The wines from Rioja Alavesa seduce Barcelona (Barcelona)
Grup gsr produced the event
02/11/2010
The representatives of wineries from 36 Rioja Alavesa presented last Tuesday November the 2nd in Barcelona their wines in an event that brought together more than 400 professionals from the gastronomic and enologic world. This event also was a way for them to show the unique and premium features of their wines.
It is the first time that the Association of Wineries from Rioja Alavesa (Asociación de Bodegas de Rioja Alavesa, ABRA) organizes such an event in Barcelona. This city is for them the “strongest place” and the one with which they have the most feeling. Besides, it is the “nerve center” of the sale and distribution of the huge variety of small and medium producers in this zone, that are considered to be “the essence of Rioja Alavesa”.
Inés Baigorri Uribe, managing director of ABRA, explained the importance of organizing now, in such a difficult economical situation, this kind of events, since “they let the wineries consolidate the product and promote a direct contact with the professionals”, which will make the sales increase.
Baigorri also highlighted one of the features that make the wines from Rioja Alavesa –sold at a slightly more expensive price than other Rioja DOCa (Qualified Denomination of Origin) wines– so special: all of them are “signature wines, since you are the land owner, you work on it, you market from it and all this lets you play”.
She also referred to the importance of the microclimate of Rioja Alavesa, to its land – clayey, calcareous and poor: the ideal land for the vineyard cultivation–, to its hillsides, and, in short, to its elaboration philosophy, perfectly combining tradition and evolution.
As a sign of this evolution, Baigorri highlighted that this was the first time that a show-room enjoyed the widespread presence of structured white wines, that seem to be produced again in this area, and red wines, that still amaze and get to renew the nuances of Rioja DOCa.
The small and medium wineries from Rioja Alavesa produce an average of 300,000 bottles per year (between 30,000 and 1.5 millions depending on the size). Currently, in view of the competition and the wide range of Spanish wineries, they devote great part of the product to exportation. The USA, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria are some of the main bets.
As a perfect accompaniment to this presentation of wines, those representing Slow Food Álava offered a cocktail made of products from this land. The aim of this initiative of combining Rioja Alavesa wines with Slow Food, a proposal by the Department of Agriculture of the Provincial Council of Álava, is to promote the autochthonous products from farmers.
The products offered to the visitors at the show-room included beans from Álava, Idiazabal cheese, oil from Rioja Alavesa, chickpeas from Orbiso, honey from Gorbea, black truffles from Álava, potatoes from Gorbea, salt from salt works in Añana, chilli from Poves and truffled black pudding from Maestu, among others.
This presentation was also the chosen place for the exhibition of one of the works of art by José Julio Arregui, an artist from Álava that created a new technique using wine as a paint medium.
One could find among those present at the show-room Estefania Beltrán de Heredia, deputy of Agriculture of the Provincial Council of Álava, and Dani Solana, advisor of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Basque Government.
The wineries that took part in this presentation in Barcelona were the following:
It is the first time that the Association of Wineries from Rioja Alavesa (Asociación de Bodegas de Rioja Alavesa, ABRA) organizes such an event in Barcelona. This city is for them the “strongest place” and the one with which they have the most feeling. Besides, it is the “nerve center” of the sale and distribution of the huge variety of small and medium producers in this zone, that are considered to be “the essence of Rioja Alavesa”.
Inés Baigorri Uribe, managing director of ABRA, explained the importance of organizing now, in such a difficult economical situation, this kind of events, since “they let the wineries consolidate the product and promote a direct contact with the professionals”, which will make the sales increase.
Baigorri also highlighted one of the features that make the wines from Rioja Alavesa –sold at a slightly more expensive price than other Rioja DOCa (Qualified Denomination of Origin) wines– so special: all of them are “signature wines, since you are the land owner, you work on it, you market from it and all this lets you play”.
She also referred to the importance of the microclimate of Rioja Alavesa, to its land – clayey, calcareous and poor: the ideal land for the vineyard cultivation–, to its hillsides, and, in short, to its elaboration philosophy, perfectly combining tradition and evolution.
As a sign of this evolution, Baigorri highlighted that this was the first time that a show-room enjoyed the widespread presence of structured white wines, that seem to be produced again in this area, and red wines, that still amaze and get to renew the nuances of Rioja DOCa.
The small and medium wineries from Rioja Alavesa produce an average of 300,000 bottles per year (between 30,000 and 1.5 millions depending on the size). Currently, in view of the competition and the wide range of Spanish wineries, they devote great part of the product to exportation. The USA, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria are some of the main bets.
As a perfect accompaniment to this presentation of wines, those representing Slow Food Álava offered a cocktail made of products from this land. The aim of this initiative of combining Rioja Alavesa wines with Slow Food, a proposal by the Department of Agriculture of the Provincial Council of Álava, is to promote the autochthonous products from farmers.
The products offered to the visitors at the show-room included beans from Álava, Idiazabal cheese, oil from Rioja Alavesa, chickpeas from Orbiso, honey from Gorbea, black truffles from Álava, potatoes from Gorbea, salt from salt works in Añana, chilli from Poves and truffled black pudding from Maestu, among others.
This presentation was also the chosen place for the exhibition of one of the works of art by José Julio Arregui, an artist from Álava that created a new technique using wine as a paint medium.
One could find among those present at the show-room Estefania Beltrán de Heredia, deputy of Agriculture of the Provincial Council of Álava, and Dani Solana, advisor of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Basque Government.
The wineries that took part in this presentation in Barcelona were the following:
- Agrícola Labastida
- Altún
- Amador García Chavarri
- Arabarte
- Araco
- Bello Berganzo
- Casa Primicia
- Casado Morales
- Córdoba Martínez
- Covila
- Dominio de Berzal
- Estraunza
- Gailur
- García de Olano
- Gil Berzal
- Gómez de Segura
- Gontés
- Heredad Ugarte
- Hermosilla
- Hermanos Pascual Miguel
- Larchago
- Laukote
- Launa
- Loli Casado
- Medrano Irazu
- Miguel Ángel Muro
- Mitarte
- Ostatu
- Pago de Larrea
- Ruíz de Viñaspre
- San Prudencio
- Santamaría López
- Señorío de las Viñas
- Torre San Millán
- Varal
- Viñedos y Bodegas de la Marquesa
