Last year I was in La Rioja on a VERY regular basis, but this year, events have conspired to keep me at home a lot more. However, I am excited to say that I am back here for the European Wine Bloggers’ Conference which is happening this weekend (29-31 August, 2008).
It means I can sit here and blog from my favourite coffee shop in the area, FABORIT. Free WiFi, Fresh Juices, Good Coffee and up-to-date music. What a difference from 4 years ago when I started coming here on a semi-regular basis. At that time you could not get an internet connection for love or money. In fact, the only one I found was a small school opened by the local government to educate Logroñeses in how to use the internet - and no access for web-deprived travellers!
Now you’ll find WiFi all over the place and mostly free in hotels and in some places like the museum.
As I will be rather busy with the conference, I’m not sure how much Rioja blogging I will be able to do, but I have my camera at the ready and hope to take some photos of how the vintage is progressing and report back after interviewing a few local winemakers too.
Also, with temperatures well above 30 degrees, I’m a little warmer than I was when I left London this morning.
And, as this is Spain, I have been invited out to dinner; a dinner that doesn’t start until 22:00. Can’t quite imagine sending that invitation in the UK.
Every time I hear from him I like the dude even more. If we keep at it, I’m going to have to buy him a ring!
I was reviewing the useful site built for UK consumers at Wines from Rioja (www.winesfromrioja.co.uk) and I saw this comment on the Rioja Rocks article:
And the region itself is a blast! I remember visiting the winery at Dinastia Vivanco in Rioja Alta, I was knocked out by the collision of tradition with the state of the art winery that had been built underneath the vineyards like some giant Batcave with oodles of sexy kit and state of the art techniques. But it’s not just the wineries that are breathing modernity into this traditional wine region, there’s an increasing attention to detail in the vineyard to ensure the unique local grapes of the region.
Not only is it great to get that sort of endorsement for the Dinastia Vivanco wines, but great to see that someone as influential as Olly really gets what the whole region is doing. Rioja is often perceived as the “very traditional” region that “everyone knows” and is therefore skipped over in favour of something new and trendy, but there are all sorts of innovations happening here too, and the money and determination to make it happen.
I’m going to be organising a small series of tastings on this site in the near future, and will also be sending out reviews by twitter (it is all the rage, after all). If you are interested in seeing why Rioja Rocks, sign up to follow me on twitter, and also sign up to receive my email alerts here so I can get you interesting information and offers on Rioja wines.
I have been working on this map for a while and it remains WIP (Work In Progess), however, I thought I’d show you what is happening behind the scenes.
I am a visual person. I like “seeing” things if possible, whether it is a sketch, a flow diagram of an idea, a map, whatever. So, when I talk about Rioja I like to be able to point you to a map so you can see where things are and how they relate to each other.
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Once again, Google have implemented an AMAZING tool with Google Maps. I have been using it on and off for 18 months and there is always something new. It doesn’t yet do exactly what I want, but considering that it is free, this is not half bad!
I have mapped the different areas of Rioja (Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja, and the two elements of Rioja Alavesa) separately, and I’m trying to find an easy way to see them individually. Underneath it all is the full outline. You can export all this to play with in Google Earth (even more hours of fun), but I’ll leave this for another time.
The idea will be to add elements to this map, including towns, wineries, vineyards, tourist destinations and other points of interest as and when they get posted about. That way you can more easily plan your next trip to Rioja.
I’ve put this together from a number of sources, and unfortunately neither they, nor I, can be 100% accurate, so apologies if I missed anything off.
If you have any suggestions, or notice any issues, do let me know. After all, the great thing about this tool and about blogging, is that all projects are constantly in progress and subject to correction and improvement.
A few months ago I mentioned another Saint who lent his support to an excuse to have a party - Saint Barnabas. This time, it is one of the big names, the A-list of saints, that weighs in: Saint Matthew.
San Mateo (or Saint Matthew), is the patron saint of the Rioja harvest, and this event is celebrated on his feast day, the 21st of September every year. The event is one week long festival of wine, music, fireworks, food, dancing, bulls and more wine. The events usually kick off around the 15th of September and runs to around the 23rd.
