Wine tastings in June 2019

The warm, sunny weather is a perfect setting to host wine festivals across the country. There are a bunch of them along the Mediterranean coast, from Empordà to Alicante, while Haro’s Wine Battle, where locals and visitors dress in white to take part in the infamous festival, is held in the town every 29 June.
These are some of the most outstanding activities held in Spain for wine lovers in June, but remember that we update the calendar mid-month with new events.

1 de June. Producers in Gratallops (Tarragona) along with local authorities organize the third edition of Tastets de Gratallops, small fair with wines from this town in DOQ Priorat accompanied by other local products. Some of the 22 producers who will be at the tasting are Álvaro Palacios, Clos de L’Obac, Clos Figueras, Clos Mogador, Mas Igneus, Meritxell Pallejà or Trossos del Priorat. Time: 18:00 - 22:00 Price: €20

1-2 June. Adrada Ecológica, in the DO Ribera del Duero, organizes a organic agriculture seminar focused on vineyard and wine. Led by Jesús Lázaro de Diego, grape grower and producer at this winery in Adrada de Haza (Burgos), the course is meant to add information about organic grape growing in a practical, hands-on way. It is aimed at wine professionals and anyone wishing to expand their knowledge on this field. The course includes a vertical tasting of Kirios de Adrada organic wines. Price: €120 (25% discount for students and persons below 25 years of age)

2 June. Bodegas Lecea in San Asensio (La Rioja) hosts a Charity Sunday in partnership with MADES, a charity that works with Peruvian and Bolivian children living in shelters. There will be live music, guided tours of Bodegas Lecea’s 16th century underground cellars and a tasting of wines and home-made pinchos, a magic show, theatre and workshops for kids. Hours: 10:30 to 16:00 Price: €5. All the proceeds will be donated to charity.

2-3 June. A total of 34 producers like Les Freses, Casa Agrícola de Pepe Mendoza, Bruno Murciano, Celler del Roure, Gratias, Cal Tiques, Carlania or Vinos del Viento, among others, will attend the third edition of the Mostra Internacional de Vins Singulars i de Poble, which will be held in Jesús Pobre (Alicante). On Sunday, when the event is open to the general public, attendees can taste wines and take part in a talk on the effects of phylloxera in the region. Time: 17:00 - 12:00 Price: €8  (includes a glass and three tastings). More information at info@lesfreses.com or by calling 606797938

3 June. The seventh edition of Salón de los Grandes Blancos (Great Whites Wine Fair) will be held in Madrid (Hotel VP Plaza España Design, Plaza de España, 5) with the presence of over 50 producers such as Abadía Retuerta, Astobiza, Fillaboa, Tierra, Ca N’Estruc, Celler Credo, Gómez Cruzado, Javier Sanz Viticultor, Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Riscal, Ossian, Pazo Señorans, Arínzano, Remírez de Ganuza, Sierra Cantabria, Valenciso or Valquejigoso, among others. Further information and tickets at calduch@calduchcomunicacion.com

4-5 June. Ferrol, one of the cities with the highest wine consumption in Spain, hosts Fevino Ferrol, with speakers such as Raúl Pérez or Luis Gutiérrez, who will present a tasting of eight  100-Parker-point wines. There will also be two champagne tastings, one of Galician whites with cellaring capacity and another one of Galicia's minority varieties. There will also be a wine tunnel with 200 wines from Galicia and the presentation of the Guardianes del Vino awards, one of which will go to our director Amaya Cervera. Place: Afundación, Plaza de la Constitución, Ferrol (A Coruña). Tickets for the tastings can be purchased on this link.

