We at the P.R. Grisley Company are fortunate enough to be able to work closely with the fine people from Europvin and their amazing portfolio featuring world reknowned wines from all over the world. One of the many gems that we are priveleged to work with from their portfolio is Emilio Lustau Sherries, one of the most well known and awarded sherry producers in the world. At this years Internation Wine Challenge, the 26th edition, Lustau again proved why it is one of the most beloved sherries all over the world. Below is a press release from Europvin about the great acheivments Lustau was awarded with this year-

“The 26th edition of the International Wine Challenge will go down in the pages of Lustau’s history as their best ever achievement.

Some 9,000 wines from the five continents were entered in this competition, all of which were competing for the medals and trophies of their respective categories (red wines, whites, fortified, sweet and sparkling).  Lustau is one of the most constant and principal players in the fortified category.

Of the thirty two prize winning sherries in this edition, eighteen came from Lustau, more than half of the total awards.  This clearly reflects the quality of the Lustau range of sherries.  Three trophies (the maximum award) were presented to the company, five gold medals, four silver, five bronze and four “highly recommended” mentions.  Thus Lustau was the sherry producer to garner the highest number of awards – and outstanding achievement.

During the awards ceremony, which was held at Grosvenor House on 2 September last, personal awards to relevant people in the trade were announced (enologists, wine writers, etc).  Manuel Lozano, Lustau’s Cellar Master, was named “Best Fortified Winemaker”, following on from his predecessor, Juan Fuentes, who took the same award in 2005.

These superb results give recognition to the efforts which Lustau has dedicated over the years to placing its sherries on a par with other great wines of the world.  They have created a wide range of sherries in which quality is the focal point, and which originates from the three towns in the Sherry Zone.  Their extensive spectrum of sherry styles are to be found in the best restaurants, hotels and wine specialists in all five continents.”

Manuel Lozano talks about his wines: “It is truly an honour to work with wines of this level of quality and elegance.  The variety and excellence of the Lustau soleras are a rare gift for the wine connoisseur, and especially for the Sherry lover.  The fact that Lustau matures wines in the three towns of the Sherry zone gives us access to an immense collection with the most diverse styles and characteristics.  It is like having a whole library of old volumes and limited, unrepeatable editions at your fingertips – a true luxury.”

We currently represent Europvin and Emilio Lustau sherries in the states of Utah, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, with a wide range of sherries available in all three states. If you currently live in any of these states and would like more information on pricing, availability or tasting notes/technical information, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions and provide information to you. If you don’t live in these states and would still like information on these wonderful wines, we will still be happy to help you find the importer or distributor in your area that represents Lustau and/or Europvin.

Cheers,

Michael

After wrapping up all our loose ends after nearly a month on the road, I finally found some time to sit down for a new post and edit the hours of footage to make a short video for everyone to enjoy. We had an absolutely incredible trip that began in Pittsburgh before moving on to Philadelphia for wine shows during the Pennsylvania Wine Week. The shows went well considering the current economic situation, and we were excited to show some new wines at both shows such as the recently available Alana-Tokaji Late harvest Furmint. This wine received wonderful responses in both cities and we were glad that everyone enjoyed it! We were also quite lucky to have Paul Sharp from Europvin join us in Philadelphia to help educate consumers about sherry, which also went over well with the crowds. I think with Paul’s amazing wealth of information we were able to change some opinions about sherry and hopefully expand some more palates.

After the Pennsylvania shows we headed to directly to Spain where we spent some time with friends in Madrid. They took us to some “secret” tapas bars around the city and introduced us to some new foods, which I’m sure we’ll try to recreate in our kitchens. I’m always amazed at the diversity of food Spain has, it seems every time I return I try at least 10 new items I’ve never had before.

