Wine tastings for July 2022

Summer is already here and wine events tend to be more fun-oriented with festivals focusing on music and wine intertwined with other events. Winelovers working in July as well as those on holiday will have many opportunities to enjoy at least one of the activities taking place across the country this month. Remember to return to this page for updates - Spanish Wine Lover doesn’t go on holiday in July!

1-3 July. Vilafranca del Penedès near Barcelona welcomes summer with the festival Vijazz Penedès, which blends in wine and cava with national and international jazz music. As well as listening to good music, the town will host the Wine & Cava Festival, with two dozenproducers from DO Penedès, DO Cava and Corpinnat plus tastings and pairings. Check the Lin for times and prices.

1, 2, 3, 7, 15, 16 y 29 July. Like other years, La Taberna der Guerrrita in Sanlúcar de Barrameda hosts its summer tastings with some leading characters of the Spanish wine scene. The actiities will take place in the tasting room of the tavern but this year there will be a couple of nomadic actions in Tudela de Duero in Valladolid (3 July) and in La Tana in Granada in September. This month's events are conducted by Osborne (1 July), Oxer Bastegieta (2 July), Luis Gutiérrez (Jura, 7 July), Bodegas Cerró de Jumilla (15 July), Delgado Zuleta (16 July) and Jordi Melendo (Champagne, 29 July). Times: 12:00, 13:00 or 20:00 Price: €60 Tickets can be purchased on the link above or locally at the tavern.

2, 22 y 30 July. Also in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Vinoteca Dealbariza presents "Cata Alucinante" with  Sanlúcar winemaker José Antonio Palacios, who will present his wines. On the 22nd, Carlos González presents a paired tasting with the wines of Sopla Poniente while on the 30th there will be a tasting of wines and history with historian Manuel Parodi. Times: 21:00 and 13:00 Prices: €25/20. Time: 21:00/13:00 Price €20 Reservations by phone on +34 606770532

2 July. Finca Martelo encourages wine lovers to spend a morning at the Torre de Oña winery in Páganos (Rioja Alavesa) to improve your landscape photography skills. The day will begin with some basic notions of landscape photography as well as the composition of photographs, the importance of visual weights and historical referents before putting into practice everything you have learnt. Each participant will need to bring their own mobile phone or reflex camera. Price: €25 which includes a guided tour of the winery and a guided tasting of Finca Martelo, Finca San Martín and Lagar de Cervera.

2, 6, 12 and 14 July. Celler El Tros in Barcelona presents a bunch of activities this month. The first, on the 2nd, is a yoga and wine session (12:00, €20) while on the 6th, Jon Cake will present five different cheesecakes paired with five DO Montsant wines (19:30, €35). On the 12th there'll be a tasting in English with wines made from Elbling, a white variety grown mainly in the Mosel and Luxembourg (20:00, €25). On the 14th, sommelier César Cánovas will introduce Vins del Llegat, present in various DOs in Catalunya: Scala Dei (Priorat), Can Matons i Titiana (Alella), Portal del Montsant (Montsant), Abadia de Poblet (Conca de Barberà) and Mont-Ferrant (Penedès) (20:00 €38).

2 and 9 July. Familia Torres celebrates once again the Noche de las Estrellas (Night of the Stars) at the Mas la Plana vineyard in Pacs del Pacs del Penedès. There will be an astronomy class conducted by the Garraf Park Astronomical Observatory, preceded by a walk through the vineyards. The evening will end with dinner under the stars and live jazz. Time: 20:30. Price

3 and 4 July. Producers Joan Ramon Escoda and Laureano Serres are back with H2O Vegetal, a festival with natural producers from different wine regions of the world, which will take place in Pinell de Brai, a village in Terra Alta. For more information call +34 659 478 198

4 July. Wine store Vila Viniteca in Barcelona (Agullers, 7) hosts this month a Rioja vs Ribera tasting with the following wines: Abel Mendoza Tempranillo Grano a Grano 2018, Anza 2020, Cuentaviñas Alomado 2019, Marqués de Murrieta Reserva 2017, Pago de Carraovejas 2019, Cillar de Silos Crianza 2019, Dominio del Águila Reserva 2018 and Dominio de Calogía 2019. Time: 20:00 -22:00 Price: €65 (€ 55 members)

Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July. The terrace of producer Martín Codax in the Salnés Valley hosts a new edition of As Tardes do Atlántico, en la que diversos cocineros del panorama nacional presentan productos gallegos acompañados con vinos de Martín Códax. On Wednesdays, sommeliers and other professionals will lead tastings of white wines from other areas and styles, such as German wines or wines from the Camino de Santiago. Check the programme for upcoming activities. Price: €25 Reservations by phone +34 986 526 040