6 June. To celebrate its first anniversary, Garage Bar in Barcelona (Calabria, 75) hosts a tasting with Joan Ramon Escoda Martinez of Celler Escoda-Sanahuja plus a pop-up of its restaurant Tossal Gros. The wines to be tasted, all from the 2018 vintage, are Coll del Sabater (Cabernet Franc, Nas de Gegant (Cabernet Franc, Garnacha, Cariñena and Merlot), Bassots (Chenin Blanc) and Bassotets (Macabeu, Parellada, Garnacha Blanca and Chenin). Time: 19:30 tasting and 21:00 dinner

7 June. Obsessed with terroir and the vineyard, Didier Dagueneau brought to the Loire working methods and yields inherent to the great Burgundian wine producers. Nowadays his son Louis Benjamin continues the work of his father, who died in 2007. The Asociación de Amigos de la Vid y el Vino ( Association of Friends of Vine and Wine) wants to pay tribute to this great vigneron with a tasting of five of his wines from the Loire, all from the 2015 vintage, plus another one made in the south of France: Les Jardins de Babylone 2014 (AOC Jurançon), Pouilly-Fumé (AOC Pouilly-Fumé), Buisson Renard (AOC Pouilly-Fumé), Silex (AOC Pouilly-Fumé), Pur Sang (AOC Pouilly-Fumé) and Les Monas Damnés (AOC Sancerre). Time: 19:00 C/ Francisco Largo Caballero, 44 (Agrupación PSOE, Alcobendas). Price: €50 (members €40)

7 June. The tenth edition of the Ecovino awards tasting, created to popularize the consumption or organic wine, will he held at Riojaforum Logroño (San Millán, 25). The wines selected by the jury will be available at the event. Tickets cost €10 and include a glass, five wines and three pintxos. Time: 19:15-21:45

7-9 June. Temps de Vi in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona) is a festival meant to expand wine culture. Over 40 Catalan bodegas will be present, among them AT Roca, Can Ràfols del Caus, Castellroig, Juve i Camps, Parés Baltà, Torelló or Ventura i Soler, who will present their wines at tastings in the village. There will also be pairings, tastings on board boats and free concerts. Check timetables and prices on the link above.

8 June. The Fira del Vi Solidari (Charity Wine Festival) is born under the auspices of a group of Catalan producers who want to support medical investigations to fight against children’s cancer through the charity Obra Social de Sant Joan de Deu. During the festival, which will be held in Bancal d’Alegno del Masroig, participants will be able to taste the wines of Orto Vins, Coca i Fitó, Dit Celler, Cellers Can Blau and Celler Masroig plus the support of DO Montsant and purchase a charity wine made by the winemakers with labels designed by local students. There will be workshops for kids, live music raffles and a charity dinner. Time: 10:30-14:00 and from 17:30 onwards.

8 June. The appellation Navarra supports the second edition of Turmalina Music & Wine Fest which takes place at Pamplona’s Ciudadela, with the presence of indie and pop bands such as Melenas, Alice Wonder, Depedro y Rozalen plus 28 bodegas: Navarsotillo, Malón de Echaide, Príncipe de Viana, La Casa de Lúculo, Sarría, Inurrieta, Pagos de Aráiz, Sada, UNSI, Beramendi, Tandem, Ochoa, Alconde, Azul y Garanza, Armendáriz, Liédena, Quaderna Via, Vega del Castillo, Finca de la Cantera, San Martín, Dominio Lasierpe, Marco Real, Macaya, Olimpia, Castillo de Monjardín, Cosecheros Reunidos, Gran Feudo and Piedemonte. There will be tastings, pintxos by the chef behind local restaurant Baserriberri and wines served in the traditional manner but also as a base for cocktails and low-alcohol mixers. Time: From 13:00 Price: €30 € plus expenses 

8 June. Familia Torres in Pacs del Penedès hosts the Flowering Fiesta on the Wine Road, a country road that goes from inland Penedès to the Garraf coast in what used to be an old Roman way.  The following bodegas will be there serving their wines: Mas Bertran, Rovellats, Parés Baltà, Colet La Xarmada, Familia Torres, Mastinell, Pinord, Torreblanca, Viladellops, Torre del Veguer, Puig Batet and Hospital de Sitges. There will be tastings, winery tours, segway tours, beauty corner, chill out areas with live music, a paired dinner and a party with DJ. Party goers will be able to  take a bus from Barcelona to the event. Time: 18:30 - 01:00 Price: €60