We then bid farewell to our friends in Madrid, and met two purchasing agents from the PLCB at the Madrid airport and flew directly to Vigo where we stayed the evening in an amazing hotel right on the Spain/Portugal border as we all tried to recover from our jet lag. The next morning we spent an incredible day in Portugal where we visited Quinta de Gomariz in the northern Vinho Verde region of Portugal. Here we toured the winery and met the people behind these incredible white wines before heading south to the Douro region to visit Quinta de Carregosa, a small producer making excellent red wines. The Douro was an incredible region that was quite literally mountain after mountain completely terraced and covered with vines. The Douro was one of the most breathtaking places I have seen, I hope to return one day and spend some more time enjoying the region. We had an amazing dinner later that night courtesy of the hard work from the fine people  at Vinixa who had set up all of our visits to the various wineries. The family team at Vinixa has been an immense help to us since we began working together last February and we couldn’t have accomplished our tour of Portugal without them. Before and during the dinner, we met and tasted through the line of Quevedo Ports along with Oscar Quevedo. The ports were absolutely incredible with Portuguese dishes like grilled lamb chops, roasted veal, and an amazing chocolate dessert with an orange cream sauce paired with Quevedo’s LBV and Tawny 10 year- delicious! 

With our one day, one night whirlwind tour of Portugal over, we headed north back to Spain to the Galicia region in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. There we visited with our good friends and winemakers at Coto de Gomariz to try their new vintages of amazing red and white wines that really impressed all of us. Their red wines were quite a surprise as they are made with interesting local varieties rarely seen outside of Galicia, let alone Spain. Souson, Ferrol, and Brancellao are native red varieties that were almost lost to the region during many political upheavals that Spain has experienced throughout its history. Luckily, there are several producers such as Coto de Gomariz who have dedicated their work to restoring these native varieties and producing incredible wines with them.

After Coto de Gomariz we headed southeast to Ribera del Duero to visit the famous Vega Sicilia family of wines, which include Bodegas Alion and Bodegas Pintia (which is located in nearby DO Toro). We had an amazing tour of the facilities at both Alion and Vega Sicilia before sitting down to an incredible meal where we had the unbelievable opportunity to try wines such as the ’99 Unico, ’02 Valbuena, ’05 Alion and ’06 Pintia. This was the biggest lineup of wines I have ever had the chance to taste, surely one of those days I will never, ever forget for the rest of my life. After our tasting, we had the chance for some down time at the hotel, so we passed the time talking and enjoying a beer for a change on the patio with a cool river running right below us. The next morning it was on the road again, by this time we were getting good at the stop and go schedule we had lined up.

We then headed out to the Rioja region where most of the bodegas we represent are located. We had a few jam-packed days visiting the bodegas and sampling the new vintages and new wines that many of the winemakers have been working on. We first stopped at one of the most famous producers of classic Rioja wines, La Rioja Alta. We visited their amazing facility as well as tasted through their family of wines. I always love to try these wines as you are able to taste and feel the history of Rioja when drinking these delicate, delicious wines. We had fantastic meals at every bodega, and even had the classic Riojana dish “chuletillas a la parilla” (lamb chops grilled over last years dried vines) at both Bodegas Ondalan and Bodegas Medrano Irazu. We also had the opportunity to catch up with “Mr. Non-stop,” Miguel Angel from Bodegas Miguel Angel Muro. This man has more energy that anyone I have met and he has been busy creating a wonderful new reserva wine, which we were able to enjoy. We also caught up with the husband and wife duo of Charo and Julian from Bodegas Ruiz de Vinaspre, where we had the opportunity to try their new line of wines that didn’t disappoint. At Bodegas Santiago Ijalba we were able to try many of the new vintages, and I was most excited to try their new organic wine.  Even with all these visits in a short amount of time, we were also able to enjoy some free time in the village of La Guardia. This turned out to be absolutely chaotic as there was a huge soccer match between Barcelona and local favorites, Atletico Bilbao. People were partying in the street setting off what seemed like quarter sticks of dynamite based on the sound of the explosions- and this was even with their loss to FC Barcelona! Europeans are soccer crazy to say the least……There is always something new to experience in Rioja; I think that is what keeps us going back! 

Once our tour of Rioja had ended, we drove up north to one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, San Sebastian. This is still one of my favorite cities to visit as they have the most incredible gastronomy scenes in Europe, it’s unbelievable. From the hundreds of tapas bars and a visit to a traditional sideria, we experienced some amazing food and wine while finally being able to relax a bit as our non-stop schedule had finally come to an end. Our visit to San Sebastian was the perfect way to end our wine filled tour of Spain and Portugal and reflect on all the amazing sites and generous people we had seen and met.