Everywhere you go there are stands for regional wines, stages set up for bands who perform every night, and a small army of street cleaners keeping the place spotlessly clean (and I really mean it) despite the late night revelries.
One of the highlights is the rather fearsome, but somewhat less cruel to animals, Toros de Fuego event which happens most nights at midnight. Just as elsewhere in Spain, major events are celebrated with numerous bullfights, but Logroño does not make too much of its “bull run” (unlike Pamplona) and instead the whole family gathers to stare down a very different foe.
For around 30 minutes, some poor local athlete (for they have to be fit) has to wear a half barrel on his back made to look like a bull, painted black and with big horns. However, this is a Toro de FUEGO. That’s FIRE! They attach the most wicked sparkling fireworks to these horns so that they shower the entire watching public with sparks as the unfortunate runner races up and down Portales, Logroño’s main pedestrian avenue.
Last time I experienced this I was taken aback, but less so than one of my guests who was rather concerned about ending up like Michael Jackson (in that infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial). While she covered her hair (I had little to worry about) I used her camera to film the event. Unfortunately I don’t have that video, but check this out:
There are usually marquees set up to enjoy food and wine from around Spain as well as Rioja. I spent a very pleasant afternoon in the Andalucian tent last year (the photo above was of one of the paella’s being prepared)
But one of the highlights must be trying to negotiate Calle Laurel, Logroño’s Tapas capital. One little street has 40+ bars on it, with different specialties. Everyone gathers here to celebrate with friends and much wine, and food, is consumed whilst cheerleading bands from the different quarters of the town come by to liven the mood further.
The traditional celebrations include a symbolic “first crush” of grapes in the main square, where barefoot men tread the grapes to make the juice for the offering of a glass of “wine” to the Patron Saint of La Rioja, the Virgin of Valvanera.
This is a great time to visit Rioja. Rioja families come together from across the country to celebrate together, and everyone celebrates the impending harvest. You won’t find this event overrun by foreign tourists, quite the opposite.
If you are planning on visiting Rioja, this is a rgeat time to see it. You’ll need to book quickly as it often fills up quickly, but I recommend it if you can.
Although the tourist infrastructure of La Rioja is definitely improving, particularly with new wineries, wine shops, daytime activities and great restaurants opening all the time, there is one aspect that still lags a little behind - that is flexible accommodation.
There are plenty of reasonable hotels in the area, particularly in the larger towns such as Logroño and Haro. There are even a few “Paradores“, a network of out of town hotels, usually in attractive locations. But what if, like many British tourists, you preferred the idea of self-catering? Well, I have not been able to find a great deal of options on this front.
The first thing you need to know is that the closest equivalent to a self-catering cottage/house is called a “Casa Rural“. There are virtually no flats for rent despite there being many lying empty (Spaniards like to invest in property, but other than the coasts, short-term rental is unusual), but there are a variety of converted country houses around the hill towns and villages of the area.
There are some very nice looking properties in this category, including one I came across recently called Casa Josephine. This one looks fabulous (this picture is from their site), with luxurious rooms, loads of space to relax and even someone to come in and keep the place clean while you are there. Heaven! Not only do the owners understand the modern traveller’s needs (it comes complete with WiFi access), but they even have their own blog (www.casajosephineblog.com) to let you know about what you can do in the area. I really wish more places would be like this one.
What I don’t quite understand is that most tend to be larger houses, with 4 or more bedrooms, and you are expected to take the whole house. This is great if the whole extended family is coming along, or loads of friends are travelling together, as Spaniards will do at festival times. Unfortunately, it does not necessarily suit the average British tourist. Casa Josephine, for eaxmple, is not cheap at €480 a night, but it accommodates 10 or more adults, so it works out fine for bigger groups, but a tad expensive if you only use 2 rooms.
I’m hoping to find a few such sites and will link to them as and when I come across them in the Travel section of this blog, but if you’ve been out already, or know of such a place (or indeed run one), please drop me a note and let me know.
