Wine tastings in February 2016

Wine events are starting to pick up a in February, with some interesting tastings specially in Haro, where 14 Rioja producers will present their new vintages at the town’s Wine Carnival and Cuatro Gatos Wine Fest in El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz, where top producers from the Sherry Triangle, Ribera de Duero and Galicia, among other wine regions, will present their wines.Madrid’s Gastrofestival concludes on February 7.

We will update this agenda with additional wine events across the country so come back to this page for further updates.

4 February. Armando Guerra “er Guerrita”, owner of Taberna der Guerrita in Sanlúcar,  has recently joined Bodegas Barbadillo. As ambassador of this historic sherry winery, he will be at Essencia Wine Bar in San Sebastián, where he will lead a tasting with some of Barbadillo’s wines followed by a southern-flavored snack including mojama (salt-cured tuna), ortiguillas (a sea anemone with a strong sea flavor) and lomo de Jabugo (cured pork loin). Time: 19:15 Price: €60 Bookings on +34 943 326 915

5 February. Coinciding with the Carnival weekend, retailer Majuelos Singulares in Valladolid (San Ignacio, 9) presents six wines which are made in regions which celebrate this winter fiesta. The wines are: Exceptional Harvest 2014 by Ximénez Spínola (DO Jerez); Protocolo Blanco 2014 by RuBor Viticultores (Sierra de Gredos); Pricum Albarín Barrica 2012 by Bodegas Margón (Tierra de León); Camino de los Arrieros 2014 by Bodegas Alvar de Dios (Arribes del Duero); Couto Mixto 2013 by Bodegas Couto Mixto (DO Monterrei) and La Solana 2012 by Suertes del Marqués (DO Valle de la Orotava). Time: 20:30 Precio: €12 Punters who dare to wear a costume during the tasting will get a 10% discount on all the way they purchase on the day. Bookings on +34 616 675123

5 and 6 February. Several Rioja producers will present their new vintages during Haro's Wine Carnival which this year is inspired in Bacchus and is held at the cloister of Hotel Los Agustinos (San Agustín, 2) in Haro. The following wineries will offer some of their wines for tasting: Gómez Cruzado, Bilbaínas, Carlos Serres, CVNE, Florentino de Lecanda, Ibaiondo, La Rioja Alta, Martínez Lacuesta, Muga, López Heredia Viña Tondonia, Ramón Bilbao, Roda, Virgen de la Vega Sociedad Cooperativa and Rioja Santiago. Tickets cost €20 and can be purchased at La Rioja’s Tourism Office. Time: 20:30 - 22:30 

5, 12, 19 and 26 February. Enoteca Xelavid in Madrid (Barbieri, 20) holds tastings each Friday in February with wines from 12 producers working in the DO Vinos de Madrid, and presented by their owners and winemakers. Producers taking part in these events are Vinos Jeromín; Señorío de Valazul; Andres Morate, Qúbel, Solera, Bodegas de Jesus Diaz e Hijos, Bodegas Jesús Figueroa Carrero; Bodegas Pablo Morate; Bodegas Alberto Ayuso; Bodega Aumesquet Garrido; Las Moradas de San Martin; Bodega Marañones y Viñedos Juliana de la Rosa. Time: 21:00

6, 12, 20 and 26 February. Bodega Santa Cecilia in Madrid organizes various Rioja vs Ribera del Duero tastings paired with cheese and cured meats at different locations across the city. These are the wines that will be tasted: Gómez Cruzado Vendimia Seleccionada 2013, Fuentespina Roble 2013, Muga Crianza 2011, Valdubón Crianza 2012 and Monte Real Reserva 2009. Tastings will take place at their premises on Blasco de Garay, 7, Pozuelo and Núñez de Balboa in Madrid. Click on this link for further information and bookings. Price: €20 members - €25 non members.

Up to 7 February. Over 400 restaurants, cocktail bars, cooking schools, gourmet shops, cultural centres, art galleries and museums in Madrid take part in Gastrofestival 2016, an event to promote the city's gastronomy. There are around 300 activities for all tastes and budgets such as Tapas and Rioja wine at €6, a Sephardic, Islamic and Christian music concert followed by a wine tasting (February 3, €10); cinema sessions with a tasting of Freixenet wines (4 and 5 February, free entrance) and even a competition to make the best calamari sandwich. Check the programme here. 

10 February. Tom Puyaubert, one of the eight producers behind Rioja ’n’ Roll, and owner of Bodegas Exopto, launches the new tasting season at lomejordelvinoderioja.com with a presentation of the wines he makes with grapes sourced from different areas within the DOCa Rioja. The following wines will be available at this tasting: Bozeto de Exopto 2014, Horizonte de Exopto 2013 and 2007, Horizonte de Exopto Blanco 2013, Exopto 2012 and Exopto Cuvée Noelia 2010, a Graciano-based cuvée which is not on sale yet. Location: Hotel Gran Vía de Logroño. Time: 20:30 Price: €6 Inscriptions from February 5.

