With the Christmas festivities almost behind us —Spaniards celebrate the Three Wise Men Day on the 6th—, January begins in an austere mood in terms of wine tastings with few events scheduled for the first fortnight of the month. Please come back to this page for further updates —we will add new tastings as they are announced.

2 -7 January. A great deal of the music on the stage of Festival Actual in Logroño will be paired with wine and tapas thanks to the participation of places such as Bodegas Franco-Españolas and Wine Fandango with artists like Fake Teddy, Sweet Barrio, Mäbu or Freedonia and Vintage Trouble, as top acts. Price: free entry to Wine Fandango and from €12 at Franco-Españolas.

6 January. The arrival of The Three Wise Men —a festive day in Spain— coincides with the traditional opening at midnight of inscriptions for the Vila Viniteca Tasting Contest in Pairs. Technical issues on the Vila Viniteca website made it impossible to carry on with the registration process on the usual date, so it has been postponed to 6th February at 10:00.The contest, which will take place in Barcelona on April 15th, is open to worldwide trade professionals and wine aficionados with a €30,000 prize for the winners. Tickets fly so be sure to log in on the dot if you want to grab a space.

11 January. The owner of restaurant Guardaviñas (Marqués de San Nicolás, 47) in Logroño Alberto Ruiz presents a tasting of six white wines, both dry and sweet, from Tokaj. At the end of the tasting there will be a selection of dishes to share among everyone there. Time: 20:30 Price: €40 Bookings on +34 941 12 31 92

12 January. Santa Caterina Market in central Barcelona organizes a tasting of wines made by Cellers Singulars, a group of six small producers from the DO Tarragona, whose wines will be paired with products sold at the market. Time: 19:30-21:30 Price: €28

16 January. Mostrador de Vila Viniteca (General Díaz Porlier 45, Madrid  starts the year with a tasting of South African wines with the following wines: Caperitif Vermouth; Newton Johnson Albariño 2016; Ashbourne Sauvignon Blanc - Chardonnay 2016; The Sadie Family Palladius 2009; Badenhorst Family Red Blend 2015; Spioenkop 1900 Pinotage 2015; Reyneke Reserve Red 2010 y Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. Time: 20:00-22:00 Price: €55 (€50 for members of El Club)

16 January. Bodega Urbana in Bilbao (Gran Vía, 66) hosts an Aroma Workshop led by winemaker Ana Martín. Participants will experiment with pure aromatic elements, fruits, flowers, spices... putting the theory into practice with six wines: three reds and three whites. Snacks will be served during the tasting. Time: 19:00 Price: €25 Information and bookings on +34 944416181

17 January. Wine store Majuelos Singulares in Valladolid starts the year with a meal serving Pardina lentils from Tierra de Campos, paired with wines from Castilla y León: Cucú Verdejo by Beatriz Herranz, Poco dil Cane Rosado from DO Cigales and Re Minor from DO Ribera del Duero. The lunch, presented by Álvaro Sirgado, member of Valladolid’s Gastronomy Academy, will be served at restaurant Ángela (Doctor Cazalla, 1). Time: 14:30 Price:€ 25 Bookings on +34 956 350623

17 January. Ocho Wine Shop & Bistro in Málaga (Pedro de Toledo, 2) has organized a tasting of Pedro Ximénez wines with the following dry and sweet selections: Marqués de la Sierra Blanco joven, Vino de Pueblo Blanco Crianza, Fino CB, Amontillado Carlos VII and Dulce PX 1927. The tasting, led by Javier Seijo from Bodegas Mar in Motril, will be followed by a tasting of cheeses from Málaga. Time: 18:00 Price: €20 Bookings on +34 654 901 954 

18 January. Spanish wine critic Andrés Proensa presents at Unión Española de Catadores in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) a selection of nine whites whose first harvest saw the light in 2017: Carrasviñas Rueda Dorado, Claudia de Tricó, Finca Viñoa Embotellado Tardío, La Fillaboa 1898, Alvear Criadera/A, Jean León X, Pujanza SJ Anteportalatina, Laus and Colección Vivanco 4 Varietales Blanco de Guarda. Time: 19:00 Price: €35 (€20 UEC members)

19 January. Jaime Suárez, winemaker at Dominio de Atauta, a high altitude estate on the westernmost part of Ribera del Duero, will be today at El Buen Gusto Vinos in Valladolid (Manuel Silvela, 2) to present their range of wines: La Celestina de Atalayas del Golbán, Parada, Dominio de Atuta and La Mala, Valdegatiles and Llanos del Almendro, three wines which are sourced from three different vineyards with productions below 900 bottles. Some bites will be served at the end of the tasting. Time: 20:00 Price: €25 Bookings on +34 983 377 199

19 January. At their store in Madrid’s Ortega y Gasset street, Lavinia holds an evening market with bin end bottles from over 100 prestigious brands from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat, Burdeos, Borgoña, Champagne… with discounts between 10% and 30%. Access is restricted and inscription is required. Time: 19:00-22:00 Price: €10 which will be deducted from purchases over €50.

