Out on the bike yesterday, exploring the #vineyards and trails to the west of Logroño, La #Rioja

Wow! 300,000 tonnes of #grapes is a lot in anyone's book. 2 big cooperatives are given the go-ahead to merge in #LaMancha. elcorreodelvino.com/el-gobierno-...

Out on my #mountainbike this afternoon, #cycling around La #Rioja. Good to have decent countryside so close to home.

Interesting article here about #RíasBaixas. The region has been booming, but after last year's record havest and in the face of declining #wine sales, the DO is wondering what to do about it (restricting new plantings, lowering yield etc). Happens a lot. www.vinetur.com/202603059714...

#Winter no quite done yet here in La #Rioja. There has been quite a bit of overnight #snow on the local mountains.

Out visiting some #vineyards today in #Rioja Alavesa. This one is staked, which is quite unusual and pretty high-density. Surprisingly there seems to be little consensus around here on the best way to grow grapes.

Fun little #barrel tasting today. The same wine 2025 Pressings has been in 3 #newoak barrels since 21st November 2025. #Cadus / #Etna / #Martín Quite different pricing on the barrels, so need to see how things are working out. #BodegasObalo #Rioja

I have to say, I'm not a fan pf public money going to pay growers to partially grow #grapes then cut them off before they're ready (#greenharvesting). 4th year in a row. When / how will the governing forces they bite the bullet?

Re. a small wine fair of 38 "Independent Producers of #Rioja", it's great to see the President of DOCa Rioja in attendance and the inclusive tone here is very welcome. In the past the DOCa Rioja has been accused of only looking out for large wineries. laprensadelrioja.com/vinos-y-bode...

Bright but chilly morning at the winery. #BodegasObalo #Rioja

I quite like this re-designed packaging. Still easily recognisable as #ViñasDelVero but looks a bit more fun and modern, and I'm a sucker for embossed bottles.

This headline definitely playing on home turf here: "Drinking #wine as part of a Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of premature death by up to 33%".

Fantastic vertical #winetasting last night at #Roots #Logroño. 2021-2024 of #PagoDeArínzano #Armonia #Chardonnay. Interesting differences in the years, though good peachy fruit and impreccable balance throughout. Would be considered top wines if only #Spanish Chardonnay were not so unfashionable.

Now that does look good.

No, I did not see that, but sounds very plausible. I'm glad there are no/low alcohol alternative around now, but I can't help thinking that a drink or two lowers inhibitions and can lead to various positive social situations, that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Saw this pic, ilustrating an article about the #harvest in Argentina. Very obviously not Argentina. In fact if you know anything about winemaking, very obviously not a realistic harvest scenario either. #AI obviously still has a long way to go. Embarrasing for #vinetur to publish this.

Back to La #Rioja after a few days on the coast. An amazing change in scenery in such a short distance and much colder too.

More well-chosen #wines on sale at SuperAmara, San Sebastián. Amazing for a supermarket.

A few #txakoli / #chacolí options at the local #SuperAmara supermarket in San Sebastián. Wish we had such a decent wine supermarket at home.

28ºC / 82ºF in parts of Guipuzkoa today. A record for February. www.aemet.es/es/eltiempo/...

Astonshingly good #wine selection @SuperAmara in #SanSebastián. Good across the board, but in this pic alone there are wines from Casa Castillo, Bruno Murciano and Jiménez-Landi, to name but three leading producers that are well known to winos but aren't really household names.

About as textbook a #winelist as you can get at #BarMartínez in #SanSebastian's old town.

Out on the town last night in #Logroño, with pit stops in #MesónDelAbuelo, #LaCanillaGourmet and #RootsRioja.

I always find these kind of restricted tastings interesting - when not too many variables change at once.

This week in La Comunidad, @brendanboyle.bsky.social talks to British winemaker @adhalliwell.bsky.social, who lives in the beautiful La Rioja region, about wine trends, the lack of young people in the sector and how wine tourism is affected by patchy transport links.

Out and about in La #Rioja today.

