Editor’s note: This story is from 3 years ago when I first went to Rioja. Back then Catavino was not known, and I only had a small family site I was maintaining. Money was scarce, hell it still is! But this became one of my favorite stories, and since it took place in Rioja and the food was so good I thought I would share the experience with those of you who are not familiar with it. Enjoy!

April 28, 2005

Having to this point in my trip conserved my pennies; I decided that at least one night I was going to treat myself to decent meal at a nice restaurant. Every time I am traveling in Spain, I always take along my favorite travel guides, and they both agreed that when eating out in Haro, the best bet was Asador Terete. An Asador is the equivalent to a steak house in America but without the steak or potatoes. The Asadors all have wood fire ovens and specialize in the technique of slow roasting meats to create mouthwatering meals. My goal tonight was to try a local specialty of La Rioja, Cordero Asado; roasted suckling lamb.

Yes, the same suckling sensation that I had tried in Segovia only this time with a small helpless lamb. Thank you mister lamb for your sacrifice, and now, back the story…

So, heading out at a reasonable 9pm, the restaurant located in the upper portion of the building did not have its lights on. Thinking that I at least wanted them to be prepared for dinner, I decided to do a quick walk around the city and then headed back. Still no lights. I started to think maybe tonight was not to be and …

Having just walked into our hotel five minutes ago as the clock struck 9:30pm, I feel like a decade has slipped through our fingers. Over the past three days traveling throughout Rioja, we’ve seen one of the oldest and most traditional; one of the newest and most technologically advanced; one of the smallest yet productive; one of the most extravagant and luxurious; one of the most the quirky and inexplicable; and one of the most intriguing wineries in Rioja. And it’s not to say there haven’t been similarities from one bodega to the next, but the diversity we’ve experienced has been outstanding in everything from their philosophy of winemaking to their definition of a Rioja wine.

First, allow me to give you the general breakdown of what we’ve experienced since Monday morning. We began our week with a short, but informative, tour of Bodegas Tobia, producing wines from the humble setting of their garage. This was followed by lovely visit to Haro, where we ogled the wind swept sandstone buildings, ate a simple lunch of hamburger stuffed red peppers, patatas riojanas, white asparagus in a white sauce and lamb chops with roasted potatoes and red peppers, and discussed Ryan’s family tree, which passed through this area five centuries ago. As the fog rolled in come early evening, we arrived to Lopez de Heredia, where we took a two hour tour with the public relations manager, Lidia Zanzar, followed by an additional two hour wine tasting with one of the many family heirs to the bodega, Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia. Content and on information-overload, we ended the evening in our hotel room eating a simple salad and sandwich from some crazy German chain called, …