The Town Hall of Arnuero has closed the Pimiento de Isla and Costa de Cantabria Wine Fairs with great success in terms of visitors and sales. According to the estimate from the security services, on Saturday around 6,000 people attended the Pimiento de Isla Fair throughout the day, which saw its peak moments between 12:00 and 15:00 and between 18:00 and 20:00. The Wine Fair, meanwhile, drew more than 3,000 people, who mainly packed the fairgrounds between 12:30 and 15:30.
Both days were also a success for sales of local and artisan products from Cantabria. The well-known pimientos de Isla ran out at around 13:00 on Saturday, and on Sunday morning just a couple of stalls were able to offer pimientos de Isla at a price that reached up to €8 per kilo. Many other producers also sold out the merchandise they had brought along in the first place, meaning they had to make an extra trip to replenish stock. As for the Wine Fair, the IGP Tierra Costa de Cantabria Wineries rated the event very positively, with lots of wine-cup sales thanks to the voucher system offered by the Organisers, as well as sales of bottles, which in some cases reached 500 bottles. They also expressed their satisfaction with the turnout of visitors particularly interested in the wine sector, who were taking part in tastings and buying products depending on the wines they tried, and who were also showing interest in the wineries and vineyards, as well as the possibility of visiting them—meaning that, in addition to selling products, the fair is starting to become a showcase for the finest wines of Cantabria.
The Town Hall’s aim is to offer a high-quality space for producers to showcase and sell their products, and to extend the summer season through the month of September, even if the weather doesn’t quite cooperate, thanks to a proposal of many initiatives that link the primary sector with tourism.
To achieve this, a broader programme of activities has been put in place, giving continuity to the Fairs with the “Isla Gastronómica” programme, which brings together a series of experiences in small groups in which to bring rural entrepreneurs’ products closer to the public and highlight the difficulty and quality of those products, justifying greater economic effort on the part of the consumer compared with industrial products. Alongside product, culture and nature experiences that take place on 12, 13 and 14 September, the municipality will also offer the 12th Gastronómica Days, from 20 September to 6 October, during which 9 restaurants will serve special menus at a single price of €35. Already during the Fair weekend, the set menus were offered with great success, as all the restaurants displayed the sign saying “complete meals”.
In this way, the Town Hall intends to turn September into a celebration of local produce and gastronomy, trying to ensure that “the Isla Fairs” gradually transform into a major catalyst event for the primary sector, but with strong links to the services sector and the tourism offering.
From next Thursday, “Isla Gastronómica” will offer attractive and in many cases innovative experiences, including live appearances by important Cantabrian Chefs, as well as other proposals linked to the municipality’s culture and nature—such as the theatrical visit to the Molino de Santa Olaja with a tasting of Isla wine and other artisan products from Cantabria, or the sensory experience “Océano Ciego”, with a blind musical tasting of bites linked to the sea and the market gardens.
FULL PROGRAMME
All experiences are limited to 30 people and require prior booking on the website www.feriasdeisla.es and www.ecoparque.info Experiences
Thursday 12 – 18:00
“Isla’s market garden and the phenomenon of its pepper” with tasting of products from the land. A round-table discussion in which one Isla market-garden producer, an agricultural technician and an Organisers’ moderator will take part. They will break down the reasons behind the fame of market-garden products in general and pepper in particular. At the same time, a tasting will be offered of some market-garden product paired with other local artisan products.
Thursday 12 – 19:00
Presentation, with tasting, of “Isla of pulses” (a tapas-style dish based on pochitas and other Isla market-garden products), Presented by Chef Cristóbal Sierra from the La Chata restaurant. Accompanied by wine from the Bodegas de Isla, presented by Jorge Cañizo and Jesús Sierra, the owners. A fusion of market-garden and vineyard flavours, all produced in the surrounding area of Isla’s historic centre, to taste the flavour of our land.
