Wine tastings agenda in July 2020

July is usually a month of festivals and fun, crowded events outdoors. This year, the Covid-19 has prevented the vast majority of celebrations of this type giving priority to online talks or reducing capacity and increasing security at in-person tastings. 

WSET course providers have also adapted to the circumstances, many of which now offer online sessions. In this piece published a few months ago you will find links to their websites and information about their activities. 

With 1 July as the key date for the reopening of many wineries, restaurants and other establishments in tourist areas, we are confident that there will be more occasions to enjoy wine, even if it is with social distancing. At present, these are the main activities we can advance. All hours are CET. As usual, we will update the agenda frequently.

Tastings and conversations

8, 23 and 28 July. The Unión Española de Catadores de Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) resumes its on-site tastings with the following schedule: wines from Mallorca from the 2019 vintage (8th, conducted by Luis Vida), wines from the 2019 vintage, winners of the Grandes Bacos de Oro (23rd, conducted by Fernando Gurucharri), artisan wines with medals at the Bacchus 2019 Awards (28th, conducted by Daniel Poveda). Time: 19:00 Price: €20

10-31 July. As every year, La Taberna der Guerrita in Sanlúcar de Barrameda hosts a series of summer tastings with the presence of Spanish wine experts. This year,  admission is limited to 15 people and some sessions such as Montse Molina (Barbadillo) or the Blanco brothers (Callejuela) will be held in their bodegas. The first tasting is scheduled for 10 July and the guest is Carlos San Pedro, from Pujanza Norte in Rioja Alavesa. He will be followed by Ferran Centelles (11th), Matoses (17th), Callejuela (18th) and Jean Marcos (31st). More information at info@lasacristia.es Price per tasting: €60

16 and 23 July. Enoteca Barolo (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) in Madrid hosts two online tastings this month: the first, on 16 July, about Galician red wines and the second, a week later, with sparkling wines. The price includes three bottles of wine for each tasting and delivery. The tastings, directed by Juanma Ruiz Casado, will be done via Zoom and will last approximately one and a half hours, with the possibility of asking questions. The wines are, Camándula 2017 (Vinos de Macizo Orensano), Vía XVIII 2016 Viña Somoza (DO Valdeorras) and Prádio Pacio 2018 A Peroxa for the tasting of Galician red wines, and Champagne Louis Dousset Assemblage Grand Cru, Aliboitboit Blanc Ancestral de Aghès Paquet Vin de Table de France and Cava Mestres Coquet Gran Reserva 2013 for the sparkling tasting. Time: 20:30 Price: €65 (Galicia) and €90 (sparkling wines).

16, 23 and 30 July. Bodegas Franco-Españolas in Logroño opens its doors to the sixth edition of Cine de Verano (Summer Cinema) where attendants will be able to watch three films in original version with subtitles in Spanish (Rear Window, Young Frankenstein and El bosque animado) in the patios and gardens of the bodega and music played by three DJs. This year for the first time, guests will be allowed to bring their own food to pair with the estate wines Diamante and Bordón that will be available on the winery's bar. Time: 19:30 Price: €6

24-26 July. Vilafranca del Penedès welcomes the summer with the Vijazz Vilafranca festival, which fuses wine and cava with jazz. As well as music, the Wine and Cava Fair will continue to be held as in previous years, although with greater separation between stands and restricted access.

24 July and 8 August. Sommelier Sonia Molero of Uvepositivo and Cadenote Yacht organize a series of fun and original nautical tastings that combine wine and sailing in the Ría de Sada, in A Coruña. During the four-hour trip, four Atlantic wines from Galician wineries will be tasted while enjoying a dinner with local products. Time: 16:00 Price: €90/person (max. 8 pax). Information and bookings on +34 981 619100

27 July. Lustau hosts today a webinar about bottle ageing and how do wines from Jerez evolve in a cellar as well as how are En Rama wines with minimal filtering fueling this evolution. Experts such as @SherryNotes, César Saldaña and Lucas Payà will discuss the matter. You can sign up for the webinar on this  link

28 and 29 July. The group @mujeresdelvino conducts live interviews on Instagram with its members. Their next guests are journalist Carme Gasull (28th) and Patricia de Golferichs of Vilateral (29th). Time: 18:00.

30 July. Lumière Wine Club is the wine lovers' community recently created by Muchada-Léclapart. There are still a few last places to be a member of the club, where tastings and activities are held at the bodega in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (and if circumstances allow, also in Madrid and Barcelona). The first activity will be a tasting of six wines from vignerons based in Spain and France. Time: 19:00 Price: €35 Further information on info@muchada-leclapart.com

Occasionally. Professional platform Vitivin broadcasts live videos with leading personalities in the wine business and diverse topics. To watch them, you need to register on their site for free and join the sessions. 

