Wine tastings in September 2015

While many wineries are busy picking grapes, the events agenda in September goes back to pre-summer mode with countless Harvest Fiestas like those in Jerez and Rioja Alavesa, among many others throughout the country. Tastings also return to the usual venues but there’s an extra addition this month —the wineries in Haro’s legendary Barrio de la Estación open their doors to hold a joint event. These are some of the main activities taking place across Spain in September for wine lovers.

1-20 September. The Harvest Fiesta in Jerez has been extended this year to include wine, musical, literary and foodie activities. Worthy of note is the commemorative exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the DO Sherry, the conferences by Carmen Borrego Plá (El Maestro Sierra) and María Dueñas about the wines from Jerez, a guided tour of local vineyards on off-road vehicles, open-door days at many wineries and tastings in  Jerez’s historical Alcázar.

3 September. Armando Guerra, owner of Taberna der Guerrita in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, leaves the Sherry Triangle for a couple of days to lead a sherry tasting at La Ruta del Vino in Santander (Arrabal, 18) where he will talk about tradition and avant-garde in his native region. Several will also be tasted like Tío Pepe En Rama and Sacristía AB manzanilla as well as lesser known and special bottles. Price: €30 Time: 20:45

3-5 September. The Centro de la Cultura del Rioja (Mercaderes, 9 Logroño) holds September Fest, a wine festival which includes wine tastings paired with local pinchos, threatre tours for adults and children and food tastings. Tickets cost €10 and include five wines and five pinchos.

4 September. If you fancy trying your hand at picking grapes, producer Pago de Tharsys in Requena (Valencia) has prepared a Harvest at Night Party and is giving away two double tickets to its Facebook followers. Time: 20:30

4-5 September. CVNE, the Rioja producer, will turn off the lights of the winery in Haro to celebrate the Night of the Candles. Tradicional tapas will be paired with the following wines: white Monopole, which celebrates 100 years this vintage; Viña Real Rosado; Cune Reserva and Imperial Reserva. Winemaker Ana San Juan will lead the tasting. Time: 20:30 Price: €25 € Further information and bookings on +34 941 304809. Wine aficionados wishing to visit the winery along with an exhibition by artist Cristina Iglesias will be able to do so at 19:30. Tickets cost €30.

4-6 September. The Mostra del vi de l’Empordà (Empordà Wine Show) which takes place these days in Figueres (Girona) holds several free tastings of local wines led by sommelier Laura Masramon: organic and natural wines from this Catalan wine region (4th Sept, 18:30); Cariñena-based wines (4th Sept, 19:30); the ideal wines for young palates (5th Sept, 22:30) and naturally sweet wines (6th Sept, 18:30). Additionally, on September 5th and 6th there will be a wine aroma workshop for families so that parents and children can learn together about different aromas like fruit, dairy, spices, flowers, etc. Time: 18:30 to 22:00 on Friday and all day the rest of the weekend.

11 September. Bilbao store Belostikale (Belostikale, 8) organizes an Albariño tasting with the following wines: Rozas 2014 (Adega Rozas), Albamar 2014 (Bodegas Albamar); Mytilus 2014 (Adega Pombal A Lanzada); Arcan 2013 (Adega Pombal A Lanzada); As Bateas 2012 (Adega Pombal A Lanzada) and Finca A Pedreira 2014 (Bodegas Fulcro). Price: €18 Booking on +34 946 793851

11 September. Bodegas Valenciso in Ollauri (La Rioja) organizes one of the final events of its summer programme with an original tasting of four varieties which will be sampled both as fruit and as wine coming from various wine regions. Time: 18:30 Price: €15  Bookings required on +34 941 304 724

12 September. Also in Ollauri, the 19th edition of the Harvest Market gathers artisans, small producers, an oil mill, organic products and wine and pincho tasting, as well as wine-related workshops for children. Additionally, the wineries in the village will open their doors to visitors throughout the morning. Time: from 10:30 Price: €6 (glass + 2 wines + 3  pinchos)