22-24 January. As part of Enofusión 2018, a side trade meeting which is part of Madrid Fusión, there will be tastings of wines from DO Ribeira Sacra, Freixenet, Marqués de Riscal, González Byass and their Palos Cortados plus a paired tasting of wine and game from the province of Toledo, among others. As well as the tastings, the EnoBar features a free tasting space with over 150 wines from different Spanish regions. Price of each tasting: €20

25 January. Fintan Kerr, author of the blog Wine Cuentista, hosts today in Barcelona (92 Carrer san Pere Mes Baix) an International Blind Tasting (in English), a popular activity among wine lovers and an opportunity to learn about how wine is structured and built. There will be six wines tasted from countries around the world, Spain included. Time: 19:00 Price: €30 Inscriptions via email: fintankerr@winecuentista.com

26 January. To launch the new tastings season, Bodega Santa Cecilia in Madrid (Blasco de Garay, 74) presents a tasting of organic wines with the following selections: Jean Leon Vinya Gigi Chardonnay 2012/2014, (DO Penedès), Ossian Verdejo F/B 2014 (VT Castilla y León), Finca Terrerazo 2014 (DOP El Terrerazo), Vegamar Brut ecológico (DO Cava) and Forlong Tintilla de Rota 2014 (VT Cádiz). Time: 19:00-21:00 Price: €25 (€20 members)

26 January. Spaniards usually generalize about slate soils, but Los Amigos de La Vid y el Vino in Alcobendas have prepared a tasting to discover other materials which also belong to this category. The journey will take them to different parts of the world (Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Portugal, New Zealand…) with wines made by great producers, from different vintages and grapes varieties, in order to find which organoleptic traits are common to wines sourced from slate rock soils. Location: Francisco Largo Caballero, 44 (Agrupación PSOE, Alcobendas), Time: 19:00 Price: €50  (€40 members) Bookings on +34 669 404 169

29 January. Nacho González, alma mater behind La Perdida in Galicia, makes his wines as naturally as possible and without the addition of sulphur. He will be today at Enoteca Barolo (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) in Madrid presenting the following wines: Malas Uvas (Palomino and Dona Branca), A Chaira (Dona Branca), O Pando Orange (Godello and Dona Branca), O Trancado (garnacha tintorera and mencía), A Mallada (garnacha tintorera and sumoll) and O Poulo (garnacha tintorera and palomino). Time: 20:30 Price: €30

30 January. La Vinícola in Barcelona (Girona, 123) has invited Raül Bobet, the man behind Castell d'Encus, who makes high-altitude wines at his estate on the Pyrenees, under the DO Costers del Segre appellation. The property has 23 hectares of vineyards planted to international varieties and also has ancient stone lagars that are still in use. As well as the tasting, participants will be able to win bottles of wine in a draw. Time: 19:30 Price: €20 with a €5 discount on purchased wines. Further information on +34 935 323 331

30 January. Wine bar and restaurant Los Patios de Beatas in Málaga (Beatas, 43) hosts a tasting with 10 wines and the presence of their four producers from various regions in Spain: Bodegas El Paraguas (Ribeiro), Bodegas Mengoba (Bierzo), Olivier Rivière (Rioja) and Ca'n Verdura (Binissalem). A paired meal will be served at the end of the tasting (€25)  Time: 21:00 Price: €10 Bookings on +34 952 210350

31 January. David Molina, from Outlook Wine, presents a seminar about single varietal wines and the aspects that differentiate their styles. The course includes a tasting of 20 white and red wines. Location: Hotel Catalonia Barcelona Plaza (Plaza de España, 6-8) Time: 10:30 - 18:00 Price: €160

31 January and 7 and 14 February. The tasting school Vinaliti in Málaga (Calle Salinas, 3) hosts a course to understand Vinoble, a specialist trade fair where participants get to taste wines from Jerez, Port, ice wines, late harvest wines and from places like Sicily, Hungary, Sauternes or Madeira and which takes place this year between 3 and 5 June in Jerez. The course runs for three days and costs €120. Time: 20:30 Further information on +34 952 218906

Do you know of any interesting wine events which are not on this list? Are you a restaurateur or retailer who organises tastings or wine events for the general public? Send us your calendar to info@spanishwinelover.com