No one knows exactly how the culture of “tapas” began. Some trace the origin of the tradition back to the 16th century when taverns began serving strong-smelling cheese to accompany cheap wine so that the scent of the cheese would disguise the smell of the bad wine. Others believe that the tradition started when bartenders began placing a small, flat piece of bread on top of drink glasses to help protect from fruit flies; it then became a habit for taverns to cover, a drink with some sort of snack.
