COSTA LIFESTYLE

Casa Y Vida

Warmth without waste: how to keep your Spanish home comfortable

At the bakery this morning, I overheard someone say that the air conditioner works just fine as a heater. I thought it was a joke. Regular readers already know how complicated my relationship with that device is — let’s just say we tolerate each other as long as the thermostat stays out of it. But then, how do you heat a home in Spain? The misconception of comfort As soon […]

11/05/2025

Gusto

The scent of chestnuts: Spanish autumn dishes on the Costa

It starts with a smell. Not of sea salt or sunscreen, but something earthier. As I walk through Alicante’s old town, a sweet, smoky scent rises from a steel drum. Chestnuts. They hiss on the grill, their shells cracked open, edges blackened. A man scoops them into paper bags with a wooden spoon. It’s the first sign that summer is truly over. Regular readers of this column know I have […]

11/03/2025

Casa Y Vida

Wine & Living – Inspiration for the Future

A friend from England asked me recently: “Has wine basically become part of your interior by now?”I laughed — not because it was exaggerated, but because it was actually quite true. Here, wine is quite literally part of life — not just in the glass, but in the way you live in your home. And that might be the most beautiful lesson life on the Costas teaches you: you don’t […]

10/29/2025

Gusto

Aliats: Wings, balance and the future of sustainable wine

This guest article by Juan Martínez Barberá tells the story of Aliats – a project that shows how sustainable wine and bats work hand in wing to create a new balance between nature and viticulture. In October, evening falls early over Fontanars dels Alforins, an hour inland from the Costa Blanca. The region – often called the Valencian Tuscany – is known for its rolling hills and vineyards. Above the […]

10/27/2025

Casa Y Vida

Sunday begins with vino: how wine became a natural ritual

When I still lived in England, a glass of wine was reserved for special occasions — a dinner, a birthday, or one of those evenings when you felt you’d earned it (after three hours of wrestling with London’s public transport, for example). Here in southern Spain, I learned something entirely different: wine isn’t a reward. It’s part of the rhythm — a ritual. Sunday lunch: wine as the beating heart […]

10/22/2025