Wine tours can be an interesting way to learn about a particular region’s wine. Gwenda Cope gave an illustrated talk about her holiday in the northern Spain region of Rioja. She showed slides taken during one of the tasting events, from the winery Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España who market their wine globally under the trademark CUNE. She described the geography of the Rioja region, and the process of making the wine from receiving the grape harvest, to fermentation and maturation in oak barrels and bottle. Images of the vineyards which were bordered by Sierra de Cantabria mountains showed the scale and magnificence of the area. 

During the presentation we sampled a barrel fermented white Rioja, followed by a 2019 red Reserva, followed toward the end of the evening by Vina Lorea Reserva from a specialist privately owned vineyard. Everyone enjoyed the evening and thanks to Gwenda for an excellent presentation.