www.bondstreetwines.com

Join us this Saturday, September 24th at our shop in Charlotte for The s'Wine Affair, from 12pm - 4pm! As a toast to the beginning of the fall season, we are celebrating what happens when "cork meets pork."  Bring your friends and enjoy an afternoon of great wine, amazing food, and an opportunity to meet other wine enthusiasts in a fun setting. There will be plenty o'pig, a selection of sides, and of course a variety of wine pairings. We will feature tasting tent wines to sample with different styles of BBQ. Whether you have all afternoon to linger or just enough time to grab lunch and try the samples it will be a great time.

Presale tickets can be purchased online now for only $15 by clicking the image above.  Tickets can be purchased at the entrance tent on the day of the event for $20. Your ticket includes samples in the wine tasting tent, a barbecue lunch, and 2 drink tickets to enjoy with lunch. As an added bonus, the cost of your ticket will be applied to all orders of 3 bottles or more. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email.

See you on Saturday!

Regional Focus:

Rioja, Spain  

The Rioja region of Spain is located in the northeast portion of the country and is widely regarded as the country's leading red wine producing area. There are several common grape varieties in Rioja including white varieties (viura, malvasia and verdejo) and red varieties (tempranillo, garnacha, carignan and garciano). Nearly all wine drinkers in the U.S. are a least somewhat familiar with Rioja as the wines are widely available at introductory price points, are a staple on wine lists and serve as anchors for the Spanish section of most wine stores. Much like Chianti from Italy over the years, Rioja has typically varied in quality from scarcely palatable jug wine to highly valued gems, all the while maintaining an ever present supply of little known brands.

With its northern location in Spain, Rioja has relatively cool summers and long ripening season that allow for high quality fruit so long as ripeness is achieved.

There is a long history of winemaking in Rioja as wine was produced under Roman control and tolerated at small levels during Moorish times. When Christians again took control of the entire Iberian Peninsula in the 15^th century winemaking was encouraged and expanded. Since that time, Rioja has expanded its export markets to fill gaps left by problems with production in France due to vine disease and war, and as transportation developed to allow for economical exports. Rioja suffered during the Spanish civil war as did the rest of the country, and exports were limited until the 1960's when international markets began to open for Spain, transportation routes modernized, and the worldwide wine market began expanding rapidly to absorb the large Rioja production. The primary winners in this environment were the larger estates that tended to be former blue blood holdings and shared similar names beginning with Marqué such as Marqué de Murrieta or Marqué de Riscal.

Geographically, Rioja is unlike most other Spanish winegrowing regions in that it does not suffer from extreme heat in the summers. Instead, grapes can actually struggle to achieve ripeness. The region might otherwise be unsuitable for vineyards, but is sheltered from regular Atlantic storms and cold by the Sierra de Cantabria mountain range to the North and West. Elevation ranges from 300 to 800 meters above sea level and the soils are generally clay, limestone and sand. As one travels from the southeast to the northwest within the region toward the mountains, elevation is gained, rainfall is increased, temperatures are cooler and the soil becomes less fertile. Rainfall has become less of an issue in the more arid areas of Rioja as the legal ban on irrigation was lifted in the 1990's.

Though the history of Rioja is long and the tradition deep, the quality of the wines is notoriously uneven. Rioja produces vast amounts of wine that is of commodity quality and sold around the world at low prices. However, over the last several decades and with the influx of capital from the European Union, producers have taken quality seriously and the concept of estate bottled wines, rather than négociant or cooperative bottled wines, has taken hold. This has allowed the winemakers to control quality from vineyard to bottle and the result, as in the rest of the world, is a higher quality wine with a higher price that the market mercifully supports.

Today, wines are available from Rioja that are both immediately drinkable and worth of many years in the cellar. As the overall quality of wine has increased, the wines have lost the slight taste of oxidation that defined many of them for decades. This has been the result of a general increase in winemaking technique coupled with increased investment in modern equipment ranging from new steel and other high quality vinification tanks and bottling technology that present cleaner wines that are in line with the expectations of a more sophisticated wine drinking public. Another benefit today is that vineyards have been established on specifically selected single purpose real estate rather than having been planted on existing family land for expedience as may have formerly been the case. We can now expect that Rioja, both white and red, will generally be well made and meet the expectation that is created by the price point. Additionally, as wine critics sing the praises of up and coming Rioja producers, brands will continue to establish themselves across the value spectrum and make selection less confusing for consumers.

Calendar of Events:

September 2011 

September 23 - "Back-to-the-Vintage" @ Bond Street Wines - Charlotte 

Friday Tasting Series: We will focus on the wines from 2007 including red Bordeaux, Condrieu and white Burgundy. At four years old the whites are in their prime and the reds are shedding their youth. 

September 24 - The s'Wine Affair @ Bond Street Wines - Charlotte 

September 27 - Private Wine Dinner @ Bond Street Wines - Charlotte 

September 28 - Private Wine Reception @ 18 Seaboard - Raleigh 

September 29 - Private Wine Dinner @ Bond Street Wines -  Charlotte

September 30 - Private Wine Tasting - Raleigh, NC  

Whether it's a private tasting with friends, celebrating a birthday with a wine dinner, or hosting out of town clients; let us help you plan your next evening out.  For more information on scheduling an event with Bond Street Wines in Charlotte call (704) 521-1353 or email Ashlee at ashlee@bondstreetwines.com and in Raleigh call (919) 819-0748 or email James at jvoltz@bondstreetwines.com.