Despite travel issues cause by the “Snowmeggedon” storm system that whipped the through much of the East Coast last week, we were lucky enough to have many importers and distributors brave the chaos and attend the D.O. Ribeiro wine tasting last weekend at Jaleo. Celebrity chef José Andrés was on hand to taste many the wines and samples the fantastic tapas that his kitchen staff was shooting out of the kitchen at a surprising rate, as well as discuss why he feels these wines are some of the best wines from Spain.  Polbo á feira, caldo gallego, queso tetilla with membrillo were just some of the wonderful creations on hand to that chef Andrés created to pair with the amazingly fresh wines present.

Located in the northwestern region of Spain, Galicia has seen a considerable amount of media and press attention due to the popularity of the Albariño variety being produced in the neighboring Rias Baixas region. Where as Albariño shines in Rias Baixas, D.O. Ribeiro has a higher elevation and is located more inland, providing prime growing conditions for the Treixadura variety, the star white grape of Ribeiro. The white wines are amazingly crisp, fresh and full of minerality and well balanced acidity that provide the perfect pairing for a variety of shellfish and seafood, as well as light meat dishes of pork and chicken.

Also occurring this past weekend, the Washington D.C. International Food & Wine Festival did in fact go on as planned, despite the continued travel issues cause by the severe winter storms. A surprising number of attendees were on hand, from importers and distributors to restaurateurs and the general public, and all arrived eager to try new and exiting wines from various countries and regions of the world. There were wineries present from the Spain, Italy, France and Alana-Tokaj from Hungary, as well as several US producers from Idaho, Pennsylvania, and the Washington DC area as well. While the event was sponsored by the Kingdon of Navarra, there was a never ending stream of people packing in and around the D.O. Ribeiro booth. While the majority of wines on hand were the incredible white wines from the region, there was quite a bit of interest in the red wine produced by Coto de Gomariz, the Cuve Caco. Produced from indigenous varieties, Caiño Longo, Sousón and Mencía, the Cuve Caco presented a completely different flavor profile from the various other Spanish red wines on hand. Very few people had heard of  these varieties, and only about five people had ever tasted a red wine from Galicia, all of which were mono-varietal wines produced from Mencía from neighboring Ribeira Sacra.

With all the buzz around the Cuve Caco, I began to think if it was just a matter of the demographic at the event, or if the obscurity of the red wines from Galicia are just due to the fact that the white wines overshadow them due to their popularity and coverage in the press. So, my question to the readers, have you ever tried a red wine from Galicia? Where was it produced? What varieties were used?

Looking forward to hearing some responses!

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.