Wine tastings in February 2021

As we do every month, SWL compiles information on the most interesting activities for wine lovers in Spain. The pandemic still makes it impossible to hold large-scale in-person events, so the few activities that are organised are restricted -with some notable exceptions- to online tastings. We will update the agenda as more wine-related events are published.

4,10, 17 and 24 February. The Unión Española de Catadores in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) has organised a handful of interesting events for wine lovers this month. On the 4th, Juanma Ruiz Casado reviews the "new whites of 2020" with wines such as Pazo Baión Vides de Fontán, txakoli Marqués de Riscal, Ás de Mirabrás, Fino CB en Rama, Martin Codax Arousa, Vinyarets, Eduardo Peña La Vista, Pago Mota and Viña Albina. On the 10th, Luis García de la Navarra presents a tasting of wines from the Axarquía region in Málaga, while on the 17th it will be the turn of José Jiménez Landi, who will conduct a vertical tasting of some of his wines from Méntrida. On 24 February Pepe Raventós will travel to Madrid to talk about his project and lead a tasting of his Raventós i Blanc and Can Sumoi wines. These four tastings will take place at 19:00 and the price is €35 each (€20 for members). In addition, on 11th, 18th and 25th February (more dates in March too) there will be a course on Châteauneuf du Pape to learn more about the wines and features of this French appellation. (Time: 19:00 to 21:30. Price of the three sessions: €200) Reservations by phone on +34 914 293 477 

4 and 25 February. This month, sommelier Ales Rueda presents two virtual tastings via Zoom. The first one is focused on Garnacha, for which he will send five 125ml samples of Garnacha wines from different parts of Spain to your home, accompanied by a surprise pairing. Time: 19:30. Price: €30 (members €25). The second tasting, on the 25th, features Villota, the project born out of a great vineyard on the banks of the Ebro, in Rioja Alavesa, and led by the Villota family. Time: 19:30 Price: €22 (Free for members). More information and registration on this link

6 February. Ben Howkins, author of the book Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent, takes part in a webinar in English led by Peter Marks, MW and targeted primarily at American consumers and enthusiasts. The session is free and you can join here. Time: 20:00 (11:00am Pacific Time)

11, 24 and 25 February. Lavinia wine store in Madrid (Ortega y Gasset, 16) presents  three online tastings this month. The first, on 11 January, will help to discover the differences between the wines of Jerez and Montilla (€70), the second (24 January) is a tasting of wines from Bodega Arrayán led by Álvaro García de Oteyza, sales director, and winemaker Maite Sánchez (€25) and the third, on 25 January, is a tasting of white wines from around the world (€100) with bottles from Chile (Sauvignon Blanc), Argentina (Torrontés), Mosel (Riesling) and Burgundy (Chardonnay). Time: 19:00 To receive the four wines from each tasting at home and to join in the Zoom broadcast, contact Lavinia at least six days before the date via email: laviniaempresas@lavinia.com

12, 19 and 26 February. Shortly after the lockdown began, Gratias Wines wine started to do live  broadcasts on Instagram with other winemaker friends every Friday. The initiative has carried on and the members of this winery, with vineyards between the Júcar and Cabriel rivers, continue to chat with fellow winemakers. For anyone who wishes to join in, these are the next live shows at @gratias_wines on Instagram: Rafael Cambra (12th), Federico Schatz (19th) and Charlote Allen from Bodega Almaroja (26th). Time: 19:30

13 February. Producer Magna Vides presents "All you need is wine", a special Saint Valentine tasting hosted on Zoom with wines made by the couples behind these names: Fil.loxera y Cía from Valencia, Bodegas Caudalia from Navarra and Magna Vides from Ribera del Duero. The tasting includes a set of 50ml samples and the cost is €22 per person. For further information and to get a set delivered at home, send an email to hola@winers.es 

13 and 20 February. Celler Bàrbara Forés launches Conversaciones entre Pieles (Conversations with skins), a new online initiative that seeks to forge closer ties between winegrowers. For the premiere, they have chosen one of their favourite themes: orange wines, which have a long tradition in the Tarragona area and are gradually being revived. For the online event, which is split into two days, they have prepared a set of two wines from Eduard Sanromà (Celler Sanromà - Alt Camp), who is the first guest, and two wines from Pili Sanmartín Ferrer (Celler Bàrbara Forés). On the 13th, Rústic 2019 and En Moviment 2 - Macabeu 2018 will be tasted, while on the 20th L'Incorrecte 2019 and Abrisa't 2018 will be opened. Time: 19:30 Place: Instagram @cellerbarbarafores @edusanro_cellersanroma. Price: €62 (includes delivery of four wines to mainland Spain. Orders before 10 February). Further information on +34 669 675038

17, 23 and 26 February. This month's activities at Enoteca Barolo in Madrid (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) include three different tastings, all via Zoom. The first, led by Juanma Ruiz Casado, is about rare, curious and extraordinary wines (Kinki 2018 by Verónica Ortega, Aquelarre Brut by Constantina Sotelo and Rufián Gris 2017, Bergesio Colezzione. Price: €95); the second is a tasting of Douro reds (Vertente Niepoort 2017, P+S by Chryseia 2018 and Meandro Olazábal & Filhos 2017. Price: €90) and the third, on the 26th and conducted by Miguel Prohens, is a tasting of wines from Campania (Feudi di San Gregorio 2011, Renono Salvatore Molettieri 2014 and La Firma 2014 Price: €105). All tastings are at 20:00 and include three  bottles of wine each and home delivery. More information and reservations on +34 91 745 19 27. 

23 February. Artean Wines education centre in Bilbao presents an on-site seminar on Garnacha, led by Juan Carlos Sancha, PhD in viticulture and oenology and owner of the Ad Libitum winery in Rioja. Six hundred-year-old Garnachas made under the same production methods, but from different terroirs, will be tasted. Time: 18:30-20:30 Price: €65 Further information on +34 615897474

23 - 26 February. WineFuture 2021 goes virtual this year with four days of sessions and keynote speeches covering topics such as the impact of Covid, sustainability, discrimination, wine events in the new reality, marketing and social media, wine tourism, challenges for the on-trade and wine consumption trends. There will be a wealth of international speakers and moderators, including Pau Roca (OIV), Francis Ford Coppola (filmmaker and winemaker) and Irina Bokova (director of Unesco), among others. Price: €125