11 February. Cheese lovers know that the Canary Islands produce delicious cheeses. Some of them will be available at the tasting of artisan cheese from the Canary Islands led by expert Salvador Valero (Bon Fromage) at Enoteca Barolo in Madrid. The following wines will be paired with the cheese: Sentada sobre la bestia azul, tinto 2014 (DO Valencia); Don Antonio Morgante Nero d’Avola, tinto 2008 (IGT Sicilia); Táganan Parcela Amogoje, blanco 2013 Envínate; Cráter, tinto 2013. (DO Tacoronte-Acentejo); Marcel Deiss Gewurztraminer, blanco 2012 (AOC Alsace) and Monteagudo Palo Cortado, Delgado Zuleta (DO Jerez) Location: Príncipe de Vergara, 211. Time: 20:30 Price: €40. Bookings on + 34 917 451 927

13 February. It's pruning time in the vineyards so Barcelona producer Alta Alella has prepared a workshop with Jaume Basses and his son, members of a family who have tended vines for several generation in Vall Cirera. Participants will stroll along Can Genís estate listening to the winegrowers, as well as taking part in the pruning process and tasting among the vines. Time: 10:30 Price: €20 Information and bookings on +34 628 624 182

14 February. The wineries whcih form part of Ribera del Duero Wine Route celebrate St Valentine's Day with various activities such as sponsoring a vine at Emilio Moro, with the proceeds going to charity, or a visit to PradoRey with a special lovers' game designed for the occasion.

15 February. Barcelona’s Vinacoteca (Valencia, 595) presents a tasting of wines from the US, a country with a vast diversity of landscapes, terroirs and climates and many varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir.  The wine selection today includes Mondavi Private Selection Zinfandel 2013 (California); Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinor Noir Laurène 2011 (Oregon); Andrew Hill, Ciel du cheval 2007 (Washington); Shafer Merlot 2012 (Napa Valley); Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Napa Valley); Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill 2011 (Napa Valley) and Araujo Altagracia 2010 (Napa Valley). Price: €50 Time: 20:30 - 22:30

16 February. Arribes del Duero is one of the latest wine regions to join the Spanish appellation map, although wine tradition in the area goes back to the Middle Ages. The Spanish Union of Tasters UEC (Lope de Vega, 27) in Madrid has organized a tasting to try the wines from this remote and rugged region on the border with Portugal where Juan García and Bruñal are two of the local varieties being recovered. The wines in the tasting are widely unknown but rather interesting: Arribes de Vettonia, Quinta las Velas, Pastrana Paraje de los Bancales, Gran Abadengo, Heredad del Viejo Imperio and La Setera. Time: 19:00 Price: €35 (€20 for members)

17 February. Espai Penedès in Barcelona (Muntaner, 21) presents a tasting of Riesling wines paired with four types of foie. Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Trocken (Pfalz); Sürgsteiner Federspiel 2011 (Austria); Sumarroca (Penedès); Torres Waltraud (Penedès) and Lés Elements 2011 (Alsace) are the wines on the tasting. Price: €24 Time: 20:00-22:00

18 February. The term Mediterranean applies not only to wines made in the Mediterranean coast, but it also implies a style of wine with a particular climate influence. Wines coming from regions with warm climate and moderate rain have intensity, good ripeness levels, structure and high alcohol can be considered Mediterranean. El Mostrador de Vila Viniteca in Madrid (General Díaz Porlier, 45) organizes a blind tasting of Mediterranean wines with seven different bottles, priced between 50 and 150 €, to test palates. Time: 20:00 Price: €75

18 February. Wine retailer Goñi Ardoteka in San Sebastián's old town (Aldamar, 3) organizes a tasting of red wines from various wine regions in France. The following wines will be tasted: Poujeaux 2010 Moulis (Bordeaux); Bruno Clair Gevery Chambertin Premier Cru 2008 (Burgundy), Pompois Rouge Le Clos de Treilles 2014 (Loire); Tout Nature Domaine Ledogar 2013 (Languedoc-Roussillon); Morgon AOC Cuvée Tradition Marcel Lapierre 2013 and this wine from the Beaujolais producer but without added sulfites. Price: €30 Time: 19:30 Bookings on +34 943 211597

19 February. Michael Cooper, in charge of TomeVinos Palafox in Zaragoza, will lead a tasting of six white wines from various countries and grape varieties. The wines are: Vinos del Viento Garnacha Blanca y Chardonnay (Cariñena, Spain); Gobelsburg Lösterrasen Grüner Veltliner (Niederösterreich, Austria), Villa Wolf Pinot Gris (Pfalz, Germany); Jean-Baptiste Ponsot Rully (Burgundy); The Winery of Good Hope Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch, South Africa) and Heredade do Esporao Monte Velho (Alentejo, Portugal)  Time: 20:30 Price: €10 Bookings on +34 976 9615278

