World renowned wine figure Jancis Robinson recently tasted several wines from one of our Spanish producers, Coto de Gomariz. She tasted both the 2008 Blanco and the 2008 “X” Albariño and seemed to enjoy them enough to feature them as her “wine of the week” picks on her website, www.jancisrobinson.com. While the region of Rias Baixas is still gaining popularity for it’s Albariño’s, Coto de Gomariz is located in nearby D.O. Ribeiro where treixadura is the grape of choice for producing crisp and complex white burgundy-esque wines. Wonderful acidity and mineralty due to the granite and schist soils make these wines a fantastic summer wine, especially when pairing alongside seafood and shellfish. I recently had a glass of the Blanco with the Bonito del Norte Salad from the Garces Trading Co. in Philadelphia and it was incredible. (Sorry Chef Garces, Cat Cora is still my favorite Iron Chef!)

While Jancis’ recent post mentioned that the Coto de Gomariz wines aren’t available in the US, I assure you they are, albeit in small quantities. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board carries both the 2008 Blanco and “X” Albariño, along with another one of their white wines, the 2007 Colleita Seleccionada.  They also carry three fascinating red wines from the same producer using other native varieties such as Mencia, Brancellao, Ferrol, Sousón and Caiño. The 2008 Coto de Gomariz Blanco will also be available very soon for order through Flickingerwines.com who is set up to ship to any state where direct shipping of alcohol is allowed. So, if you live in Pennsylvania or nearby bordering states, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding these amazing wines at your nearest PLCB wine store. If you’re not located near to any of these stores, I encourage you to visit Flickingerwines.com and see their entire listing of amazing wines from all over the world.

Cheers,

Michael

We’ve just finished tying up all our loose ends and are ready to set out for our third year attending the Pennsylvania Wine Week events- with a little detour in Chicago for a Vibrant Rioja event! the three events this year are again being held in Pittsburgh, Hershey and Philadelphia, and we always look forward to making the journey to Pennsylvania. While we have attended the Pittsburgh Wine Festival and Philadelphia Wine Festivals before, we are excited to attend the Wine Festival in Hershey for the first time. If you live, work or play in either area, these events are always a fun and informative way to spend your evening tasting some amazing wines from all over the world. More importantly, all three events will be benefiting great organizations such as the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, UPMC Cancer Centers, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

This year we’ll be pouring some fantastic wines from Spain and Portugal. We will have several different red wines, such as crianzas from Bodegas Ondalan, Bodegas Miguel Angel Muro and Bodegas Ruiz de Vinaspre. We’ll also be featuring an amazing reserva from Bodegas Medrano Irazu, all from Spain’s famed Rioja region. (Click here for a great post on the Rioja classification system by Catavino.net) We’re also excited to feature the amazingly fresh, crisp and refreshing white and rose wines from the Vinho Verde region of Portugal. These are a real value and the region is receiving quite a bit of attention lately for it’s quality to price ratio- it’s definitely worth seeking out wines from this region! Quinta de Gomariz is a young producer from the region and is already making a name for itself by gaining 92 points for its Alvarinho and 88 Points for its Espadeiro Rose from Wine & Spirits Magazine – both were featured as “Best Buys” in the August 2009 Issue.

We’re looking forward to sharing all these wines at the events and hopefully many of you will be able to attend one of the three!

Salud,

Michael

Good news for all you Spanish wine fiends! With the success of last years inaugural event in New York City, the Vibrant Rioja campaign decided to include a date in Chicago this year. This years events are focusing on the amazing quality-to-price ratio that many Rioja wines have been able to maintain even during these tough economic times. The key to this years events are not focusing on the least expensive wines necessarily, but the best “Value Wines.” I have noticed many Reservas from Rioja are still quite affordable and, in my opinion, the best “Value Wines” one can find from Rioja. However, don’t exclude the amazing array of Crianzas from around this famous region, most of which you can easily find in any market for under $15.

We will unfortunately only be able to attend the Chicago event due to upcoming wine events Pennsylvania, but we hope we can make it to the “Big Apple” next year. Both events in Chicago and New York are for members of the press and trade only, so if you are a Spanish wine lover but not part of the press or trade, have no fear, you’ll be there with us in spirit! Don’t feel angry or left out however, these events are taking place for importers and distributors to find outlets to make all these wines available to you, so you are actually the beneficiary in the end. If you are however a member of the press or trade and would like to attend either event, you can sign up online here. This years events will be held May 4th in Chicago, and May 5th and 6th in New York City, so if you’re in the area and can attend, please sign up. We look forward to meeting many of you that are able to make it to the Chicago event!

Salud,

Michael

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

We’re excited to announce that two wineries we are fortunate to represent will be attending the 11th Annual Washington D.C. International Food & Wine Festival this February. Coto de Gomariz located in the D.O. Ribeiro region of Spain and Alana-Tokaj located in the Tokaji region of Hungary will be presenting their wines this year and we hope many of you will be able to attend and taste the amazing wines these two wineries are producing.  While the event will be featuring more Spanish wine than any other region (the Kingdon of Navarra is a major sponsor) there will be wineries from all over the word, including France, Africa, New Zealand and right here in the U.S. Many local restaurants will be holding cooking seminars and tastings as well, including local celebrity chef José Andrés who lives in the D.C. area. If you happen to live in or be visiting our nations capitol the weekend of February 12 through the 14th, I encourage you to attend the event and be sure to visit and taste the amazing wines Coto de Gomariz and Alana-Tokaj will be pouring- I can assure you they won’t disappoint!!

