Maybe the power of positive thinking can keep the sun shining just a little longer, or maybe we’ve already had our summer?
[UPDATE: Thanks everyone! It worked. The sun is out and temperatures have gone up about 5 degrees]
Rioja on the (internet) radio
May 7, 2008 – 2:58 pm
Ryan from Catavino made an interesting point to me recently, something which I am sure we will be exploring in much more detail for the European Wine Bloggers’ Conference.
Blogs have the ability to present information in a range of media (written word, drawing, images, audio & video) so why is it that bloggers tend to stick to one at the expense of the others?
Most of us find writing easiest, probably for the low technical skills required compared to, say, video, but this doesn’t make the most of the opportunities, and it also does not properly differentiate us from the more traditional wine media.
However, there are others out there doing things differently. Most will be familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk and Wine Library TV and his video tasting sessions (that, as it happens, include a Rioja on the latest edition as I write). But there are also radio show formats for audio consumption at Wine Biz Radio (with my mate Randy - you have to see that photo) and at Grape Radio.
I was browsing this last site last week and came across a very interesting interview with Vicente Dalmau from Marques de Murrieta. It is a rather long interview, but he covers a lot of interesting points about Rioja history, winemaking, grape varieties, and some insights into one of the world’s most unique wineries. It really makes me want to visit the winery (if possible, which I don’t think it is) and taste some of these very special wines. If nothing else, that makes it a good interview.
You can listen to the interview yourself here:
Grape Radio: The Wines of Marqués de Murrieta
There is something particular about seeing, or hearing, an interview which is much more personal than simply reading a write-up which, if anything, is always a summary in any case.
I don’t see the time where I will be preparing audio or video myself, but I will certainly seek out more varied content of interest, but I will explore the idea and you never know …
Don’t expect this too often, but …
May 2, 2008 – 2:32 pm
I am not a deal chaser, nor do I want to dedicate this blog to finding more wine sales or discounts as I truly believe we need to find ways to get out of the UK price-driven deal culture in wine.
However, there are some retailers out there doing a good jobs of building consumer interest in wine using education, tastings and good communications. If they also run a discount from time to time, then we ought to support them, and I don’t have an objection to picking up a genuinely good bottle of wine a little cheaper if possible.
To this end, you might want to check out the prices on Spanish wines, and in particular on Rioja (of course), at Majestic. You can read some of their thoughts on the relatively new Majestic blog here.
Rioja Reserva 2004 wines are starting to be released now. 2004 was a very good vintage and the wines will be excellent … BUT, I think some of the better wines will need a little more time before they are really ready to drink (I tried a few after the Wine & Spirit Magazine meeting the other day). So my advice would be to take advantage of the sale, but then stick them in a cool place for 6 months or even a couple of years.
The future of Rioja
May 2, 2008 – 10:47 am
I was invited to a very interesting breakfast meeting the other day, organised by Wine & Spirit Magazine (the UK version) and also by Wines from Rioja in the UK.
I don’t want to spoil any surprises that David Williams and his magazine might have planned for their coverage, but I did want to point out that despite there being a variety of people from the trade around the table, the views on Rioja were very, almost flatteringly, positive.
I think that is a good sign. I imagine that the UK trade is experienced and cynical enough not to get complacent, and to be honest, Rioja does seem to be one of the most switched-on regions in the world with regard to marketing and communications (although that isn’t saying much). However, there are things Rioja still needs to work on if it wants to stay ahead of the pack in terms of consumer recognition and acceptance.
One question had us all scratching our heads a little. Where will Rioja be in 25 years? It has been about that same time span that wines from Rioja have made their mark in the UK, really kicking off in the 1970’s, but the pace of change today is so great, can we see anything at all that far ahead? I’ll post a link here to the coverage of our answers when the article goes live - I wonder how accurate any of this will turn out to be. Feel free to post a comment here in May 2033 and I’ll try and respond.
While we wait for time to pass, what do you think? Will Rioja continue to be highly regarded? Will it have been overtaken by another Spanish region? Will D.O. Rioja even exist or will the whole Denominacion de Origen and Appellation Controlee system have been replaced? I wonder.
