Trade flocks to inaugural Wines from Rioja tasting

By Erin Smith

Published: 16 October, 2013

The inaugural Wines from Rioja Trade Tasting, which was held last week at the OXO2, attracted more than 600 people to the largest collection of Rioja wines ever shown under one roof in the UK.

The UK is Rioja's largest export market, accounting for 34% of exports, representing £197 million of wine sold, up 8% in value compared with last year.

Sommeliers, supermarket buyers, independent merchants, importers and the Spanish ambassador Frederico Trillo Figueroa all came to try over 650 wines represented by 118 different wineries from the region. Traditional crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines were available to sample, and around 15% of wines offered were white, highlighting the growing importance of white wines produced in Rioja.

Lottie West, senior account director for Wines of Rioja in the UK and the organiser of the event, said, "We were delighted with the success of the first Wines of Rioja Trade Tasting."

"The UK is our largest market and is of key strategic importance for us. Feedback on our inaugural trade tasting from exhibitors and visitors alike has been overwhelmingly positive, with numbers far exceeding our expectations," said José Luis Lapuente, the general mamanger for Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja.

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