Cheers,

Michael

Anyone that happens to live in or be visiting Jackson Hole the weekend of Friday October 16th to the 18th should consider staying an extra day and attending what I’m sure will be a delicious Spanish themed dinner at The Wort Hotel on Monday October 19th. With the help of the beverage directors and chefs at The Wort, I think we’ve created a wonderful food and wine pairing featuring several wines we import and mouth watering dishes which I’m sure won’t disappoint. What I’m most excited about is for everyone attending to try the Emilio Lustau “Old East India” sherry- I hope it will open some eyes (and palates!) to a whole new flavor profile and exploration into the wonderful world of wine. Here is the menu that the chef’s have created:

Wine Dinner

Fabulous Four-Course Dinner Featuring

Cuisine and Wines of Spain

* Cuerno de Beef Carpaccio – a little Horn of Thinly Sliced Rare Beef, Stuffed with Micro Greens and Manchego,

Drizzled with a Citrus-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Chozas Carrascal – El Cava

*Toasted Goat Cheese on Arugula with Roasted Tomato and a Cracked Peppercorn Vinaigrette, Served on a Crostini

Muro Crianza

*Spanish Spice Rubbed Lamb Loin, with a Lemon-Coriander Sauce.  Wild Rice with Toasted Pecans and Scallions

Ondalan Reserva

*Flourless Chocolate Torte, Served warm with Poached Figs and a Saffron Whipped Crème Fraiche

Emilio Lustau Old East India Sherry

I will be fortunate enough to be attending and I look forward to meeting everyone and discussing the wines and answering any questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the event or the wines!

Salud,

Michael

The fine team at Bodegas Vina Hermosa has been busy the past year and a half developing and creating wines that maximize the healthy qualities of wine. Here is the result of their hard work and effort as quoted from the bodega-

I can’t believe how many people now live in Jackson Hole Wyoming! It seems to grow every time we return to the beautiful surroundings of the Grand Tetons. To kick off the 2009 Memorial Day weekend, the P.R. Grisley Company joined a very diverse group of people at the 31st Annual Jackson Hole wine festival.

The day started with representatives from restaurants, wine stores, and hotels joining the exhibitors for a few hours before the public joined in on the fun. For over 6 hours we presented our wines, educated new wine lovers on several unique wines from Portugal, Spain and France. We poured a white and a rose wine from Chozas Carrascal located in the Utiel-Requena region of Spain, a fantastic Douro red from Quinta de Carregosa in Portugal and red wines from Bodegas Medrano Irazu, Santiago Ijalba and Ondalan in Rioja. We also poured the Chateau de Monbadon from Bordeaux and the Cuve Sabine from the Cotes du Rhone region in France. Everyone seemed to enjoy the diversity represented at the table, and they were excited to try some wines from several unique areas within the Iberian Peninsula. It was definitely one of the best-run events we have been able to participate in, and we hope to be asked back next year.

The festival was a wonderful combination of great wines, friendly people, and amazing scenery. There were over 400 wines presented from around the globe, and almost one thousand people in attendance enjoying the unique event. If you’ve never visited Jackson Hole, it’s a beautiful place filled with culture, western charm, friendly people, and some of the most amazing mountains in the US- not too mention people with great taste in wine!

–Peter

There is never a dull moment at Bodegas Medrano Irazu, where winemaker Amador Medrano Irazu always wears a smile- well, more like a smirk. He is a wiry man in his mid thirties who loves his work and is passionate about it, there is no doubt. So, it comes as no surprise that he owns some of the highest vines in all of DOC Rioja, designed his own trellis system to achieve maximum potential for his vines, and is known all over Rioja Alavesa. Some think he’s crazy, others maybe part genius/part mad scientist, but one thing is clear- he is leading the way for every producer in DOC Rioja.

As Spain continues to produce fantastic white wine from all over the country, it seems like white wines in Rioja have succumbed to the same scrutiny as their red wines- should they be made in a traditional or modern style? While you can find incredible white wines of both styles in Rioja produced mainly with the Viura variety (along with others such as Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca), they are usually overshadowed by Albarino from Galicia and Verdejo in Rueda. In response to other regions and varieties gaining more and more popularity, the Rioja Consejo Regulador has recently allowed the use of chardonnay and other non-native varieties in Rioja as well. While I’m sure this will be quite the controversy within Rioja, I worry more about the response to the addition in the US. As we’re already saturated with California Chardonnay, I just hope that the US consumer doesn’t begin to associate chardonnay with Rioja. Along with Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino.net, I don’t feel there was anything wrong with the white wines being produced in Rioja- I just think they haven’t explored the full potential of what their native white varieties can achieve. In my opinion, the addition has the potential to destroy Rioja’s image, not improve it, and is only an attempt to gain some of the white wine market share being exported from Spain.

Not one to sit back and watch his beloved Rioja become eclipsed by these other regions and varieties, Amador has been experimenting with the Viura variety to determine what kind of potential this grape possesses. With his love of Tokaji, Sauternes, and sweeter Sherries, he set out to see if Viura could make a quality sweet wine. After one successful and one disastrous attempt under his belt, I guess you could say that the “third time’s a charm” as he has been granted the first late harvest, or “Vendimia Tardia” approval from the DOC Rioja. I’ve had the chance to taste both successful vintages and they are absolutely fantastic and intriguing. These wines have wonderful acidity and complexity, as well as incredible floral aromas and honey notes on the nose. While there are some producers in Rioja such as Marques de Caceres producing sweeter wines with native varieties, they have yet to receive an official guarantee from the Consejo Regulador. With Medrano receiving the first official guarantee, I hope many other producers will now realize that they literally have incredible potential growing right at their feet.

I can’t wait to see how Amador will develop and brand this groundbreaking wine in the future. Hopefully it will bring some attention back to Rioja and it’s native varieties and what can be accomplished with a bit of imagination and hard work!

–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.