| Wines of Spain- My Visit to Valencia & Rioja | | | | By: Ron Kapon | << back  Page 2 of 3 next >> |
The seminars and tastings were the best thing about the show. I attended a fabulous tasting given by The Family Owned Wineries (Primum Familiae Vini), 11 wineries that are in private hands and include Antinori, Egon Muller, Mouton Rothschild, Torres, Vega Sicilia, Drouhin, Hugel and Pol Roger Champagne. Since Robert Mondavi sold his winery there is no longer a US member. There were also 30 Masters of Wine present as part of their tour of Spain. Invited press (airfare, hotel, winery visits, sightseeing and most meals were complimentary) included importers, sommeliers and wine writers from Poland, Mexico, China, US etc.
Ribero de Duero, Rueda, Priorat, Toro, Navarra are new names in the Spanish wine scene. And then, there is the old standby- Rioja, located in north central Spain. My first trip was in 1964 while I lived and worked in Bordeaux. In 1977 there was a huge press trip to Jerez and then to Rioja. In the late 1990’s there was a small press trip only to Rioja and here I am in 2007. The kind folks from IVEX were happy to route my return trip to the US through Madrid so I could spend 4 days in Rioja, after the finish of Vinoelite. The Rioja Wine Bureau arranged my flight to Bilbao, my hotel stays and winery visits and got me back to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum before returning home to the US. The region is just south of Basque country in north-central Spain and is named after the river Rio Oja. The red grape of note is Tempranillo as well as Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. For white wines there are Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. I wanted to know what Rioja was doing to reinforce its position as Spain’s number one wine region. My conclusions were more fruit forward wines, single vineyards, estate wines and cleaner, crisper white wines. Red wines are labeled as Crianza (12 months in barrel with “several months” aging in the bottle), Reserva (3 years aging with at least one year in barrel) and my favorite, Gran Reserva (24 months aging in barrel and 36 months in the bottle before release). The grape of note here is Tempranillo. There are three sub-regions with the most important being Rioja Alta; Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja are the other two. Rioja wines are normally a blend of various grape varieties, and can be either red (tinto & 85% of production), white (blanco)) or rose (rosado).
If you can possibly get a reservation at the Marqués de Riscal Hotel, operated by Starwood as part of their Luxury Collection, grab it. Designed by renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, it is his second masterpiece in Spain, along with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. With just 43 rooms, this is a tough ticket. It is a part of the City of Wine complex, with the winery only a hundred feet away. I recommend dinner in the Marques de Riscal restaurant with its 7 course Basque-Riojan tasting menu, with wine. The wine list features a selection of waters of the world (9 countries); 30 wines by the glass; 11 Riscal wines, 15 other Riojas, 10 other Spanish, 24 wines from Bordeaux, 4 from Burgundy and 5 champagnes. A bridge connects the main building to more rooms and the Vinotherapie Spa featuring wine therapy treatments, a fitness center, Jacuzzi, indoor pool and steam room.
I also visited the Dinastia Vivanco Wine Museum (El Museo de la Cultura del Vino) which is privately owned and includes a visit to their bodega. The 3,000 model corkscrew collection alone is worth the price of admission. Rioja is learning from many other countries and wine regions by erecting wine route signs.
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