You are looking to host the next stage of your 100km of Diversity tastings for Rioja - can you explain the overall concept?
The 100km of Diversity trade tastings aim to showcase the great diversity of wines from Rioja and create trading opportunities for wineries. The tastings are open to on and off-trade wine professionals and give the trade a chance to explore a wide variety of Rioja wines in a themed format and attend educational seminars.
After successful events in London and Manchester Rioja UK is now taking its 100km Diversity tasting to Edinburgh
The first 100km of Diversity tasting took place in London in 2022 and then in Manchester in 2023. This year we are hosting it in Edinburgh and hope to keep extending Rioja knowledge and excitement across the UK.
What have been the learnings from the other tastings you have done that you are looking to carry forward?
We have found that organising the tasting in zones has been extremely successful. Rioja is made up of three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alavesa, all of which are dramatically influenced by the landscape and climate in different ways. Organising the tasting in this way allows the trade to virtually travel through the region and taste through the wines with this front of mind.
We will also be continuing to highlight Viñedo Singular wines in the tasting booklet, so that this newer category is easily identifiable to the trade, raising awareness of the increased focus on terroir in the region.
Finally, something we are introducing this year is a consumer tasting in the evening, which will include a walkaround tasting and educational seminar. It will be exciting to get Rioja in front of an engaged consumer audience and will hopefully help to increase engagement with and sales of Rioja across the on and off trade. This is something that the trade has consistently fed back, so we are looking forward to bringing this to life.
You are hosting the next tasting in Edinburgh - why did you want to take it to Scotland?
With a lot of tastings and events being London focused, we really wanted to continue the regional tour with 100km of Diversity. Edinburgh, as Scotland’s capital and a city with a whole host of exciting restaurants, wine bars, wine shops and cultural events, seemed like a great location.
A number of Rioja wineries have representation in the rest of the UK, but not in Scotland, so it made sense to try to expand Rioja in this market.
What can Scottish buyers expect at the tasting and who do you hope will attend?
Buyers to the Edinburgh tasting will be able to see wines and meet producers from all the sub zones of Rioja
Scottish buyers will have the chance to meet innovative and pioneering producers and importers, many of whom will have flown over to the UK from Rioja especially for the tasting. They can expect to discover over 200 wines across a vast variety of styles from the region, including the newer terroir-focused Viñedo Singular wines, modern reds and sparkling Riojas, through to barrel-aged whites, elegant rosados, and the great classic Gran Reservas, and everything in between. Both imported and non-imported wineries will be present, so there will be many opportunities for new discoveries and listings at the event.
They will also be able to attend two seminars hosted by wine experts, including an on-trade specific seminar with Stuart Skea from Edinburgh’s Lyla, focused on how to create the ultimate Rioja wine list with a mix of renowned classics and more modern offerings.
We hope to welcome on and off trade wine professionals, press, importers and educators based in Edinburgh and across Scotland and the north of England.
You are also hosting two seminars - what are they?
Stuart Skea, head sommelier at Lyla in Edinburgh, will be hosting a special on-trade masterclass at the Rioja Edinburgh tasting
We are excited to be hosting an on-trade focused seminar on ‘How to create the ultimate Rioja wine list’ with award-winning sommelier Stuart Skea. Stuart will take attendees through an exciting line-up of renowned classics and more innovative offerings.
We will also be hosting a popular ‘Beyond the classics’ seminar with Rioja wine expert, Sarah Jane Evans MW. Sarah Jane will be delving into the latest trends in the region, giving attendees the opportunity to sample some of the newest styles and categories.
Why have you chosen those themes?
With an increased focus on Rioja’s fine, premium wines and the food pairing potential of wines from the region, we wanted to add an on-trade focused seminar to the event to help increase the visibility and diversity of Rioja wines on top end wine lists.
Sara Jane Evans MW will be sharing her expertise of Spanish wines in a special masterclass
Sarah Jane Evans’ wealth of knowledge and the popularity of her sessions meant we knew we wanted her to give a seminar at this year’s event. Rioja has a famous reputation for its bold reds, but the region is producing so much more than that and there are so many exciting styles and new categories coming onto the market. We’re excited for Sarah Jane to shine a light on this in her seminar.
How are the overall sales for Rioja in the UK doing?
Despite 2023 being a turbulent year for the wine sector as a whole, Rioja held onto its spot as a market leader, retaining its 40% share of Spanish exports. The UK remains the largest market for Rioja wines globally, accounting for 30.54% of all Rioja exports in 2023.
What particular trends are you seeing in terms of the wines being bought and listed?
A particular trend that Rioja is seeing is the growth of its white wine category. Well-known for its bold reds, Rioja produces a wide variety of wine styles and in 2023 Rioja white wines experienced impressive growth, with market share jumping from 7% to 8.4%, resulting in the region becoming the second largest Spanish white wine designation in terms of sales.
What do you hope the Diversity tasting can achieve in 2024?
We hope that this year’s 100km of Diversity tasting showcases to the trade the diverse and premium styles of Rioja being produced in the region today. Our aim is that the trade has a chance to meet with winemakers and importers directly to see the innovation and care behind the wines. We’d love for members of the trade to find new must have Riojas to add to their shops or wine lists and for new, smaller wineries that are producing modern and pioneering wines to get the chance to access the UK market.
What other events do you have planned?
In November, we have our annual Feliz Rioja campaign, formerly Rioja Wine Month. This is a long-standing consumer facing promotion in which we work with the off and on trade to drive awareness of Rioja as a region and boost sales during the busy Christmas trading period. Open to independent wine merchants, restaurants and wine bars, we encourage all off and on trade outlets to sign up to be part of this year’s campaign. Past campaigns have seen an increase of 166% in average volume of Rioja sold month on month.
Rioja’s 100km of Diversity trade tasting will take place in Edinburgh on October 15 from 11:00am-17:00pm at The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh. To find out more click here for the registration form.
