Rioja: Conversations with Winemakers


The cellar at López de Heredia winery in Rioja, Spain, is festooned with cobwebs and their oldest wine dates back to 1885.

There is a long history of winemaking in Rioja, Spain’s best known wine region. French winemakers moved to the area when phylloxera destroyed their own vineyards, and they introduced a very traditional style of wine that defined quality by how long it was aged (hence the labeling hierarchy with two-year-old Crianza, three-year-old Reserva, and five-year-old Gran Reserva).

Nowadays, competition with wines from around the world has led to changes and divisions within the Rioja winemaking community as traditional and modern styles of winemaking compete for market dominance. The new school wines are aged less and fit the current demand for riper, fruitier wines.

Rioja: Conversations with Winemakers is edited by Christopher Barnes and published by Grape Collective (I was sent a preview copy of the ebook). The core of the book is interviews with seven winemakers who explain, in their own words, the history of their winery, their winemaking principles, and their dreams for the future. Videos on Vimeo complement the text.

The ebook is the first in a series of books, published by Grape Collective, about winemakers from different regions around the globe.

The Families
Many of the wineries are family wineries. “We learn from generation to generation,” says María José López de Heredia. “My sister is already teaching her two little daughters, aged 7 years and 5 years old, and already they have done several tastings of grapes. You learn first by tasting the grapes. Each grape has a different composition of sugar and acidity – and you learn at home.”

The Vines
All the winemakers emphasized that they are farmers – “vinemakers not winemakers.” Miguel Angel de Gregorio of Finca Allende explains, “We work a lot on the vines to obtain the best grapes possible and we work in the cellar so as not to damage the grapes!”

The Dreams
It was fascinating to compare the winemakers’ goals for their wineries. María José López de Heredia’s great-grandfather started their winery by accident, but he quickly decided that he wanted to make the best wine in Spain: “In fact, he used to call it ‘La Suprema Rioja!’ He wanted to sell wine to people who owned a car, wore a tie, spoke languages and were related to the royal family or were diplomats.”

Ana Martinez Bujanda is a fifth generation winemaker at Conde de Valdemar winery. Despite their long history, the family has chosen to pursue a very modern style. “We were one of the first to make the new style of Rioja wines with more fruit, more modern and with another style,” Ana says. “Our idea is to always be the first in Rioja, making new things and showing people new ways, new grapes, and always something new for us to give to the people.”

Conversations with Winemakers
I enjoyed reading Rioja: Conversations with Winemakers. The book is short and very accessible but left me longing for more in-depth, detailed interviews and more background information.

The hotel and restaurant lists are interesting, but I would definitely want to do more research before travelling to this area, and I would have liked to know if the profiled wineries offered tours or tastings.

If you’re interested in learning more about Spanish wines, I recommend reading this book, which is available on the Grape Collective website.

You may also be interested in reading the articles I wrote about the wineries in Jumilla in southeast Spain.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 28, 2017

Image
The Next Great Food Business Public Tasting, Sept. 7 The Local Kitchen is hosting a public tasting with samples from each of the finalists in the Next Great Food Business competition. Finalists are: King’s Jerky, Kind Condiments , Smoke and Salt BBQ, Bannock Express , and Voodoo Van . Wine Tastings Guess the most expensive wine (Sept. 8), sample some Rhône wines (Sept. 22), or attend the 2017 Premier Showcase Wine Dinner (Sept. 28) sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Premier Showcase is also offering a Portugal with a Splash of California wine seminar (Sept. 29) and a Women & Whisky seminar (Sept. 30). Refresh and Renew I had a chat with Trent Loewen about his plans now that he has sold Earth Bound Bakery. He is heading east to visit chef friends in Ontario and then off to New Zealand to explore what's happening there. After 9 years with a single focus, it's time to explore new ideas. Interestingly enough, the bakery's new owner is a business
Read more

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 21, 2017

Image
Prairie Harvest Café I was sad to learn that Prairie Harvest Café has closed its doors. It’s been one of my favorite Saskatoon restaurants since day one, and I really appreciated the fact that the chefs focused on cooking with local ingredients, many supplied by the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. All the best of luck in your new adventures. We’ll miss you. Hug a Farmer This has been a tough summer for many farmers. Prairie Sun Orchard lost their entire cherry crop to insects. Drop by their stand at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, tell them you care, and have an ice cream. My favorite is the chocolate cherry fudge, but Clare Pearson, the principal ice cream maker, says her new favorite is the salted caramel. Peppers If you’re like me, you assume that all small, skinny peppers are super hot and avoid them like the plague. But that’s a big mistake. Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering two long, skinny peppers – one can be hot, but the other isn’t. Padron chile pepper
Read more

Petra Market: A Mediterranean Grocery

Image
Tucked away in a strip mall on Primrose Drive (north of Lawson Heights Mall) is Petra Market, a treasure trove of food products from the Arabic countries in the Mediterranean. I’m fascinated by grocery stores full of unknown-to-me products but also a little nervous about trying things, so I was really happy when Nour Dabbour, the owner of Petra Market, showed me around and told me about the different items. Nour is trying to stock products from as many Middle Eastern countries as possible. He even stocks the same product from a number of different countries because he says that each country’s product tastes slightly different. Za’atar , a spice mix, is a prime example with packages from Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and each one is a slightly different colour with a slightly different taste. The most popular areas of the store are the nut and treats bars with an amazing assortment of Middle Eastern candies and mildly spiced nuts. Nour gave me a variety to try and I’m real
Read more

The Golden Towns of Beaujolais

Image
Heading north out of Lyon, you pass through a long tunnel and exit into a lush green countryside leaving the city far behind. You then turn and head up the hill onto winding roads between a patchwork of vineyards. Many of the vines are really old with short, thick, twisted trunks and a thin stem of green leaves and buds. These are the Gamay vines of Beaujolais, interspersed with a few fields of greener, leafier Chardonnay vines. South Beaujolais, just 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, encompasses 25 medieval villages of orangey-gold stone (limestone and iron) that is surprisingly vibrant (I had been expecting something lighter, similar to the Cotswolds in England). Some of the villages still have the remains of 14th century castles. Oingt is classed as one of the most beautiful villages of France and it really is lovely. You can take a walk around the town on the former ramparts and the church is austere and beautiful. I was on a half-day tour , which combined stopping to
Read more

Spelt and Millet: Ancient Grains for Today's Healthy Diet

Image
When I was growing up, whole wheat flour and rice were exotic options. Now we have a whole range of intriguing choices – buckwheat, spelt, millet, kamut – the list goes on and on. My problem is that I don’t know very much about some of these grains, so I arranged a phone call with Nicole Davis, the Owner/Manager of Daybreak Mill near Estevan. Daybreak Mill grows and processes approximately 18 different kinds of flour, whole and de-hulled grains, flakes, cereals, and legumes. They are 100% organic. “We want people to have access to healthy, wholesome food,” Nicole explains. Two of Daybreak’s products – spelt and millet – have been nourishing people around the world for over 9,000 years. Spelt Spelt was cultivated by ancient civilizations in Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. It grows well in poor soil and doesn’t require fertilizer. It’s resistant to frost and the thick husk protects the grain from insects. However, spelt requires more processing than wheat as
Read more