8-9 June. A new edition of the festival Arrels del Vi will be held in San Martí d’Empuries in the Empordà region with a chance to taste wines from the main producers in the area. Tickets cost €22 and include a Riedel glass, a guided tour of the Ruïnes d’Empúries and a tasting of “Mulsum” (Roman wine), children’s workshops, a blending activity with Laura Masramon, tapas from locally caught anchovies and and a €5 voucher to spend on wines at the fair. Time: from 12:00 to 15:00 and from 17:00 to 21:30

10 June. Enoteca Barolo de Madrid (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) has invited Juancho Asenjo to present a selection of amontillados, Sherry’s most representative example of the singularity of these wines. The following will be tasted: Príncipe de Barbadillo VORS, Solera Fundación Viejísimo Alvear, El Maestro Sierra Anticuario, Gutiérrez Colosía Solera Familiar, Conde de Aldama Yuste and Amontillado 2001 Williams & Humbert. Time: 20:30 Price: €60

10 June. Over 50 producers and distributors will attend Experiencia Verema in Madrid (Hotel The Westin Palace) with their wines. The show will also host three led tastings with Ramón Bilbao, DO Campo de Borja and Bodegas Faustino. Time: 11:00-21:00. Price: €5 online and €10 at the gate. On 24 June wine lovers will be able to enjoy Experiencia Verema in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia)

11 June. Tudela (Navarra) hosts the first edition of Rosadum, the international rosé wine forum. The programme includes several conferences in which rosé wine will be discussed and examined from the point of view of viticulture, oenology and marketing, as well as three tastings presented by David Schwarzwalder (rosé wines from Spain), Sarah Jane Evans MW (rosés from France) and Jonas Tofterup MW (rosés from around the world). Time: 09:00 - 17:45 Price: €75

12 June. Restaurante Pura Cepa in Murcia has invited Felipe Gutiérrez from Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega to present some of the wines he makes in Parcent, a village in the province of Alicante. The tasting will be followed by a lunch with the wines of this producer. Time: 14:30 Price: €40

13 June. With the growing popularity of WSET courses, Master of Wine Frank Smulders presents an introductory tasting to the WSET Diploma at Bodegas Gómez Cruzado in Haro (La Rioja), a qualification not yet offered in Spain. The blind tasting, which includes two flights of wines, will be conducted in English. Time: 20:00-22:00 Price: € 50 per person. For more information and reservations call +34 947 559616 

13 June. Lavinia wine store (Ortega y Gasset, 16) in Madrid presents a wine and art auction in partnership with Durán auction hall. Among the lots auctioned are a six-litre bottle of Dom Pérignon in a gold-plated casing and a bronze statue of  god Dionysus from the 1st-2nd century A.D., both with a starting price of 40,000 €. The pieces will be exhibited in Lavinia from 10 to 13 June. Time: 19:00 Free admission

13 June. 24 bodegas belonging to Spanish Organic Wines (SOW) will be today at Cotxeres del Palau Robert in Barcelona presenting their wines. There will be a conference led by sommelier Clara Antúnez (17:30) about the differences between organic and conventional wines followed by a tasting. The wineries that take part in the event are Arriezu Vineyards, Finca el Molar, Celler Coma d'en Bonet, Bodegas Hermanos Páramo Arroyo, Bodegas Robles, Bodegas Pinuaga, Bodegas Bagordi, Celler Rendé Masdéu, Tinedo Bodega y Viñedos, Bodega La Tercia, Can Suriol, Bodegas Corisca, L'Olivera, Viña Cerrón, Biurko Gorri, Navarrsotillo, Castillo Mendoza, Camino Alto, Oliver Moragues, Viña Cerrón, Vega Tolosa, Altolandón, Viña Ijalba y Vins de Taller. Assintance is free but booking is required: administracio@vinsdetaller.com

14 June. Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona presents a tasting of six Corpinnat sparkling wines paired with six products sourced from the market stalls. Time: 19:30 - 21:30 Price: €30