7, 13 and 20 July. The Unión Española de Catadores in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) presents this month a trio of blind tastings to try a collection of medal-winning wines at the Baco Awards and the Bacchus International Competition. White wines on the 7th, reds on the 13th and a variety of domestic and international wines on the 20th. Time: 19:00 horas Price: €20 /day. Bookings on +34 914 293 477

7, 14, 21 and 28 July. Bodegas Franco-Españolas opens the doors of its cellars in Logroño to show four films in their original language with subtitles in Spanish preceded by a gastrobar, a wine bar and music. The summer event, which this year celebrates its eighth edition, begins with Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, featuring a live performance of the soundtrack by the Basque artist Amorante. Tickets cost €9 (except on the 7th, which costs €16) and the winery will donate €1 from each sale to the Food Bank. Time: 19:30 The film will start at dusk.

8 July. Restaurant La Vieja Bodega in Casalarreina (La Rioja) resumes its summer activities with a dinner and jazz concert by pianist and composer Joshua Edelman and singer Anita Gasti. Time: 20:15 Price: €75 Information and bookings at restaurante@laviejabodega.es

12, 19 and 26 July. As part of its summer tasting programme, the restaurant Pura Cepa in Murcia (Plaza Cristo del Rescate) presents three sessions this month with the following themes: young and fresh reds (12th), warm, Mediterranean whites (19th) and champagnes (26th). For more information on times and prices click here

14 and 19 July. Enoteca Barolo (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) in Madrid presents several activities this month, among them a tasting of white wines from Mersault (14th, €65) and another one of Champagne and anchovies (Price: €55). Time: 20:30

15 July. After two years of inactivity, La Nit de Les Mines is back. The festival will be held at the Museum of the Mines in Belmunt del Priorat and there will be food, music and wines from local wineries such as Casa Gran del Siurana, Costers del Priorat, Mas d'en Gil or Álvaro Palacios and guests producers like Joan Asens or Anima Mundi, among others. Time: 20:00 - 1:00 Admission: €60 and €70 with bus (departures from Vilafranca del Penedès, Tarragona and Reus). Bookings by email to tastdelesmines@gmail.com

16 July. The Wine Garden in Bodegas Montecillo becomes an improvised stage for the rock band, Fahrenheit, while guests enjoy, glass in hand, some of the wines made by the oldest winery in Fuenmayor (La Rioja). Time: 20:00 Price: €30 per person. The price includes the live show, two wines, an aperitif and a burger.

17 July. As part of Alella Summer festival, producer Alta Alella hosts a music show with DJs Delafé DJ & Axel PI (Sidonie) among vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean near Barcelona. As well as the music, participants will be able to enjoy the food served at the foodtrucks in the estate plus the cavas and wines of Alta Alella. Time: 12:00 - 16:00 Price: €18

21 July. The Ribera del Duero producer Pago de los Capellanes presents Geografías de Viña y Vida, a selection of their wines, some of them premieres, made in different parts of the appellation, as well as those of Luar de Sil, their venture in Valdeorras, which will include an as yet unreleased toasted wine. The tasting at the Cobo Estratos restaurant in Burgos, led by sommelier Diego González, will be followed by a dinner. This is an invitation-only event but the bodega has reserved five tickets for Spanish Wine Lover readers (in order of request). If you are interested, call +34 637 520067 or send an email tocontenidos@pagodeloscapellanes.com

22-23 July. The fourth edition of Rioja Alavesa-Euskadi Around the Table will be held in Oion with the presence of a dozen producers from Rioja Alavesa. There will be tastings, stands with local and regional gourmet products for sale and a masterclass to learn the art of slicing Ibérico ham, music and an evening hike from Laguardia to Oion. The event will end with a dinner at dusk and live music at Bodegas Valdemar. There will be a bus service from Vitoria and Logroño.

23 July. Producer Cal Teixidor in Vilafranca del Penedès hosts the First Encounter of Ancentral Producers from Catalonia. There will be buses for anyone wishing to travel from Barcelona. Time: 19:00 Price: €20 (€15 early bird)

29-31 July. Wine and food will be two key ingredients in the 17º Ribeira Sacra Festival, with artists like The Hanging Stars, Maika Makovski, Amorante or Teenage Fanclub among others. The festival will take place in the Galician villages of Sober, Pobra do Brollón, Monforte de Lemos and Chantada. Concerts will be combined with catamaran trips on the river Sil, guided tours and tasting in Ribeira Sacra wineries. Price: from €30.

Until 31 July. The second edition of Corpinnat Gastronomic Festival, which is held at the group's wineries, features fifty dinners prepared by the chefs of renowned Catalan restaurants such as Torpedo, Carles Gaig and El Cigró d'Or, paired with long-aged sparkling wines. Click on the link to see timetables and prices.