One thing is pretty certain, I think wine tourism will be even more important here. Unless wine has drastically fallen out of favour with consumers, I imagine even more of us will take the time to explore the places that represent its history and traditions, even if we are drinking more of the wines of China, India and Brazil at the time.
Anyway, what kind of corkscrew will we need to open a bottle of wine on the Space Station?
It isn’t easy being green
April 29, 2008 – 10:04 pm
I first heard these immortal words uttered when I was a child, but they came to mind in my first ever Press tasting.
I’ve been to many trade tastings, almost exclusively as a producer, there to serve my wines and tell others, especially the Press about them and their unique stories. Despite blogging about wine in general for about 2 years now, as I didn’t review wines I never thought of myself as having a role on that other side of the fence.
However, as I want to share information on the best things of Rioja and Spain with this blog, I now have the opportunity to review other wines and regions, and so I was invited to a tasting of Green Spain by Wines from Spain. I think this is the first time I participated as “Press”, sharing a room with John Radford, Tim Atkin, Jamie Goode and many other respected journalists.
Green Spain (follow this link for tourism information) is the name for a large swathe of land to the North of the mountain ranges that run along the north coast, where the weather is wet and cool and totally unlike most people’s perception of “Spain”. Green Spain also refers, in this case, to some specific wine regions/DOs: the three Txakolis (pronounced Chacoli), Monterrei, Valdeorras, Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra and, most famously of all, Rias Baixas.
For most of us, this part of Spain has become famous for one thing in particular - Albariño. After this tasting, I think this will justifiably become even better known, but you will almost certainly also need to start learning about Godello too.
There were 40 wines in this tasting, including 32 Albariños, plus a smattering of Godello, Txakoli, and some blends based on Treixadura amongst others. I was very impressed with the entire range, but won’t try and give you tasting notes across all of them, but I would like to talk a little about the styles and the differences I found.
Txakoli (made from Hondarribi Zuri): I have actually come across this before, as it is the wine of the Basque country and therefore you will be able to try it in Bilbao bars and many seaside restaurants up and down the coast. It is usually a zippy, fresh wine with tons of acidity (think Vinho Verde from Portugal for a comparison) and also some flavours of crisp, green apples and limes. At best it is a very refreshing, sometimes slightly sparkling, wine, and I really liked the 2007 Txomin Etxaniz Getaria (£11). I suggest that this is one of those wines that is probably best tried on its home ground first, as it is really a product of Basque cuisine and culture.
Godello: I’ve also tried Godello (pronounced godeyo) wines before, one of which I remember came from The Wine Society, so it wasn’t a surprise to me that these wines were truly yummy. All the ones I tried had that intense lemon/lime fruit, plus some floral hints and a combination of richness in the mouth and fresh acidity that make them stunning food partners. For those who have already “discovered” Albariño, I really do reccomend that you check out wines made from Godello. It is hard to pick just one, but maybe the 2006 A Coroa Godello (£11) just pipped the others.
Albariño: With so many wines side-by side, it was interesting to note the different styles available from the same grape and same (tiny) region. There were the lighter, fresh, leafy versions that reminded me of a combination of Verdejo and even Viognier. There were the intense green apple and grapefruit versions, with bags of acidity and long finishes. And then, my favourites I must admit, those with rich honey (someone said cheesy?), lemon curd and pink grapefruit flavours.
I think the latter wines have been treated to a percentage of malolactic fermentation, combining a richness of fruit flavours with the fresh acidity of the grape, and this grape has acidity to spare!
I had a few favourites here: 2006 Ria de Arosa (£9), 2005 Family Reserve (Castro Martin) (£11), 2006 Gundian (£10) and 2007 Terras Gauda o Rosal (£14) (nb. this one’s a blend).
So, it isn’t easy being from Green Spain, apart from anything, look at the range of names of regions and grape varietals you have to contend with. It has taken many years for the world to discover Albariño overnight, and the other great wines from the area could still be overshadowed by this success, but these wines are also helping to raise Spain’s profile as a premier class wine producer, not just for Rioja, but other wines too.
If you are considering exploring Rioja, you should also see it in the context of all the innovation, history and culture of the surrounding regions in Spain.
And as Kermit says:
Green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree
So, to mix metaphors, similes & cultural references horribly, Give Green a Chance!
