Wine tastings in February 2024

As we do every month, SWL has compiled a list of the most interesting activities for wine lovers taking place in Spain. In addition to Barcelona Wine Week, the most important trade fair in Spain for wine professionals, there are many activities such as Off the Record, Liquid Vins, Mujeres del Vino or the Salón de Vinos Naturales (Natural Wine Show), a few days later.

As usual, this agenda will be updated as new activities are announced, so we invite you to check this space again for more events to enjoy wine.

1 February. Los Cabezudos restaurant in Zaragoza (Antonio Agustín, 12-14) hosts a dinner paired with wines from Bodegas Frontonio. Fernando Mora MW will present the tasting with the following selections: Luzbel rosé pet-nat, Elástico 2020, Frontonio La Loma & Los Santos 2021, El Jardín de las Iguales 2019 white, Psicodélico 2021, Las Alas de Frontonio La Tejera 2020 and a double magnum of El Jardín de las Iguales 2020 red. Time: 21:00 Price: €100 + VAT. Info & reservations: info@grupoloscabezudos.es or +34 652954923

1 February. This month's activities at Enoteca Barolo in Madrid (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) include a pairing of Swiss and Savoyard cheeses with a selection of international wines conducted by cheese specialist Tomás Asensio Levy. Time: 20:30 Price: €55 Reservations at+34 917 451 927

1, 6, 8, 15, 22, 23 and 29 February. Vila Viniteca offers a full calendar of wine tastings this month at its Barcelona and Madrid locations. In its outlet in Madrid (Fernán González, 29), the agenda starts with an introduction to Priorat wines (1st Feb, €99), and Argentina (15th Feb, €49), as well as the wines of Eulogio Pomares (22nd Feb, €49) and Soto y Manrique (29th Feb, €39). In Barcelona (Agullers 7), the highlights are a special tour of Bordeaux ( 6th Feb, €150), Syrah in the Northern Rhône (8th Feb, €79), the wines of Ca N'Estruc (22nd Feb, €39) and wines from California (23rd Feb, €99). Time: 20:00 - 22:00 Discounts are available for members.

2 February. Wine store Vinicia in Lleida (Humbert Torres, 19) presents a tasting of the wines of Dominio do Bibei, one of the driving producers of quality wines in Ribeira Sacra. Booking via email: club@vinicia.es Time: 21:00 Price: €25 

2 February. Wine store Majuelos Singulares in Valladolid (San Ignacio, 9) hosts a tasting with Sara Dionísio and Antonio Lopes, owners of Casa Mouraz in Portugal. There will be eight wines to taste, both whites and reds, from Dao, Vinho Verde and Douro. Time: 20:00 Price: €20 Bookings via email: info@majuelossingulares.com

3 February.  Hip-hop, funk and R&B music and culture, gastronomy and wine: this is what Solo Gozar, Masta Taberna and Bodegas Aristu are planning for El Regodeo, a refreshingly novel festival that will transform the grounds of Bodegas Aristu in Lumbier, Navarra. It will be a place to have fun in an atmosphere that is very different from most wine events. There are buses from Pamplona and discounts for groups of 10 or more. Price: from €25

3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24 and 28 February. Caíño wine bar in Madrid (Ibiza, 35) presents a full calendar of events this month starting with a tasting of Italian wines other than Barolo accompanied by traditional snacks from the transalpine country (3rd, 19:00, €45); "Unknown Sherry" (7th, 19:30, €30), Portuguese wines other than Oporto (10th, 19: 00, €45), artisan and large maison champagnes ( 14th, 19:30, €60), rare Spanish varieties served with nibbles (17th, 19:00, €45), the Galician coast with María Piñeiro (21st, 19:30, €35), wines from La Rioja (24th, 19:00, €45) and six wines from Alsace to Languedoc (28th, 19:30, €35).

