Future in the spotlight at Rioja Forum

Professionals from across the trade gathered this week to engage in lively debate at this year’s Rioja Forum at the Imagination Gallery in London’s West End.

Organised as a collaboration between the drinks business and Wines from Rioja, the focus for this year’s discussion on Tuesday, 2 June, was the question “Should Tempranillo remain the dominant grape?”

Chaired by Charlotte Hey, executive publisher of the drinks business, the panel of speakers each outlined their case. Firstly a generic overview from Ricardo Aguiriano, marketing and communications manager of Rioja’s Consejo Regulador, highlighted the extremely topical nature of this debate, noting that Tempranillo now represents 78% of the region’s total vineyard area.

Further speakers included Victor Fuentes, managing director of Baron de Ley; Maria Martinez-Sierra, winemaker at Bodegas Montecillo; Juan Carlos Sancha Gonzalez, manager and technical director of Bodegas Viña Ijalba; and, for a valuable UK perspective, Melissa Draycott, head of wine buying for First Quench.

Once questions were opened to the floor, extended discussions took place on a number of key areas. Most keenly debated was the potential danger of Rioja aligning itself too closely with a single variety, exposing the region to imitators within Spain and beyond. This sparked further discussion on the issue of how much of Rioja’s rich, complex identity should be conveyed to the average consumer.

Finally, attention turned to the potential growth opportunities offered by the region’s lower profile white and rosé wines.

Debate continued informally and rather more empirically over a tasting, with wines carefully selected to illustrate both Rioja’s traditional, modern and even single varietal styles.

For a full report on the Rioja Forum 2009, see July’s issue of the drinks business.

Gabriel Savage, 03.06.09