Like these #Natcool bottles and the project in general, in this case made by a colleague at #ElHatoYElGarabato. The idea is lower alcohol quaffers, fun #wines in a 1L bottle. This one shows lifted red fruits from the #JuanGarcía grape grown in the Arribes region and is just 11%.

Out on the town last Saturday in #Logroño

Finally manage to get our #wine into one of my favourite #winebars - #LaCanillaGourmet in #Logroño. In good company too, sandwiched between Izadi and Artuke. #Rioja

The great thing about working for a multi-regional #wine producer is that we get to taste some fun wines for dinner and I could get a 2nd opinion on our own #BodegasObalo #singlevineyard #Mondiate 2025 red from a diverse range of wine professionals. #Terraselecta #Spanishwine

#AdrianaOchoa in action at the excellent #MujeresDelVino event in #Barcelona.

Back in #Logroño after a long trip away, met at the station and straight out for lunch! Can't complain.

Another excellent "tasting tunnel". This time #DORueda - Very well set-up, with all the #wines at the right temperature and all the information you need at your fingertips. Must have tried 40-50 wines. Was a great way to form opinions and draw conclusions about #Rueda in all its versions.

Really enjoyed these from @canestruc in #Catalunya. An interesting side-project of more boutique wines, away from the main programme. The winemaker was at #VinosOffTheRecord too, and I unwisely atttempted to ask her some questions in my best Catalan. A brilliant event.

#VinosOffTheRecord was such an excellent #winetasting. Located in a really cool part of #Barcelona, well-organized, loads of great producers and lots of interest.

Love these self-pour "Tasting Tunnels" like this one at #BarcelonaWineWeek #BWW #RibeiraSacra is one of my fave #Spanish #wine regions, so this stand was just perfect for me.

Miles of #wine at #BarcelonaWineWeek #BWW Unsurprisingy these from #Guímaro in #RibeiraSacra were excellent.

#Wine nerd heaven. #VinosOffTheRecord #Barcelona

Not long now.. #BarcelonaWineWeek starts tomorrow. #BWW #Barcelona #wine #vi #vino

Not heard of these before - #wine #barrels made of oak and #stone. Apparently they combine toasted flavours and micro-oxidation with reductive notes, resulting in fresher wines with more fruit which they hope will appeal to younger consumers. 1200€ each and 1/3 heavier.

Notes from the frontline. A bit of real #winemaking. #NewOak tasting notes on our 2023s, after 2 years, before pulling them out into a blend. #Berthomieu and #MartínezVelilla won this round. #Rioja

Pretty happy with how this #Ábalos #VillageWine is turning out. I thought perhaps I'd picked it a bit too soon (looking for lower alcohols and harvesting logistics), but it seems to be coming round, in concrete and old oak at least. The jury's still out on the new oak. #BodegasObalo #Rioja

Out on the town in #Logroño last night. Pretty busy on the #CalleLaurel, as per usual, less so in the rest of the city.

I'd absolutely be going to this #naturalwine fair, if I lived anywhere near #Barcelona. Handily too, it doesn't clash with BWW... I've been a couple of times a few years back and it's about as cool as you can get. Natural wines in an edgy urban setting. www.entrapolis.com/entradas/sal...

Wow! Amazing job by one of my predecessors, Raquel. 2010 was officially an "Excellent" year in #Rioja and this #wine shows it. A fairly warm, ripe style, very complex but still full of life. At this rate I'm going to finish the bottle.

Glorious #sunrise this morning from #BodegasObalo #Rioja

#Spain's experiencing a pretty serious #winter this year, with a lot of big storms in the Med, dropping loads of precipitation from Cadíz all the way round to Girona and waves of up to 10m! Now looks like the Atlantic is firing up again. Makes a change from the drought we had a few years back.

Interesting to try this #Albariño last night At least, I was told it was Albariño. No mention of the grape, nor region, nor year on the label. Instead the name is "Eat octopus and drink wine". Just 11% alcohol. A very commercial offering, that I imagine does quite well.

What is this? the 4th #winefair on the same day in #Barcelona? Who's going to go to this one? I get it, organise things for when people are in town, but not all on the same day. www.vinetur.com/202601149484...

Pleasant winter's day in the #Rioja #wine region.