4 February. The 12 wineries that integrate CORPINNAT (Gramona, Llopart, Nadal, Recaredo, Sabaté i Coca, Torelló, Huguet de Can Feixes, Júlia Bernet, Mas Candí, Can Descregut, Pardas and Bufadors) organise a tasting of 2023 base wines (varieties and blends) of each brand, which are destined for the production of long-aged Corpinnats. Visitors will also be able to taste a bottled sparkling wine from each winery made from a base wine from the most recent vintage. Where: Avenida Palace Hotel on Gran Via in Barcelona. Time: 17:00 - 21:00. Tickets must be purchased before 1 February. Price: €25.

5 February. The winemakers and winemakers who form VIDA Penedès present a showroom at restaurant Monocrom in Barcelona (Plaza Cardona, 4) with the presence of the group's 18 producers and their wines. The showroom will be open from 19:00 to 21:00 but for those who want to extend their stay, there will also be a dinner at Monocrom with VIDA wines. The showroom is free but you have to book a place through their Instagram account @vida_penedes. If you want to stay for dinner, book your place on this phone number +34 935167302 

5-7 February. During Barcelona Wine Week, visitors to Barcelona and any resident of the city will be able to enjoy special paired dinners, tasting menus and other activities hosted by some of the city's restaurants. You can check out the participating establishments on this link.

5, 7, 21, 22 and 28 February. This month, the calendar of the Spanish Tasters Union in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) is full of interesting activities: a vertical tasting of wines made from Bastarda variety with Jesús Olivares and Curro Bareño, from Fedellos de Couto ( 5th Feb), over a dozen wines from Bodegas Barrero in Sanlúcar with Gabriel Raya (7th Feb), new white and rosé wines from 2023 (21st Feb), colleiteiros from Ribeiro (22nd Feb) and free blind tasting of fortified wines (28th Feb, 95 €). The annual fee entitles you to take part in monthly challenges until June 2024). Time: 19:00 Price: €40 (discounts for members).

From 6 February. The Campus Enogastronómico de Rioja Alavesa hosts around 30 courses to broaden the knowledge of professionals or people who are interested in the business of wine. Workshops range from how to promote your wine brand and other marketing strategies to courses about communication, wine tourism or English for wine producers (taught by yours truly). Timetables and prices vary according to the activity.

6 February. Can Rius (Enric Granados, 97) is once again the venue chosen to hold Off the Record in Barcelona. There will be more than 50 producers and distributors at the showroom such as Chicho Moldes (Fulcro), Verónica Ortega, Beatriz Herranz (Barco del Corneta), Celler Colet, Sílice Viticultores, Xabi Sanz (Zorzal Wines), Sota els Angels, Fredi Torres (the organiser), Álvaro Ribalta MW (Massal Selection), Vinos Tendal, Mario Rovira (Akilia), Javier Revert and Michelini and Mufatto, among others. Time: 11:00-20:00 Ticket price: €18 (€25 at the door)

6 February. The first edition of Liquid Vins, a new alternative show in Barcelona, will bring together 28 small or emerging wineries from Spain (Agrícola Calcárea, Álvaro Loza, Ánima Mundi, Cerrón, Cume do Avia, La Calandria, Manin y sus Muchachos, Raúl Moreno, Rubus or Vidal Soblechero are some of them) and five from Italy and France, as well as half a dozen producers of other beverages. It will be held at Valid World Hall (Buenaventura Muñoz, 6) Time: 11:00-20:30. Price €20. (€25 at the door)

7 February. Parallel to the Barcelona Wine Week trade fair, the Mujeres del Vino group is holding its sixth wine tasting at the Palacio Real de Pedralbes (Diagonal, 686), where 200 wines from more than 40 women producers will be on offer. Time: 19:00 - 22:00 Price: €20

7 and 28 February. El Retro wine shop in Sarriguren (Bardenas Reales 68) on the outskirts of Pamplona, presents several tastings this month, among them one of fortified wines with styles like Fino, Marsala, Oloroso, Madeira and LBV Port ( 7th, €22) and another one with El Mozo Wines, a small winery from Lanciego in Rioja Alavesa (28th, €22). Time: 19: 15

9 February. Disco Heaven is the theme of the 13th edition of the Haro Wine Carnival 2024, which will be held in the Plaza de La Paz. There will be music and wine tastings offered by Bodegas Tihom, Carlos Serres, Marqués de Carrión, Cooperativa Virgen de la Vega, Bodegas Santalba and Bodegas Terete. Time: 19:00 - 23:00. Price: €15.