Here are some more photos to browse through form the Tapas Fantasticas event (there are more here). Most are not that artistic as I was a little rushed, but they’ll give you a sense of how busy it was, and if you were there you might even spot yourself or your friends:
Not only did we have glorious weather for the Tapas Fantasticas extravaganza in Brick Lane, but Spain go and win the European Cup for the first time in 44 years.
Who would dispute that things are looking good for Spain right now?
First of all, we had the tapas event. I don’t know how many people came in the end, but it was VERY busy, with queues stretching around the corner for much of the afternoon of both Saturday and Sunday. Once people were in, it seems that the combination of music, food and wine was managed very well. It was a great atmosphere and never descended into a desperate alcoholic binge session which is all too possible at such events. Ill put up a selection of photos on here in the next few days, and if you know where there are any more, please do let me know as I didn’t get a chance to snap all the different foods.
The visitors were an interesting combination of Rioja fans (mainly those who’ve been to Spain a lot and are already familiar with it) looking for something new, and those who really didn’t know much about Rioja and came for the fun. Hopefully both found what they were looking for. The questions & comments I heard most often, and are therefore obviously topics for future posts here, were:
“I never realised there were white/rosé Rioja wines”
“What’s the difference between the two reds (Crianza & Reserva)?”
“What grapes is this wine made from?”
“”So what food do you suggest having with this?”
Dinastia Vivanco wines went down very well. We were extremely lucky to have the Vivanco wines selected by (the extremely talented, entertaining and all-round wine god) Olly Smith as his favourite White and Rosado (Rosé) at the event. It meant that all those who attended his seminar made their way over for a chat. If that included you, thanks for all the great feedback. (This is hard-working Olly getting ready for his presentation - love the jacket mate!)
After we had finally packed up on the Sunday, I took a few friends down to Barcelona Tapas Bars (no, we had not yet had our fill of tapas!) on nearby Middlesex Street, to watch the football on the big screens in the company of other Spanish supporters, and a few stray German fans, looking for atmosphere I guess).
The food and wine (and beers) were great, but to be honest it was only the football that mattered that night. I’m not usually a big fan, and I know very little about the game, but the Spanish were deserved winners on the night. Spanish wines and food have become very popular in the past few years, but maybe this success and greater profile for the country will help to get even more people to explore Spain and Spanish culture. Certainly it will enthuse the Spanish to promote their country even more, and maybe we British can learn to explore the country beyond the traditional haunts on the coast.
If you picked up a card at the event, welcome! If you were looking for more information on the Dinastia Vivanco wines, and stockists, click here.
I trust that after having enjoyed the great Rioja wines and excellent tapas of Logroño, you will be in the mood for more news, views and tips on Rioja, so sign up to this blog and I’ll do my best to oblige.
You have three ways of staying in touch:
1. Sign up to my RSS feed and read about Rioja. I write about all sorts of stuff and I will promise to try and be entertaining. Posts coming up about castles, blind wine tastings, special offers and where to stay if you come and visit.
2. Sign up for my email alerts. I don’t write newsletters, and I’m not really selling anything, so it is safe! But I come across great information on promotions, prizes, events (like Tapas Fantasticas) and more, and I can let you know too.
3. Follow me on twitter. This is the new communications frontier. Many of the things I send by email I’ll also put up on twitter, and because it is so quick (when it isn’t overloaded), it will be best for last minute ideas and a bit of fun. Again, I promise not to bombard you.
So, there you go. Sign up! Stay in touch and enjoy loads of stuff about Rioja. And if you fancy it, leave me a comment here and let me know what you thought of the wines and the tapas festival.
Just a quick post to say that the Tapas Fantasticas event today really lived up to its name. There were unbelievable numbers of people, the sun was out, the food was great and we went through a lot of wine.
It was great to meet so many people and I look forward to sharing more information about Rioja with all of you.
If you are thinking of going tomorrow, I encourage you to do so, but I recommend you go early as the party really picked up from around 14:00.
An increasing number of visitors to this site are coming to look for information on the upcoming Tapas Fantasticas event in Brick Lane, London this weekend (28-29 June, 2008)
It looks like the weather is going to be good, so why not plan on coming along to the event this weekend?
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