I was inspired to talk about my historic wine cave experience when I visited a bodega in a small town in La Rioja back in 2022. The bodega is called Lecea. The coolest part is that their cellar is all under a cave and we had a detailed tour explaining all of their winemaking practices and traditions. I even get into talking about how they used goat skins to transport the wine in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.
The wine I open today is a white wine from Asua (the producer) in the northern part of Rioja made of 100% Viura grape varietal. As a 5th generation family of winemakers, Asua is known to stick with tradition, quality and innovation… they wouldn’t have it any other way. I get into the history behind the small town called Haro, the capital of the region Rioja. They celebrate the territorial dispute that happened way back when between Haro and the surrounding villages as a yearly festival every July 29th called “La Batalla del Vino”… aka they throw a bunch of liters of wine at each other.
Tune in to learn more about this white wine and I hope you grab the bottle at your local total wine to taste along with me! Trust me this one is delicious and worth it.
2:15 - Bodega Lecea
3:20 - Wine transportation in a goat
4:30 - Explore a cave… filled with wine
4:50 - Intro to the Viura grape varietal
6:00 - Spanish classification
6:55 - Today’s producer… Asua
8:05 - When the Phoenicians took over…
8:35 - Territorial disputes = modern festivals
9:30 - Tradition, quality & good wine
10:30 - Visual analysis of the wine
10:50 - Calcareous soils
11:45 - Olfactory analysis
12:40 - High acidity with a touch of sneaky tannins
13:10 - If Chardonnay & Riesling had a baby…
13:55 - Wine rating
14:20 - Food pairings for this white wine
Today’s Wine: 2020 Asua White Wine Rioja $17
https://www.totalwine.com/wine/white-wine/viura/asua-rioja-blanco/p/349544750
Connect with me on IG @sipandgrowpodcast
Get your FREE Wine Aroma Wheel at https://stan.store/nicoledipasquale
Check out my Italian Wine Guide at https://stan.store/nicoledipasquale