Click to Clickair
April 25, 2008 – 6:27 pm
One of my goals on this blog is to get you excited about the possibility of visiting Rioja, not just drinking it.
Few people know where Rioja is beyond the fact that it is in Spain. Being a red wine, and partly because most of those who have visited Spain have been to the Mediterranean coast or the far south, I would assume most would place it in the south east somewhere.
In fact, the nearest city anyone will be familiar with is Bilbao. Bilbao is on the Northern coast of Spain, facing the Bay of Biscay and not far from the border with France. If you are planning to visit Rioja, then Bilbao is highly likely to be the first place on your itinerary, and I would definitely recommend you do make it your first port of call.
I have been flying there for several years on Easyjet, but I thought I would alert you to a relatively new airline that flies there, one of the new breed of ‘no-frills’ (they prefer ‘low cost’) airlines. The new airline is Clickair, a subsidiary of Iberia. 
I have not flown with them yet, although I’m sure I will soon, but as I doubt most of those planning on travelling to Spain this summer are aware of it, I thought I’d give them a bit of a plug. After all, the more services we get to the area, the cheaper it will be for those of us wanting to fly out.
Clickair fly from London Gatwick airport as opposed to Stansted. I’m not sure if this is a positive or negative, but at least we now have a choice. Flights only cost around €80 for a return flight (that’s around £60 or $80 depending on what the exchange rates are up to at the time you read this) which, as someone who remembers life before such airlines existed, I still find astonishing. I can’t get a train to Birmingham for that price, and I know which I would rather do.
Northern Spain is nothing like the places we normally associate with Spanish holidays. This is a place of gourmet food (with lots of michelin stars on offer) as well as pintxos, wonderful seafood, lots of rain (believe it or not) and hill top castles.
Please keep checking out this site as I will be trying to bring you a flavour of the area as well as some ideas for extended holidays (I know that at least some of you out there want to do something other than drink wines all day long on holiday).
Best Wine Publisher in the World
April 22, 2008 – 10:32 am
Quite a title, but one that was recently bestowed upon the Dinastia Vivanco Foundation.
If you are not involved in the publishing business, or even if you are but not in Food & Wine publishing, then you may not have heard of the Gourmand Awards [shockingly bad site I'm afraid, but they are publishers you know!].
Every year, the Gourmand World Cookbook Award organisation reviews the thousands of food & wine (& other alcohol too) books produced around the world every year. These are then divided into a bewildering array of categories - including, for example, ‘Best French Cookbook not published in France’, and evaluated.
The results are then announced at a lavish ceremony somewhere glamorous every year. In the last few years the awards have taken place in Barcelona & Kuala Lumpur and this year it was London.
The Dinastia Vivanco project has several aspects; the Winery (of course), the Museum, and the Foundation. The Foundation supports a range of projects which I’ll mention another time, but it has also published a small number of books about wine and wine culture. I will be looking at each of the books in future, including the latest entitled: El Cine del Vino (roughly translated as The Cinema of Wine - i.e. those films that have been inspired by wine, or where wine has been a central character, not just a prop).
Dinastia Vivanco wins! Hurrah! Except, by a twist of fate and an accidental double-click, it was only there for half a second and then moved to the final award. No award. No speech. No celebration.
Every one of the books published by the Dinastia Vivanco Foundation has had some recognition from the Gourmand Awards, and this year, as well as coming second in the Best Wine Book category, the whole publishing operation was recognised for its efforts with the award for Best Wine Publisher. This is a great honour for such a small, and young, operation. Santiago Vivanco who runs the Foundation as well as the Museum (in partnership with his brother Rafael Vivanco who runs the Winery) was very grateful for this recognition.
We did have a little hiccup however. Having sat through 3 hours of the awards ceremony, congratulating winners in every other category, we anxiously awaited the announcement of the Best Wine Publisher award which happened to be the second last of the whole event.
Having announced the Best Wine Book, the next slide came up with our name. Dinastia Vivanco wins! Hurrah! Except, by a twist of fate and an accidental double-click, it was only there for half a second and then moved to the final award. No award. No speech. No celebration. What happened?