14-16 June. Taberna der Guerrita in Sanlúcar de Barrameda hosts every year a set of summer tastings with Spanish and international figures. This year, the first one will take place on 14 June with Argentinian producer Sebastián Zuccardi (20:00, €80) and continues with The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez  (homeopathic wines, 15 June). On the weekend, Innoble is an informal festival with plenty of wine, music (“everthing but reaggeton”) and over 20 local and non-local producers such as Equipo Navazos, Muchada-Léclapart, Antonio Flores, Alvear, Peter Sisseck, Comando G, Envínate, Cume do Avia, Fio Wines or Zuccardi, among others. Where: Plaza de Toros Time: 12:00 - 12:00 Price: €29.99

14-16 June.  The town of Barberà de la Conca (Tarragona) organizes the 10th Festa del Trepat with talks, vineyard tours, an art show, children's activities, guided winery tours, concerts, theatre and tastings. You can check the programme on the link above. 

16 June. Bodega Bentomiz, located on the Sierra de Málaga, near the village of Sayalonga, combines wine and music at their Mountain Wine & Music 2019 during the summer. The series of concerts starts with a flamenco night. Time: 18:00 Precio: € 70 (includes the concert, some Ariyanas wine and dinner) Information and bookings on +34 951 386 706

17 June. Laura Montero and her husband Dominique Roujou de Boubée are two winemakers who have made wines in different regions of Spain throughout their professional careers. This tasting at El Mostrador de Vila Viniteca in Madrid (General Díaz Porlier, 45) is the perfect opportunity to taste some of them. They will include: Arcan Albariño 2016, Audacia 2015, As Bateas 2013, Ponte da Boga Capricho de Merenzao 2016, Ponte da Boga Porto de Lobos 2016, Ca'N Xanet 2014, Ca'N Xanet Rosé 2018, Cumas 2014 and Sibila 2014. Time: 20:00-22:00 Price: €45

17 June. The III Salón Selección Peñín in Tenerife, takes place today with a selection of some of Spain’s top wines (90 points +) and wines with the best QPR (3, 4 or 5 stars) according to Guía Peñín. The event will be held at Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey (Dr. Jose Naveiras, 38) in Tenerife. Time: 16.00 - 20.00 Price: €15

17 June. Vinacoteca in Barcelona (València, 595) hosts a tasting of Ribera del Duero wines with the following cuvées: Finca Villacreces Nebro 2011, Emilio Moro Malleolus Valderramiro 2014, Pago de Carraovejas Cuesta de las Liebres 2014, Flor de Pingus 2014, Vizcarra Torralvo 2015, Pago de Los Capellanes Reserva 2015, Aalto PS 2016 and Pícaro del Águila 2017. The tasting will be conducted by sommelier Carlos Persini. Time: 20:30-23:00 Price: €50

17 June. The DO Monterrei presents a tasting of wines from 20 of its producers at Restaurant Yandiola in Bilbao (Plaza Arrikibar 4, La Alhóndiga).  During the event, which will be presented by sommelier Luis Paaadín, there will also be an exhibition called "Millenary Country Wine Presses-The arrival of viticulture to Galicia". Entrance is free (prior reservation necessary) Time: 17:00 Inscriptions via info@bodegaurbana.com

20 June. Wine store Sorbo in Ponferrada (Calle Ancha, 19) organizes a session with Paloma García-Moreno to talk about NIM, an association that has been working since 2016 to recover old vineyards in El Bierzo and show an eco-friendly approach to caring for vineyards and the environment in general. After the talk, the wine made by NIM from recovered vineyards will be served. Time: 21:00, Free admission. For more information, visit sorbovino@gmail.com or call 650765644.

