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Re: What is the Etymology of La Rioja?

AllAboutAlavesa — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:29:59 -0000

Another popular myth, at least in Rioja Alavesa, is that the name could have derived from the early wine producers noticing all the leaves (hojas) after the harvest filling the rivers and streams. I enjoy this theory, especially after fly fishing many of these "RIOS" after the harvest and literally not being able to see the water underneath all the "HOJAS." Although, I am quite partial to the Santiago Ijalba Theory....Delicious Wines! (Although the link above is wrong, it is <a href="<a href="http://www.santiagoijalba.com) " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.santiagoijalba.com) "><a href="http://www.santiagoijalba.com) " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.santiagoijalba.com)

Re: What is the Etymology of La Rioja?

AllAboutAlavesa — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:29:59 -0000

Re: What is the Etymology of La Rioja?

AllAboutAlavesa — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:29:59 -0000

Re: What is the Etymology of La Rioja?

AllAboutAlavesa — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:29:59 -0000

Re: How to Read a Rioja Wine Label

AllAboutAlavesa — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:14:36 -0000

My favorite wines out of Rioja have quickly become the "High Expression" wines, or "Alta Expresion." While these do not have their own individual label as explained above (crianza, reserva, etc.) they will fall into one of these categories, generally the "Guarantee of Origin" classification. These Alta Expresion's are, for me, the most interesting wines coming out of Rioja today. They allow the bodegas to experiment with different blends and are an amazing example of what can be produced by fusing traditional Rioja methods with today's cutting edge technology used in many of the bodegas in Rioja. I believe that more and more these are the wines that we will be hearing about in the future when Rioja is mentioned.

Re: Alimentaria, the Good and the Bad!

AllAboutAlavesa — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:29:18 -0000

Congrats on all of your progress and here is to your continued success!! Salud!

Re: Some of the Food Culture of La Rioja (warning may cause salivation)

AllAboutAlavesa — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:44:29 -0000

I am going to be dreaming in technicolor tonight about morcilla, chulatillas, revueltos con setas, and of course a fine Rioja wine. Thanks for sparking my fondest memories of Rioja because they always include eating!

Re: La Rioja’s Traditional Liqueur: Patxaran

AllAboutAlavesa — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:55:05 -0000

Thanks so much for this article!!! I have been addicited to patxaran ever since I was fortunate to visit San Sebastian for the first time in the winter of '98. I believe it was the brand "La Navarra" and our Basque friend ordered it without asking if we had tried it before or even liked it. Needless to say, after a night of walking around the old town eating pinxtos all night, it was the perfect digestif after a hard days work of eating! The best patxaran I have found is at the Hotel Villa Laguardia, just down the hill from the walled city of Laguardia. It is there house patxaran, but I never did find out the brand or who was making it for them. If anyone has info on this I would greatly appreciate it. Salud!

Re: UK is number one market for Spanish Wines

AllAboutAlavesa — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:17:53 -0000

Living in the U.S, I have noticed in both the west and east coast liquor stores (control states to be specific) a HUGE jump in Spanish wines, especially in the past year. I agree with Richarda that there has been a large surge in Jumilla, but I have noticed more of a jump in Toro and Monsant DO's in the control states. I have also seen a massive influx of Albarino, it seemed almost in a two week span that there were 8 new Albarinos in my local liquor store. I have noticed a lot more wines out of Galicia, especially from Rias Baixas and Ribeiro. While I love to see more and more Spanish wines available, I have noticed the "Aussie Effect" happening at the stores and people are being bombarded with too many sub-par wines and getting overwhelmed and end up heading to a different section. However, on the positive side of things, I think people are so much more knowledgable about what they are buying that most often than not people will know how to weed out the average bottle of wine for that fantastic one, which you can still find for under $15 in the Spanish section. I would like to see more exotic or relatively undiscovered varieties and wines enter the market. I think items like Txakoli and some of the native Galician grapes Godello, Loureira and Treixadura would open up a whole new world of what Spain has to offer.

Re: Wine Journalists, might consider using Wordpress if you decide to join us! ;)

AllAboutAlavesa — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:39:13 -0000

Great post Ryan! Although I have to admit, I am kind of torn up inside because I both agree and disagree with you. As an importer in the U.S., we are basically at the mercy of all the different wine mags, especially Tanzer and your personal favorite, Parker. I say this because unfortunately, 99% of all stores almost require you to have shelf talkers for your wine if you want your product to sell. Yes, I admit, I am one of those people that puts scores right in your face, but my livelyhood literally depends on it. I wish this wasn't the case, but you know as well as I do that some people follow these magazines like a cult and won't buy a wine or go out of their comfort zone if it doesn't have a stamp of approval and a high rating from these mags. While some of the magazines will occasionally have an interesting or informative article, this is where I applaud Catavino and other blogs for focusing their writing and attention about WINE not about SCORES. Take your recent Rioja project for example, I haven't read a magazine article that in depth, that focused, but most important, that personal about Rioja in any of them, and they have the money to do a project like that!! This is what I think the big magazines need, a little personality. There is so much happening in the wine world today that I feel we need several different outlets for all this information, including the Parkers and Tanzers, but let's just hope they can open their eyes to new and different types of wine drinkers.

