainless steel vats.