20 June. Manu Jiménez, Spain's Best Sommelier in 2017, presents the seventh edition of “The World's Best Whites" at restaurant Los Cabezudos in Zaragoza (Antonio Agustín 12-14). The following wines will be served during the paired dinner: Tío Pepe 3 Palmas, Szent Tomas Kovago Furmint Dry 2014, Champagne Agrapart Terroirs, Hunting Hill Kumeu River 2015, El Jardín de las Iguales 2016 (Imperial 6-litre bottle), Château Musar 2009 and Marco de Bartoli Bukkuram Sole D'agosto 2015. Time: 21:00 Price: €85

24 June. The Spanish Union of Tasters in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27) presents a tasting of wines from Santenay, one of Burgundy's lesser known villages, neighboring the famous Chassagne-Montrachet. Six Premier Cru Pinot Noir wines will be served during the tasting. Time: 19:00 Price: €50 (€35 members)

26 June. Restaurant Monvínic in Barcelona (Diputació, 249) presents an introduction to Champagne with an overview of the historical, geographical and climate factors that have propelled this wine region to be one of the most renowned in the world. The following cuvées will be tasted: Aubry Champagne Brut Premier Cru, Tarlant Champagne Tradition Brut, Jean-Paul Deville Champagne Carte Noire, Vergnon Champagne Eloquence Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, AR Lenoble Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Chouilly, Mouzon Leroux Champagne L'Atavique, Roger Coulon Champagne Blanc de Noir Extra Brut 2010 y Benoit Lahaye Champagne Rosé de Macération. Time: 20:00 Price: €70

27 June. Eleven Rioja producers will gather today at La Gran Noche del Rioja in Barcelona (Hotel Majestic, Passeig de Gràcia) to share a dinner and large-format bottles of excellent vintages selected from their cellars. The winemakers are Abel Mendoza, Álvaro Palacios, Benjamín Romeo, Gonzalo Sáenz de Samaniego de Ostatu, Lalo Antón de Izadi, Manu Muga, Marcos Eguren, Miguel Ángel de Gregorio de Finca Allende, Pablo Álvarez de Macán, Ricardo Peciña de Solabal and Vicente Dalmau Cebrián de Marqués de Murrieta. In addition, diners will bring one or more bottles of Rioja wine to share with their table companions and the rest of the participants. Chef Nandu Jubany will prepare a special menu for this occasion. Price: €120

27 and 29 June. Under the brand Clos l’Asentiu, Albert Costa, co-owner and winemaker at Celler Vall Llach, has made three wines as a tribute to the women of Porrera, who  have painstakingly cared for the vines in this town in Priorat since their youth. Costa will be at El Celler El Tros in Barcelona (Mallorca, 303) presenting this project, which helps to finance activities for the elderly in Porrera by donating two euros of each sold bottle. Four wines will be taste, all of them fermented in amphorae: La Joaquina 2018 (white made with the rare Escanyavella variety), La Matilde 2017 and La Matilde 2018 (Garnacha Rosé) and La Catalina 2018 (Garnacha red). A snack will be served after the tasting. Time: 19:15 Price: €15

29 June. Every year on this date Haro (La Rioja) holds its traditional Battle of Wine with around 10,000 people marching up to the fields of San Felices, on the outskirts of this Rioja town, with one thing in mind: to throw as much wine to each other as possible -130,000 litres last year. The Battle of Wine, as it is known, starts with a mass early in the morning and finishes with a popular lunch. Thousands of young locals attend but the fiesta is increasingly enjoyed by foreign tourists, mostly from Australia and the US. Further details about the fiesta on this link.

29 June. For the third consecutive year Pruno Day aims to get people to enjoy wine, music, nature and gastronomy. Among the activities are guided tours and tastings through the vineyard, electric bicycle rides along the banks of the Duero River and live music. The entrance includes five different menus in the food trucks, five tastings in the wine bar and a welcome pack. Place: Finca Villacreces, Quintanilla de Onésimo (Valladolid). Time: 10:30-19:00 (over 18s only). Price: €45

Do you know of any interesting wine events which are not on this list? Are you a restaurateur or retailer organising tastings or wine events for the general public? Send us your calendar before the end of the previous month to yolanda@spanishwinelover.com