Re: Wine Journalists, might consider using Wordpress if you decide to join us! ;)

AllAboutAlavesa — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:41:29 -0000

Well Ryan, my answer to your question is obviously complicated and has many different answers, but I think you touch on one of the main points that leads in that direction. You have already made the case several times, both in your main article and your post above, the critics need to start blogs!!! We 've already seen a huge jump in people takin charge and educating themselves about wine, which I think needs to progress even more, but I believe that is a step in the right direction in itself. I think readers need to trust their own palates more and not rely on the tastes and let's be real here, the opinions, of some of the wine critics. However, I think we do need to recognize the fact that these critics do know wine at a extremely professional level, so I don't think getting rid of the point system and the big name critics all together is possible, or even a positive thing. I guess in a long round-about way to answer your question, I think people need to educate themselves more, read the critics reviews with a grain of salt, and try as many different wines out there as possible to discover their own palate. Just because Jay Miller will score a big extracted Rioja a 96 (what does the plus mean really anyway?) doesn't mean that everyone will like it. Wilf mentioned above "Wine is about friends, family, food, friendship, frivolty and...." Isn't this really why we drink wine?

Re: Wine Lovers, Listen up! I Love Beer!

AllAboutAlavesa — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:25:04 -0000

What, no love for the almighty Spanish "beer" Cruzcampo?? The best warm/flat/old tasting beer in all of Spain, I wouldn't have made it through all those festivals if it weren't for that red canned beauty! While I have become more of an enophile in recent years, I still consider myself a beer man. I'm not sure where I get it from, maybe my Irish heritage, growing up Catholic in Mormon Utah, or probably more surprising for people not familiar with the Beehive State, the amazing small breweries we have here! Yes it's true, we have breweries here (with real beer!) and most are top notch, one of my local faves, Redrock Brewing, won "Large Brewpub of the Year" at the 2007 Great American Brew Festival, and most recently picked up a silver medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup for their nut brown ale. While wine has quickly won over my heart, there really isn't anything better that a good beer after a long day mountain biking the Wasatch Mountains. Bottoms Up!!

Re: Gabriella Joins the Circle of Wine Writers

AllAboutAlavesa — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:40:35 -0000

Felicitaciones Gabriella!!

Re: Interview with Miguel Torres

AllAboutAlavesa — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:03:20 -0000

He is definitely someone to look to in the wine world who is already implementing ideas and techniques that everyone will eventually need to use. I think we need more rolemodels such as him to help promote sustainability within bodegas the world over. Bravo Sr. Torres!

Re: Doctor’s Prescription in Spain: More Meat, More Wine, More Fat, More Excitement

AllAboutAlavesa — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:50:58 -0000

I had a dream that happened to me once......................By the way, where is the picture of your roof top ganja farm?

Re: Boquerones: Sometimes Fresh but Always Delicious, White Anchovies

AllAboutAlavesa — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:41:19 -0000

I love boquerones!! One of my favorite tapas is a Gilda- a flavor packed bite all on the same toothpick consisting of an olive, an anchovy, and a guindilla, those delicious little Basque peppers. While visiting some friends in Vitoria, they told me they are called Gilda's in reference to the character from Casablanca: she was salty and spicey!

Re: How do Spanish Sweet and Fortified Wines Size Up on an International Scale?

AllAboutAlavesa — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:36:07 -0000

Justin,
Thanks for all the information from Vinoble, I was supposed to attend this year but unfortunately couldn't make it. After hearing your description of the setting of the event in your previous blog and the interesting finds from this one, I will be sure to attend next year. Salud!

Re: Catavino’s Video Debut with Danny the Catalan Chef

AllAboutAlavesa — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:01:31 -0000

I'm sooooooo hungry now. Your "acting" wasn't bad at all either, bravo!

Re: Grape Profile Verdil: A Highly Misunderstood Indigenous Grape of Valencia

AllAboutAlavesa — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:43:14 -0000

John, Thanks for the interesting and entertaining article, I was wondering if you had Miss Verdil's phone number, I'm in need of a cheap date! All joking aside, I feel it's very important to focus on obscure and indigenous varieties such as Verdil for the simple reason that we are constantly searching for new and different ways to enjoy wine. Should these varieties start to vanish, the wine world will stop expanding. If we only have a limited number of varieties to work with, everything will eventually become boring once we have explored, tasted, and exhausted all options. This is where indigenous varieties come into play, helping to create new and exciting wines. Good or bad, depending on your opinion and/or palate, these help the progression of the wine world.