Wine of the Week 4/5/22

Bodegas Carlos Serres Vega Rayo Rioja 2019

Regularly $14.99/On Sale for $10.96

While wIne has been made in Rioja since the 11th century BCE, when the area was settled by Phoenicians, the name Rioja (an elision of the Rio Oja, a tributary of the Ebro river) first appears in 1092 CE, by which point most winemaking was happening in monasteries. In fact, due to the geographic isolation of the area, most wine in Rioja was consumed by locals and by pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago until the 1800s, when a railway was built. When the phylloxera louse ravaged the vineyards of France and southern Spain, Rioja suddenly had an international audience and has never looked back.

The fruit from the Vega Rayo is harvested in early October from vineyards in Rioja Alta, the Western part of Rioja. The vines are on average 15-20 years old. Fermentation happens in stainless steel tanks to maintain maximum freshness in the wine. After 12 days fermentation on the skins, the wine is gently pressed and racked to stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation. The wine is then racked to a mixture of American and French oak barrels for a 4-6 months maturation period, which mellows this wine just enough to be one of the smoothest and most pleasant Spanish wine values we’ve had in a long while! A perfect red for the wildly variable temperatures we’ve been having, you can enjoy this wine by itself or with a range of foods and on top of that it’s vegan! So come by and try a bottle - we think you’ll be back for more!