19 February. El Petit Celler in Barcelona (Beethoven, 8) organizes the III Tasting in the Dark, an activity where guests sit in a dark room and try four different wines in dark glasses. This fun tasting is led by sommelier Antonio Lopo and will end with a light dinner with Iberico products and cheese. Time: 20:00  Price: €20

19 and 20 de February. The first Experiencia Verema of the year will take place in Valencia where over 100 wineries and distributors are expected to present their wines. There will also be led tastings with wines from Grandes Pagos de España, Ramón Bilbao, Terras de Portugal, Abadía Retuerta, Vallegarcía, Torres, Dehesa de Luna and Vinos Sabor a Málaga and a blind tasting competition. There will be a final grand tasting with Gran Reserva Cavas provided by Recaredo, Gramona and Juvé & Camps. Inscription is free but the gala dinner and tastings cost from €35 for members of Verema. Address: Hotel Balneario Las Arenas GL (Carrer d'Eugènia Viñes, 22-24). Time: 12:00 - 21:00

19 and 20 de February.  Vinoteca La Mercería (Avda. Siglo XI, 4) in Boadilla del Monte on the outskirts of Madrid presents a tasting of wines made from minor varieties planted in various locations across Spain. These are the wines that will be tasted: Gatzara Trepat (DO Conca de Barberà), Buena Pinta Moravia Agria Bodegas Ponce, DO Manchuela); Tragaldabas Rufete (Mandrágora Vinos, DO Sierra de Salamanca); Vara y Pulgar Tintilla de Rota (VdT de Cádiz) and Fedellos do Couto Bastarda (DO Ribeira Sacra). Time: 20:00 Price: €9 Further information and bookings on +34 637 852 998

22-27 February. Ollauri (La Rioja) celebrates its 17th Wine Week with wine-related talks on weeday evenings and a presentation of new vintages from the following wineries: Abel Mendoza, Cía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez, Conde de los Andes, Tobelos, Concejo de Ollauri, Regalía de Ollauri, Ortubia, Valenciso and local olive oil maker Almazara El Alberque. Talks are free and scheduled at 20:00 and the wine tasting will take place on Saturday 27 between 11:30 and 14:30 Price: €10. Further information on Amigos de Ollauri in Facebook.

23 February. Bodega Urbana in Bilbao (Gran Vía, 66) organizes a tasting of Italian wines from different areas and grape varieties which will be paired with dishes made by Il Tortellino, a pasta specialist shop. Further information and bookings on +34 94 441 6181 

23 February. On the same day and in the same city, Cork Wine Bar in Bilbao (Licenciado Poza, 45) has prepared a tasting led by Michael Wöhr, distributor of German wines in Spain, in which several Riesling wines from various German regions will be tasted. The tasting will be followed by a few bites to eat. Time: 20:00 Price: €30 Further information and bookings on +34 944 42 50 05

25 February. Alicante wine retailer Tiza y Flor (Cesar Elguezábal, 31) holds a tasting of Albillo wines, a long forgotten grape which is going through a revival with many wine growers set on recovering this variety from the Spanish interior. There will be a cheese tasting from La Cave a Fromage afterwards. Time: 20:00-22:30 Price: TBC. Information and bookings on +34 965 14 20 03

26 February. Beyond the pleasure of trying a few special wines and champagne paired with a fue bites, the Socratic tasting that will be held at Solo de Uva in Madrid (Príncipe de Vergara, 210) will include philosophy and sensory education. Winemaker Boris Olivas will teach how to educated the senses in order to find words that express what we see, smell and taste in the wine while  philosopher Mª Ángeles Quesada will help us question what lies beyond wine. Time: 20:00 Price: From €35 for the first 18 takers. Bookings on +34 914 267 405

27 February. Cuatro Gatos Wine Fest is the name chosen by distributor Federico Ferrer to present the wines he sells on his Cuatro Gatos Wine Club website. The event “is a chance for consumers to see how easy it is to enjoy wine”, according to Federico, and will be held at Sala Milwaukee in El Puerto de Santa María (Avenida Bajamar, 10), in the heart of Sherry Country. Producers such as Germán R. Blanco (Quinta Milú, Altos de San Esteban and Casa Aurora), Xabi Sanz (Viña Zorzal), Beatriz Herranz (Barco del Corneta), Charlotte Allen (Almaroja), Xurxo Alba (Albamar), Manel Avinyó (Clos Lentiscus), Miguel Montoto (Los Vinos de Miguel - Coto de Gomáriz, Viños de Encostas y Ailalá), Primitivo Collantes, Ramiro Ibáñez (Cota45), WIlly Pérez (Luis Pérez), Pepe Blanco (Viña La Callejuela), Juan Piñero, Eulogio Pomares (Zárate) and José Crusat (Entre os Ríos) will be pouring and explaining their wines to wine lovers. Time: 11:00-19:00. Price: €10 (includes a tasting glass)

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