12 and 19 September. Summer comes to an end and so does Taberna der Guerrita’s wine tasting calendar for this year. But there are still three indispensable gatherings for lovers of Sherry Triangle and Jura wines at the Taberna (Rubiños, 43). On  September 12 Ramiro Ibáñez, probably Sanlúcar’s most innovative winemaker, will present a tasting of sherries “so extreme that they even hurt” (12:30, €40), while on the 19 Andrés Conde Laya, from La Cigaleña in Santander, will present a selection of wines from Jura (12:30, €40). The activities’ calendar finishes this year with Armando Guerra calls “Manifiesto 119” about the independent innovation that is taking place in the Sherry Triangle (20:00, €25). Bookings on +34 697 826096

12, 19 and 26 September. One of Lavinia’s activities (Ortega y Gasset, 16, Madrid) this month is this three-day Rioja course. The first will be devoted to whites  (12th), the second will review the classics (19th) and the third will be about modern Rioja wines. Booking is necessary. Time: 18:30  Price: €120 for the three sessions.

12 and 27 September. Running and wine aficionados will get a chance to combine both activities in the Race Among Vineyards which will take place in the Castille-León towns of Rueda (12th) and Peñafiel (27th) which will be followed in the next months by other races in Cigales, San Román de Hornilla and Mayorga. Winery tours and will be available for competitors as well as the opportunity to try wines from several appellations of origin. Inscription to the race is free.

14-20 September. Over 25 hotels in Barcelona such as Claris, Mandarin Oriental, Omm or Miramar,  hold the Catalan Wine Week with 52 tasting sessions -some of them in English - and dinners where wines from all the Catalan appellations will be available. Price: €15 per tasting. 

16 September. Foodie and wine publication Zouk Magazine organizes a tasting of wines from Gaillac, a little known area in southwestern France but with a long winemaking tradition. Six wines, all of them made with local grapes Mauzac, Ondenc, Loin de l’oeil and Gamay by independent vignerons, will be available at the tasting. The tasting will take place at Espai Columbus (Nau de Santa María, 5, Barcelona). Time: 19:00 Price: €20 

17 September. Chilean geologist and terroir specialist Pedro Parra visits La Tintorería (Gurtubay, 4) in Madrid to explain the differences between various types of soils and the effect they have on wine. To accompany the talk, several domestic and international wines from different soils will be tasted. Price: €50 Bookings: +34 91 209 2550

18 September. Espai Penedès in Barcelona (Muntaner, 21) presents a tasting of four Catalan cheeses and five wines from Penedès: J. Miquel Jané Baltana Negro; Bas Bertran Nutt Rosado 2014; Muscandia Rosé, Giró Ribot Gran Reserva 2009 and Juvé y Camps Blanc de Noir Price: €19

18-20 September. Aragón celebrates Grenache International Day with an open day at some of the wineries that form part of Ruta de la Garnacha, as well as a tasting of wines at Campo de Borja Wine Museum and the presentation of Grenaches du Monde Competition in Madrid. Celebrations continue over the weekend with more wine tastings of this variety. Check the programme on this link.

19 September. Bodega Santa Cecilia (Bravo Murillo, 50) in Madrid holds a sensory tasting of four Godello wines. The tasting is based on the book 54 aromas by Jean Lenoir and will include the following wines: Godeval 2014, Valdesil sobre lías 2013, Luna Beberide Godello 2014 and Lapola Fermentado en Barrica 2013. Time: 19:00-20:30 Price: €25 

19 September. The wineries in Haro's Barrio de la Estación (La Rioja) have joined forces to hold a tasting in a two-day event aimed for the trade and the general public. Friday is set aside for professionals and Saturday 19 is for wine lovers. All the wineries in the neighbourhood (La Rioja Alta, Muga, López de Heredia, Bodegas Bilbaínas, Gómez Cruzado, Roda and  Cvne) will open their doors to aficionados, who will have a chance to taste wines and tapas and listen to music. Tickets can be purchased on the event's website and cost €20 or €40 depending on the activities included. Time: 11:00 - 18:30 