Courses

22 and 29 July. The Outlook Wine training centre in Barcelona offers an advanced level tasting course with four hours of online training, digital material, two Riedel glasses and a case of 12 5cl wine samples to taste. The sessions are in Spanish and are broadcast via Zoom. Price: €215

Jesús Lázaro, of Kirios de Adrada winery in Ribera del Duero, presents an organic farming online course with videos and materials to download. The duration of the course is nine weeks and the cost is €190.

English For Wine Aspects are English courses specialized in the world of wine. While the crisis lasts they have launched “Wine Lessons at Home”,  a set of exercises in English divided into different lessons to practice wine vocabulary. Lessons are published twice a week and the solutions, presented by course director Andrew Ashurst, are posted on social media

Videos and podcasts

Agustín Santolaya from Bodegas Roda in the Haro Station District in Rioja, publishes a daily video explaining vineyard tasks. The entire series is available on the winery's YouTube channel.

For anyone interested in viticulture, the La Filoxera team, which includes journalist Irene Guede, viticulture specialist Julián Palacios and researcher and director of viticulture at the Public University of Navarra Gonzaga Santesteban, publish a monthly video podcast focusing on this fundamental aspect of vine growing but in a very relaxed tone. The videos are available on their YouTube channel but can also be listened to on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcast or ivoox.

Bodegas Gramona and its team of sommeliers are available to anyone interested in learning more about sparkling wines, long aging or biodynamics through #cataconmigo, an online personalized service via Zoom. If you want to know more or take part in a session, send an email to contact@gramona.com

Through her WhatsApp, Pilar Cruces  the driving force behind Lust For Wine, presents "Knowing about Wines is a Piece of Cake", with entertaining and straightforward information on topics such as the principles of tasting, production areas and wine recommendations to be enjoyed with a book or with music, with input of experts in various disciplines. You can follow her on YouTube or join Lust For Wine virtual club (€6/month) which entitles you to discounts on wine purchases, online meetings and preferential access to event bookings. For more information call or send a message to +34 638661408 

Every Friday, Marimar Torres and her daughter Cristina present from California a traditional recipe sourced from Marimar's cooking books and paired with some of the family's wines. The show cookings can be watched on the Marimar Estate Facebook page. 

Free content

Guía Peñín has launched its first Vermouth Guide with over 380 brands from Spain, Italy, France and Germany, all of them available in Spain. You can download it for free on this link. Additionally, the members of the Guide's tasting panel publish weekly videos on their IG account @guiapenin in which they discuss varieties, styles of wine and wine vocabulary.

Magazine MiVino also offers free access to its archive and contents. Click on this link to read them.

Sequel to Albariño Rías Baixas: from tradition to the world, this documentary by Eva Parga Dans and Pablo Alonso Gonzalez called The Awakening of Wine in Galicia: the return to terroir tells the reawakening of wine culture and tradition in the Galician regions of Monterrei and Ribeira Sacra. Featuring wine producers like José Luis Mateo, Eulogio Pomares and the Envínate team, critics like Luis Gutiérrez of The Wine Advocate and restaurant owners like Miguel Anxo Besada of cult wine bar A Curva or wine store owners like Diego Vecino of Viños Vivos in Santiago de Compostela, the documentary is shot in Spanish and Galician and has subtitles in English.

Another documentary that is free to watch online is (R)evolution Champenoise, an interesting promenade along the vineyards of Champagne with some of the  top growers in the region. It was filmed by Spanish distributor À la Volé and is available on this link. French language with subtitles in Spanish.

Through her WhatsApp, Pilar Cruces, the driving force behind Lust For Wine, presents "Understanding wine is easy-peasy", with clear information presented in an informal manner on aspects such as the principles of tasting, production areas and wine recommendations paired with a book or with music and with the help of experts in various disciplines. To join in, send a text message to Pilar to +34 638661408. 

Draws and quizzes

For those who are studying the WSET advanced courses or simply want to improve their international wine culture, sommelier Agustín Trapero has launched #winequestionsathome, a series of multiple choice questions with four possible answers. They are published on weekdays on his Instagram Stories (@agustin_trapero). 

Historic producer Marqués de Murrieta hosts a quiz with questions about the Rioja producer and the world of wine in general. The quiz has nine levels and two lives and the winner will enjoy a tour of the winery and lunch for two people. Wine lovers can also do a virtual tour of the historical Castillo de Ygay cellar and sign up for free to an online tasting course via Murrieta Academy. 

Other initiatives

Wine tourism for health professionals. To show their gratitude for the efforts of this community during the pandemic, 180 wineries from different areas in Spain are offering free visits to health workers.