Spain Dominates D.C. Wine and Food Festival

This past weekend at the D.C. International Wine and Food Festival, Spanish winemakers stole the show. The government of Spain’s Navarra region, along with the city’s chamber of commerce, coordinated a trip for these winemakers to present here in D.C. They dominated a large share of the tables in center of the main [...]

Viña Valoria

This week Michael Scaffidi of Plume, the elegant new restaurant anchoring the newly renovated Jefferson Hotel in DC, shares his insights on one of Viña Valoria’s best:  “During a recent ‘sneak peek’ dinner to introduce Plume, Chef Gordon prepared a sensational menu, and I selected a 1968 Viña Valoria from Rioja in Spain to [...]

2006 Bodegas Borsao, Borsao Crianza Selección, Campo de Borja, Spain

  This meaty red is recommended by Taylan Bozkurt, sommelier at the luxurious Stonhedge Inn & Spa in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.   Taylan regarded this wine as “another great value coming out of Spain; a wine with a long and thick mouth feel…good structure, acidity and balance.” 
  The wine’s principal varietal is Garnacha (Grenache), which is blended with Merlot and Tempranillo.  The [...]

Priorato Blanco

  Tucked away in the hills of Catalan, Spain, not far from Barcelona, the unique soils (licorella) of Priorat create wines capable of achieving “cult” status.  Since the Priorat region is just slightly over 4000 acres, only America’s most robust wine lists normally feature them.  Only about 6% of that land is planted for white [...]

Segura Viudas ARIA Estate Brut NV

  Mark Phillips, founder of the Wine Tasting Association, recently conducted a blind tasting of sparkling wines that retail for less than $10.  He thought there were many good wines in the category, but the clear winner was the ARIA brut .
  Described by Mark as “clean, crisp, and refreshing,” this Spanish sparkler from the [...]

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