19-24 September. The Mostra de Vins i Caves de Catalunya (Catalonia Wine and Cava Fair), which takes place during the festivities of la Mercè in Barcelona, returns to Arc de Triomf (Paseo Lluís Companys) with the presence of 73 winery stands from all the Catalan appellations. The fair will also have a tasting section called Espai Selecció, with one wine from each producer and a shop to buy the wines shown at the fair. Time: 12:00-21:00 (on 21st and 22nd the fair is open only in the afternoon). Price: from €5

20 September. Rioja Alavesa holds its 22nd Harvest Fiesta in the village of Elciego with wine tastings, music, children’s activities and a mass lunch for everyone who wants to join. Time: 11:00 Price: €6 /glass + 6 wines

21 September. Barcelona’s Vinacoteca (Carrer València, 595) has organised a tasting led by sommelier Carlos Persini to discover the wines of New Zeland and know more about the different styles and producing regions in the country. On the tasting there will be: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014; Millton Te Arai Chenin Blanc 2013; Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2008; Pegasus Bay Riesling 2012; Felton Road Pinot Noir Cornish Point 2010; Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2011; Craggy Range Le Sol 2011 and Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2013. Time: 20:30 to 22:30. Price: €45

22 September. Mostrador de Vila Viniteca in Madrid (General Díaz Porlier, 45) holds a tasting of wines from Volnay and Chambolle-Musigny in Burgundy. Volnay, to the south of Côte de Beaune, is nestled between prestigious Pommard and Meursault. Only red wines are made in this region, which extends over 213 hectares with 30 different Premiers Crus. Chambolle-Musigny, on the other hand, is a small area in Côte de Nuits whose wines are known for their fragrance and subtle character. The following wines will be tasted: Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 2012 (A.O.C. Chambolle-Musigny); Pierre Morey Volnay Santenots Premier Cru 2009 (A.O.C. Côtes de Beaune); Domaine de Chassorney Volnay 2013 (A.O.C. Côte de Beaune); David Duband Chambolle-Musigny 2012 (A.O.C. Chambolle-Musigny); J.J. Confuron Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru 2011 (A.O.C. Chambolle-Musigny) y Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu Premier Cru 2011 (A.O.C. Volnay) Price: €60 Time: 20:00 

23 September. Piñera restaurant in Madrid (Rosario Pino, 12) has organized a paired tasting of Chivite wines with dishes prepared by chef Jesús Almagro. Three wines will be served: Las Fincas Rosado, Finca Villatuerta Chardonnay and Colección 125 Vendimia Tardía, as well as a “pleasant surprise” that the restaurant does not reveal. Bookings on: +34 914 251 425

24 September. Enoteca Barolo (Príncipe de Vergara, 211) presents a tasting of four Albariños from two diferent vintages: the current vintage and another one with at least five years of bottle age. The experiment, which will allow to measure the aging potential of this variety, will include the following brands: Pazo de Señorans Selección de Añada, Tricó, Albariño do Ferreiro and Terras Gauda. Time: 20:30 Price: €30 Bookings: +34 91 745 1927

24 September. The store run by TomeVinos in Madrid's Barrio de Salamanca (Ortega y Gasset, 61) presents a tasting of six wines made by Bodegas Juan Gil: Shaya, Honoro Vera Garnacha, Blau, Entresuelos, Juan Gil 12 and La Atalaya del Camino. Time: 19:30 Booking is necessary on +34 91 170 4244

26 September. Bodegas Franco-Españolas organises a Family Harvest at a vineyard located right next to the winery's headquarters in Logroño (Cabo Noval, 2). Once adults and children have picked the grapes from the vines, they are taken to two half vats for stomping, as it used to be done in the old days. Once the work is done, kids will get a glass of must whereas mums and dads can enjoy some finished wine. Price: €25 adults €15 children. Time: 11:00 - 14:00

29 September. Restaurant Viavélez in Madrid (Avda. General Perón, 10) has prepared a dinner paired with the wines from Bodegas Marañones, a good opportunity to try interesting offerings from the up-and-coming Gredos region near Madrid. The wines on offer are Picarana 2013 (Albillo real 100%), Treinta Mil Maravedíes 2014 (Garnacha 90%, Morate 10%); Darío 2014 (Morate 100%) and Labros 2013 (Garnacha 100%). Price: €50 Time: 21:00 Bookings on +34 915 79 95 39

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