Last January, the UK based wine writer and Committee Member of the Circle of Wine Writers, Christine Austin, suggested that we apply to the organization housed in England. Having had several people offer a similar suggestion for over a year, it seemed ridiculous for us not to get off our hides and do something about it. So, we figured we’d experiment a bit, where I would apply and test the waters, followed by Ryan’s application soon thereafter.

As taken directly from their website:
The Circle of Wine Writers is an association of authors, broadcasters, journalists, photographers and lecturers who are professionally engaged in communicating about wines and spirits. It was founded in 1960 by the late Cyril Ray and now has more than 280 members and, although most of the membership is based in England, the Circle has members in countries around the world.

The objectives of the Circle of Wine Writers are:

* to improve the standard of communication about wines, spirits and beers
* to contribute to the growing knowledge and interest in wine
* to promote wines and spirits of quality and to comment adversely on faulty products and dubious practices
* to establish and maintain good relations with the news media and the wine trade
* to provide members with a strong voice with which to express their views
* to provide a forum for the exchange of information
* to provide a programme of workshops, meetings, talks and tastings

A month has now passed, as seen by the lush green blanket of leaves hanging right outside my office window, and …

Welcome to another addition of Iberian Links around the web! Despite Labor Day being celebrated yesterday throughout the EU, in addition to family and friends arriving from both London and Madrid, we still found a little space in the day to collect a few news bits that you might be interested in to share your thoughts on in the comments below!

The Ultimate Luxury: You’re Very Own, Vineyard in a Box!
Ever want to purchase a vineyard but were afraid that you’d kill the vines in the first year? Maybe you know a decent amount about winemaking, but have a perfectionist side of you that only wants to craft the ultimate, world-renowned wine? Well, guess what? Now is your chance! Decanter recently covered a story on La Melonera, a 200-hectare ready-made vineyard and residence development near Ronda in southern Spain and headed up by Spanish winemaker, Jose Luis Perez Verdum. Over the past five years, €22 million have been spent on restoring their cork oaks and landscaping the property so that you can purchase your own private estate for a starting cost of €3.5 million, which will buy anywhere between 5.5 hectares and 18 hectares of land. As the owner of your private estate, you can make your wines, aided not only by a technical team residing at la Melonara, but you may also harvest advice from big names like Denis Dubourdieu or Dirk van der Niepoort! Sounds rather extravagant, doesn’t it? But by the end of the day, if you’ve got a few million euros hanging out of your back pocket, why not? There is a really good reason why not. This project was launched at the …

Now that our Rioja is coming to a close, with only a few remaining articles in queue to be published, it’s time to give you the skinny on whether or not it’s worth your time to pick up the all knowing Spanish wine expert, John Radford’s, book on La Rioja. Published in 2004 by Mitchell Beazley, now Octopus Publishing, this a great book for anyone with deep passion for Rioja wine or who simply enjoy a good reference book for their library.

Having already read several of Mitchell Beazley’s books, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Would it be a bone dry read that could be used a sedative before bed, or would it actually be engaging, adding a little depth and spice to a rich cultural tradition? To be honest, it was a bit of both. The majority of the book is used as a directly of over 400 wineries in La Rioja, containing everything from the name of the winemaker to how many hectoliters are produced annually. However, as a result of John’s wit and curiosity, you’ve also got a great story on John’s visit to the wineries, an in depth looks at the history of the region, as well as several cultural tidbits of information that give you more than simply a directory.

Over the past two months, I’ve used this book to aid in my research on the etymology of Rioja, the different classifications of Rioja wine and general information about specific wineries that we couldn’t visit but tasted their wines, such as :Martinez Laorden, La …

I love cookbooks, but I hate to follow recipes. I know I’m not alone, however. For me, a recipe is a suggestion, while a cookbook is an inspiration - a thought that makes many of my friends cringe. For them, recreating the traditional techniques and nuances of a historic dish is the goal; whereas, for me, I want to improve it! Vane, yes, but I also know that I’d rather eat a traditional dish in its home country with someone whose been making it for decades.

I begin with this introduction because “Cook España, Drink España”, by John Radford and Mario Sandoval, appeals to the adventurer in me. Mario Sandoval, a rising star in Spanish cuisine, partners up with John Radford, arguably, one of the most knowledgeable Spanish wine authorities on Spanish wine, to make a cookbook that covers the vast diversity of Spanish wine and cuisine.

If you enjoy beautiful pictures in your cookbooks, by all means, pick this up. Displaying fantastic photography, coupled with a nice, simple layout, make this a book a joy to sit back and peruse at your leisure. All 17 political regions are comprehensively covered, beginning with a short explanation on both the food and wine culture. This introduction is followed by 3-4 recipes and then a short recap of the wines, or in many cases, sidras, drunk in said region. A …

When I first heard the name “La Rioja” I made the grand assumption that it derived from a geographic location. Why? Because if you’ve taken Spanish 101, you will immediately recognize the word rio in the name, meaning river, while oja can translate to “watch out!” or “look out for”. Hence, I assumed that name either meant “a dangerous river worthy of your caution” or “an incredibly beautiful river to look out for”. Although I felt pretty confident in my theory, I’ve already confessed that our knowledge of Rioja is relatively slim at this point. So, I donned my student cap and turned to John Radford’s book, The Wines of Rioja for a more expert opinion.

According to his book, the commonly held theory by wine writers and Rioja lovers alike is that La Rioja’s namesake is based on the River Oja, which feeds into the Tiron river, passes through Haro and eventually flows into the famous rio Ebro. Now although this doesn’t explain why the entire region is called La Rioja, it’s an undeniably practical theory.

However, as I continued reading through the Radford’s alternative theories behind La Rioja’s origins, suddenly, the popular namesake rio Oja had equally sound competitors. John lays out five possibilities, all interesting, and all worthy of our consideration. So compelling are some of these arguments that I thought it would be fun if we had a little vote. When you finish the article, please take a moment to share which theory you stand behind in the comment section, maybe because you simply like the theory or because you find it to be the most logical.

Proposed Theories by John Radford of the Epytomology of La Rioja

Bodegas Ijalba Ogga
Based on research conducted …