Traveling every week for the sake of wines, vicky’s wines and much more, I took my ticket to the Digital Wine Communication Conference #DWCC that was taking place in Rioja last month. Arriving by car was a treat, the sky was low and dark giving the landscapes a poetic note.

Entering the Rioja Paradise

Rioja wines are told to be a wood juice as we happen to say in France. It’s much more. You can recognize the wooden touch in many wines, but I was positively surprised, I found well balanced wines, silky, with a good body letting the fruit shine all in elegance, sometimes almost over ripped, sometimes fresh and crunchy. Old wineries impose their style and even though they make millions bottles, it’s impressive to see the grape coming in old stylish barrels, traditions are not forgotten. First stop at Bodega Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia, the third oldest winery in Rioja, where you can see them in this video. The cellar is as old as the tasting room is modern, a good mixture thought with style.

There I was in the temple of Tempranillo, talking about social media, communication, wine and overall catching up with old international friend that helped Miss Vicky Wine come true. Once again, the power of new communication blended with good wines brought us to delightful sharing moments. If you like to learn, get into the new communication trends, see new landscape and broaden you wine horizons this was the place to get it all in one. This doesn’t mean that it is a conference for youngsters, you don’t have to be 18 y.o. to be a winelover of today and tweet your wines. That said, I think the new generation of wine drinkers was missing, where were you? What do you drink? Where do you talk? You missed a great opportunity. Fortunately, the youngest of us All, Mica, perfectly shaped by organizers Gabriella & Ryan Opaz made it up for us – we elected a new king!

On the first evening, we all brought our favorite wines, my dad’s Beaujolais, the Fleurie, was sitting there, quite happy.

Frédéric Galtier, Marlène Fan de Grenache

Rémi Charest, Québec

Unfortunately, I left after the first day officially ending with a good evening at Rioja Vega, the 7th oldest winery in the area, where you feel just like in a big family house.

The day could have stopped there but right before departure I met Gerry Raftery at the bar, an Irish wine tour organizer that came as a light in my day, helping me organize my next stop in Priorat. That’s also the power of this conference, meeting people that will make your future life happier and easier. Gerry I hope to see you in Fleurie !

Gary

The world was also celebrating #ChampagneDay that gave a perfect reason to all the winelovers community to uncorked bottles of Champagne till the end of the night. Special big up to my French Champagne friends, my favorite travel companion Melanie Tarlant (Champagne Tarlant), François Demouy (new born Champagne Brimoncourt), Vincent Pétré (Champagne Pétré) and to you Christian Holthausen that left Champagne (Piper-Heidsieck) to help promoting the most famous English Sparkling (Nyetimber)… wine love has no borders .

Tasting Notes on the go, a few discoveries :

• Martinez Bujanda, Finca Valpiedra Reserva 2008, Rioja ***** My favorite. Complex, rich and fresh, dry flowers and spices, ripe fruit, beautiful structure and intensity, plus a superb label representing the stones from the terroir. It’s also the only winery in Rioja that belongs to the great single estate of Spain (Grandes Pagos de Espana)
• Mazuelo de la Quinta Cruz, 2010 **** : Mazuelo (the other name for the grape variety Carignan), it’s rare to see some in Rioja.
• Rioja Vega 2010 Crianza, Rioja, Tempranillo blend *** : this winery is so old that it can have Rioja in its name, it was created before the DO. Fresh yet ripe, tense and rustic tannins. A well balanced wine, my favorite from the bodega.
• Bodegas Roda, 2008 Reserva, Rioja *** : Light and elegant tannins, ripe fruit, tobacco, a delicate style
• Gomez Cruzado, Reserva 2007, Tempranillo : juicy, warm and round, ripe fruits with silky tannins, good acidity on the final but probably slightly too woody for me.
• And a very good discovery from my friend David Seijas this summer, Vina El Pison by Artadi 1999
  

Most of the wines available on Decantalo (shipping all over Europe)