9 February. El Buen Gusto Vinos (Manuel Silvela, 2, Parquesol) in Valladolid has invited Javier Ausàs to present a tasting of three vintages and different vineyards at different stages of the winemaking and ageing process of the Tempranillo wines he makes in Ribera del Duero. Appetizers will be served at the end of the tasting. Time: 20:00 Price: €30

11-12 February. Salon de Vins Naturals returns to Barcelona (Nau Bostik, La Sagrera) organised by the Association of Natural Wine Producers (PVN). More than 60 producers from Spain and a handful from abroad will be exhibiting their wines. Catering service during the show will be provided by El Ginjoler. Opening hours: 11th: 10.00-18.00 (10 €). 12th: 10.00-14.00. Prices include tasting glass. Tickets are only available online and you can buy them on the link above.

12 February. The Association of Navarra Sommeliers presents a new seminar on Priorat and Monstant wines with the winegrower and winemaker Sara Pérez, from Mas Martinet and Venus La Universal. Time: 19:00 Venue: Hotel Don Carlos (Pamplona). Price: €50. To secure your place, please send an email to actividades@sumilleresdenavarra.com

12 February. Winelovers wine bar in Salamanca (Iscar Peyra, 5) has invited winemaker Gonzalo Celayeta, who will talk about his project based around the village of San Martín de Unx in Navarra. He will lead a tasting with wines like Huracán Daniela, La Huella de Aitana, Juguetes Perdidos or his pet-nat Kimera, among others. Time: 20:00 Price: €50 Discounts for members.

13, 19 and 22 February. Sommelier Pilar Cruces hosts several activities this month at her Lust for Wine club. The first, on the 13th, will be "Te Leo un Vino" at Música y Deporte in Burgos (Paseo del Espolón, 16, 19:30, €8), followed by a seminar on Jura (19th, 20:30, €45) at Lust for Wine (Plaza Alonso Martínez, 7A, Oficina 57, Burgos) and at the restaurant La Pícara Gastroteca (C. Sta. María, 2, Aranda de Duero) on the 22nd at the same time (€35). Discounts for Club members are available for some activities. More information and bookings by phone +34 638 661 408

15 February. As part of the exhibition Una copa para dos: la mujer a través de la cultura del vino, Bodegas Vivanco hosts a talk with our editor, Amaya Cervera. It will take place at Centro de la Cultura del Rioja in Logroño and admission is free. Time: 19:30

15 February. Josep Roca, co-owner of El Celler de Can Roca, will be the first guest in the latest webinar program of the Sherry Academy. He will talk about Wines of Jerez in the World's Best Restaurant. Time: 18:00 The presentation will be free and online.

16 February. Marina de Miguel Vega, from the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin in Bordeaux, will present the seminar Integrative study of Vitis biodiversity for next generation breeding of grapevine rootstocks at the Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y el Vino, Finca La Grajera in Logroño. Time: 11:30. No registration required. Free admission.

