Campo Viejo Tempranillo

Spain is hot right now. It's wines are, anyway. Best known for Tempranillo-based wines from the Rioja region, and for Sherry, Spain produces wines throughout the country. Wines from Ribera del Duero, Penedes and Priorat have been critically acclaimed, with prices to match, but bargains abound in Jumilla, Navarra, Rias Baixas, Bierzo, and... even Rioja.

We recently enjoyed a 2006 Campo Viejo Crianza from the Rioja, which we received as an unsolicited sample. The wine was closed up at first. The Mollydooker shake helped with that, as did time. On the second day the wine was very expressive. This is a tasty and typical example of the Rioja style, and it is a great value at $10 suggeted retail. We recommend decanting the wine to let it reveal all it has to offer.

The wine was sent with suggested recipes, including pumpkin empanadas, caramelized figs with Mahon cheese, and a basil-beet spread. We'll happily pass these recipes along. The wine should work well with these as well as any fall-inspired cuisine.

WBC '09

We have spent the weekend at the 2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference. We do not wish you bore you with the nitty gritty, behind the scenes workings of this blog, but we thought you would like to know what we have been up to. This conference far exceeded our hopes, let alone our expectations.

Armed with what we have learned, we hope to write stronger, more detailed and concise posts. We also may revisit some past posts to strengthen and elaborate upon them.

In the meantime, we would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of the conference, including the Open Wine Consortium, Allan Wright and Zephyr Adventures, and the Napa Valley Vintners, among many many others (see the Sponsors page for a complete list).

We had a great time sampling the dry wines of Portugal, and we were reunited with the wines of Rueda and Sherry, from whom we have been parted for far too long. Expect to see posts on all three topics soon, with any samples (none, actually, but we did get to taste) or other influences duly noted, of course.


On Saturday the Napa Vintners generously hosted a great day. Unfortunately, most of the wines we tasted are too expensive to merit attention on this blog. All the more reason to thank Stags' Leap Wine Cellars, Palmaz, Quintessa, Newton, Parry Cellars ("Hi, Sue!"), O'Brien Estate ("Hi, David!") and Domaine Chandon for their time and wines. If you, dear reader, would like to learn more about any of these wineries or their wines, please do ask.

We would also like to thank Jim Gordon for his excellent keynote address, which focused on quality writing as the basis for any decent blog. We aspire to rise to the challenge.


David Yorgensen, O'Brien Estate Winemaker