Maybe they would come back to it? “Leave the best till last!” sort of thing? In fact, it was an error. Just as they were sending everyone away I ran up to the stage and pointed out the error. Oops! A tiny technical error, the only one of the night, and it was during our moment of glory.
All was well however as they immediately went back and announced the award and we got our few seconds being centre stage. More importantly, the Foundation got the recognition it deserves.
Now, the only problem is that the books are almost all exclusively in Spanish at the moment, so we need to find a US or UK publisher who would work with us to translate the books and distribute them to a wider audience. If you have any thoughts or ideas, do please let me know.
These are exciting times for the Dinastia Vivanco project, as its reputation spreads around the world not just as a great winery, but also for its mission to share and spread the Culture of Wine. More and more consumers are interested in the history and provenance of their wines and hopefully we can play our part in helping that discovery.
Full disclosure: I represent Dinastia Vivanco in the UK & Ireland
Rioja in Spring
April 21, 2008 – 3:23 pm
Here is a photo of what you can expect if you come looking for vineyards in Rioja about this time of year. Not pretty, unless you enjoy gnarly old vines, but they promise so much!
Phone a friend about wine
April 21, 2008 – 9:35 am
One of the greatest developments of the Web 2.0 age (when blogs and other interactive technologies really became established) is that information is no longer hoarded, but shared and added to. Whereas archives of great writing and research used to be hoarded in musty vaults on the slim chance someone would pay to reuse it, nowadays that information is made available so that we can all get access to it when we need it.
Just think what the world was like before Google, Wikipedia and email. Unless you are under 12 you must remember the cul-de-sacs of information you used to encounter on every research project. Now we are awash with information.
It was like a competition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?; even the best and brightest can only have so much stored knowledge, and occasionally could “phone a friend”, but would eventually stumble and fall. Now it is akin to competing with the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica open in front of you. Of course, now the questions get harder, but the game can also get more interesting, but we all stand a chance of winning.
So when starting a blog, the idea is not just to create new content but also to point to other great content already out there, to make it easier for others to find, to thank and credit its creators, and hopefully then add to the sum of knowledge.
To that end I would like to start by encouraging those of you interested in Rioja to check out Catavino’s 2008 Rioja Report. Their mission for this report was very similar to that for this blog, except they have the whole of Spain and Portugal to move on to next, and considering how exciting and dynamic these countries are becoming, I suspect they’ll have more to focus on very soon.
The Catavino Rioja Report has links to all their articles, regional and winery profiles, tasting notes, and even
their thoughts on the food. Definitely recommended reading, and a quality of content that I aspire to matching here.
I shall be writing on some of the same themes as well as adding a few of my own, and if you have any suggestions of what you might like to know more about, do let me know in the comments below.
I have a Thirst for Rioja, I hope you do too
April 18, 2008 – 6:53 pm
Welcome to my new blog all about Rioja - Thirst for Rioja. It is about wine, travel, food, tourism, history, geography, and anything else that comes up.
I work for a number of wineries in Rioja, all producing amazing wines, but I will not be bombarding you with sales information (I promise) but I do look forward to sharing details of the great things that these wineries are working on.
I travel to Rioja for business and pleasure about 10 times a year so I pick up tips on what restaurants to visit, what wines to drink and also how to get there - a topic of interest to many who love Rioja wines, but have not ever considered visiting the region.
Rioja is a region in the middle of a tourism transformation. Wineries used to be closed to all but the luckiest travellers. Now wineries are opening wine tasting rooms, visitor centres, museums, hotels and evens spas. Flights to the area change every few months, with new schedules and airlines servicing the region, so some tips on navigating this will hopefully be helpful.
I already blog about wine matters on another blog, The Wine Conversation, a place where I put down my thoughts on wine & wine culture in the UK and around the world. That site has no tasting notes as I decided not to compete with all the other great wine tasting sites around the world. However, as this site is intended to be a resource for Rioja lovers, I would be doing you, and me, a disservice if I did not include them here.
You can read my full disclaimer about what work I do, who I represent and what I think about advertising and samples on the About page, but I’m always happy to deal with any questions or comments you may have. Drop me a note or leave me a comment.
Thanks for reading, and do subscribe to my feed to stay in touch.