21 February. Wine bar La Caníbal in Madrid (Argumosa, 28) has invited producer Germán Blanco to present the wines she makes under the brand Casa Aurora in Albares (Bierzo Alto). Time: 17:45 Price: €15

22 February. Restaurant Muka in San Sebastián (Paseo de la Zurriola, 1) presents a tasting with Doniene Gorrondona, a txakoli producer with vineyards in Bakio, a coastal village in Bizkaia province. Time: 18:30 Price: €30

22 and 29 February. The  Centro de la Cultura del Rioja in Logroño wants to draw attention to the presence and the great contribution of women in wine with two round tables with Women of Rioja. In the first one, young female winemakers will take centre stage, while the 29th is reserved for women from established wineries integranted in Grupo ABC and Grupo Rioja. Five wines will be tasted in each session. On 7 March there will be a talk about image and wine communication. Price: €20 each session

23-24 February. The Verema Experience returns to Hotel Balneario Las Arenas in Valencia with tutored tastings, as well as the Plenary Tasting, a showroom with producers and the Verema Awards ceremony. Early bird tickets for the showroom (until 9th Feb): €30 The tastings are charged separately. Opening hours: 12:00 - 21:00

24 February. Wine distributor Vinnac de Toledo presents Toledo Toma Vino, the first edition of a wine fair for professionals and wine lovers with more than 200 artisan wines. Among the two dozen producers at the show, there will be local bodegas like Cerrón, Garage Wine, Recuero or Ponce. Where: Centro Cultural San Marcos in Toledo. Hours: 11:30-15:00 and 17:00 a 20:00. Price: €20

25-26 February. Over two dozen producers who have been making wine for less than five years will be present at the third edition of Fira de Nous Vinyataires de Catalunya that will take place at La Sala, next to Taberna MamBo in Sant Llorenç d'Hortons (Barcelona). As well as the opportunity to taste wines over two days, attendants will have the chance to watch two documentaries (Fermentación Espontánea and La contra etiqueta) made by sommelier and photographer Clara Isamat. There will also be a masterclass with Suc Suc Wine about natural wines and a space for fermented drinks other than wine. Hours: 11:00 - 19:00 Price: €12  Further information on +34 601 991355 

26 February. The 8th Showroom of Generoso, Sweets and Fortified wines will be held at Hotel NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding (Padre Damián, 23). You will be able to taste wines of producers such as Delgado Zuleta, Lustau, Tradición, Alvear, Bentomiz, Monovar, Vins Rancis del Penedès or Tostados del Ribeiro, among others. Hours: 12:00-15:00 y 17:00-20:30

27 February. The Wine Studio in Madrid presents a series of tastings spread throughout the year and focused on preparing for the WSET Diploma, although it is not necessary to be enrolled in these studies to take part in the tastings led by Nygil Murrell DipWSET. They are also an opportunity to improve your overall tasting technique. The sessions are conducted in English and include two flights of three wines each. Both flights are blind and selected according to the categories used in the Diploma exams (same variety, same region, same country, or a blend). The focus of each flight will not be revealed until the day of the tasting. Time: 17:00 - 20:00 Price: €85

27 February. Artean Wines presents at Espacio Pangea in Bilbao (Plaza Indautxu) a seminar and tasting of wines from Argentina conducted by Valeria Gamper, best sommelier of the Americas in 2022 and of Argentina in 2019. Time: 18:30 - 20:30 Price: €70 (discounts for members).

28 February. WineCrush, a new club for wine lovers with personalised recommendations, presents this month in Barcelona a tasting session called Discovery of Native Grapes. Hosted by Patricia Ferruz, DipWSET the event will be held at 55aromas (Torrent de l'Olla, 164, baixos 2). Time: 19:00 Price: €45 Booking by WhatsApp on +34 659512728.

28 February. The store Coalla Gourmet in Madrid (Serrano, 203) hosts a tasting of wines from the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira paired with gourmet snacks and Galician cheese. The following wines will be served: Puro Rofe Tilama 2022, AWC Arinto das Açores 2022, Victoria Torres Sin Titulo Blanco 2018, AWC Erupçao Volcánica 2019, La Floridita Bonus track 2022, Puro Rofe Tinto 2021, Victoria Torres Negramoll II No Vintage and Tinta Negra Dos Villoes 22. Time: 20:00 Price: €68