Wines from Spain Annual Tasting 2024: The Lowdown

A SPANISH WINE EXTRAVAGANZA! IN LONDON

An immersive journey into the incredibly diverse Spanish wine offer will unfold at The Pelligon, a super-modern, arched glass building at the heart of Canary Wharf. There, you can join some of the trade's foremost experts – Joe Wadsack, Peter McCombie MW, and David Williams - to explore the nuance and complexities of Spanish winemaking via a series of walk-around tastings. They will be joined by 250 leading Spanish bodegas, showcasing over 800 wines from the length and breadth of this extraordinary country. Many important distributors and agents, including Alliance Wine, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Liberty Wines and Hatch Mansfield, will also be present.

Indeed, there is no paucity of star names at the event this year. Freixenet Copestick UK, for example, is celebrating 50 years of exporting Cordon Negro Cava, renowned for its stylish matt black bottle; the firm also welcomed Bodegas Obergo (Somontaño) into its family in January 2024. In others news, J&O Boutique Wines is pleased to announce that it has added Bodegas Garcia de Lara to its eclectic portfolio - a producer of terroir-driven wines made using old vines and dry-farmed indigenous grapes.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to discover the range from new comers to the market and sample the new offerings from 20 producers seeking distribution in the UK. It will be worth paying them a visit on the mezzanine level and taste a myriad of unique styles: oak-aged Viura whites, spicy Grenache reds, and much more.

Celler Piñol will present a brand new red wine made from 100% old vine Garnacha Peluda, a local variety that has been in resurgence in the DO Tierra Alta. Staying with that theme, Casa La Ermita is poised to unveil a tranche of exciting new organic labels, produced in the ‘El Carche’ National Park – the vineyards and winery are located at 700 metres above sea level. They have the distinction of being the first winery in Jumilla to produce organic wines at their estate.

The Pelligon’s Riverside room will host masterclasses, focusing on Cava de Guarda Superior and Campo de Borja. A Cava Bar will serve a range of Spanish sparklers from lunch time onwards and, if you need another reason to go along, cool tapas and light bites will be provided by Ibérica restaurant.

View the full online wine catalogue – London

APERITIVO! IN EDINBURGH

Meanwhile, the glamorous Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh will host a second event on 20 May.  In addition to the walk-around tasting (featuring around 200 Spanish wines), expert-led masterclasses will shine the spotlight on Spain's more esoteric grapes and styles.

The main tasting’s highlights include 'Aperitivo!: A collection of easy drinking Spanish whites, rosés and reds that pack a punch', a carefully curated selection of traditional drops (Classic Spain), and an exploration of traditional-method sparklers (Sparkling Spain).

Master of Wine Rose Murray Brown has chosen to take visitors on an exploration of ‘Alternative Grape Varietals’ with a talk and tutored tasting tackling Spain’s lesser-known varietals, future-proof grapes and the revival of indigenous stock. Meanwhile, Miguel Crunia will take a look at ‘Off the Beaten Track’ Spanish wines that would work wonders for wine lists – and present a selection of wines that provide exciting by the glass options.

View the full online wine catalogue – Edinburgh

Spain is the most dynamic of wine producing countries with so much still to unearth and discover. It is constantly moving forward and rewards exploration.

So let's collectively banish the myth that Spain is defined by headline exports like Cava and velvety Rioja.  Taste your way through the up-and-coming vineyards of Cariñena, Jumilla, Sierra de Gredos and Terra Alta in May, getting to grips with superlative Carignan and seductive Mataro (Mourvèdre) and see for yourself how Spain's wine regions, both established and emerging, are in full ferment.

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Further information: winesfromspain@otaria.co.uk