A statement that was made at a recent Spanish wine tasting that I was hosting invoked in me a sense of panic. Well, more a gentle reminder that just loving wine does not make you an expert on wine. It takes years of hard work, studying, reading…and of course drinking – but professionally.
‘I only drink Rioja, it’s the best in the world’ was the statement that sent a shiver to my liver.
I could not help myself and had to ask back if it was the red, white or the rosé style that they preferred. Was it the Joven, Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reseva age? Also, who was their favourite producer? Also was their preference for the 100% Tempranillo or a blend with an additional wee dash of Garnacha, or even Graciano added in. Or even if they had a specific region within Rioja that was their go to area.
The answer was a very simple ‘the red one from the supermarket’.
Rioja is one of the most fantastic wine producing regions of the world. That is why you will find it all the way from corner shops to specialised wine merchants. Now to answer the questions that my guest could not…Rioja is predominantly a red wine. Almost 80/85% of production is red. However they do also produce some remarkable rosés and whites. For the reds they are allowed to blend in some other grapes. The main grape has to be Tempranillo which gives the concentration and the complexity. The addition of the Garnacha (Grenache) and other allowed local varietals build an extra layer of fruit.
Now the first thing that I look for in a Rioja is a balance of fruit, purity of flavour and subtle notes of oak. And this is where the aging process comes in to its own. The Joven wines are un-oaked. Crianza wines spend 1 year in oak and 1 year in bottle before release. The Reserva wines are 1 year in oak and 2 years in bottle. And Gran Reserva is 2 years oak and 3 years in bottle. The important note to all of this is that just because it is a Gran Reserva does not automatically mean that it is better. Try a few over the weekend and pick a favourite.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here