Thursday 12 – 20:00
“The miller’s wine”. Themed theatrical visit to the Molino de Santa Olaja by the Ecoparque team, with a tasting of wines from the Bodegas de Isla. Our Ecoparque Guides will show their most fun side, taking us into the inner workings of the Molino de Santa Olaja through the wiles of Marcial the miller and the complicity of the seductive Josefa, integrating the Isla wine tasting and other products from the land into the little theatrical piece.
Friday 13 – 18:00
“Salty Sea”. Presentation of a preserved-food tradition made with craft and innovation, led by José Luis and Fidel Ortiz, with tasting of premium products from Conservas Codesa. They will tell us about the company’s evolution since 1976, based on craft work, excellence, research and innovation, while also offering tastings of some of their top products, such as anchovies cured in red salt from the Himalayas, paired with wine from Bodegas Vidular.
Friday 13 – 19:00
Presentation and tasting of the tapas dish “Cocktail Isla Market Garden” (Isla tomato, langoustines and smoked peppers). Chef Juan Manuel España from Hotel Escuela Las Carolinas presents a cocktail featuring the Isla market garden and a taste of the sea, very typical of this land of tides. The tapas will be accompanied by a wine from Bodegas Vidular, presented for the occasion by one of the creators of this legendary winery, Mikel Durán.
Friday 13 – 20:00
“Blind Ocean” sensory experience with a narrative journey and a blind tasting of unexpected bites from the sea and the market garden. Developed by the Ecoparque team with Chef Juanma España, you’ll be taken on a virtual journey through the Ecoparque de Trasmiera territory, combining narration, music, poetry, with pauses during which you’ll take a surprising bite to the mouth. Enhance the 5 senses while blind. Lose sight to see beyond what we have in front of us and connect with the nature of the Ecoparque.
Saturday 14 – 18:00
“Demystifying vermouth”. FINCA 27 Vermouth. They will help us see vermouth as something more than just an aperitif, and they will offer a tasting of Finca 27; but before that, we’ll sample the wine that serves as the origin of the vermouth, as well as other surprise suggestions that will be paired with other artisan products from Cantabria. Led by Edurne Sánchez, winemaker and WSET3 in wines.
Saturday 14 – 19:00
Chef of the Bonito (tuna-like fish), Alberto Criado from the Alameda restaurant, presents for tasting the tapas dish “Grandma Ezequiela’s Fritada” (based on bonito and Isla pepper). Presentation of a very “North” tapas dish and very rooted in our land, with the sublime Isla pepper, accompanied by a wine from the Bodega Bahía de Santander, which will be presented for the occasion by Alfonso Fraile. A pairing that promises to offer a feast of flavours in an entertaining presentation.
Saturday 14 – 20:00
“Tasting wines from Bodega Bahía de Santander” led by Alfonso Fraile, a Cantabrian expert sommelier.
Alfonso will be joined by Antonio del Campo, Agricultural Technical Engineer and creator of the winery, who will give us an insight into “The perspectives of the wine-growing sector in Cantabria”. An approach to the evolution of Cantabria’s IGPs and the surprising future they potentially have, while a commented tasting of some of the main wines from Bodega Bahía de Santander is also carried out.
Gastronomic Days
To all of this, we must add the Gastronomic Days of the Market Garden and Pimiento de Isla, which can be enjoyed on 7 and 8 September, and subsequently continuing from 20 September to 6 October. The Days involve nine local restaurants offering different “menus from the land” at a single price of €35, with a special focus on Pimiento de Isla and the products from the market gardens of the Ecoparque de Trasmiera. A unique chance to try natural products, freshly picked from the market garden, prepared and presented in different ways—from the end of summer to the start of autumn.
Participating restaurants: Hotel Alfar, Hotel Astuy, Hotel Campomar, Hotel Estrella del Norte, Hostería San Emeterio, Restaurante La Chata, Hotel Olimpo, Restaurante Macondo and Restaurante Rincón de Vicen.