100 Years of Rioja

100 Years of Rioja event— London

Rioja became Spain’s first Denominación de Origen (DO) in 1925. Now 100 years old, the region put on a celebration of all things Rioja in deepest hipster east London.

Billed as a dynamic and immersive two-day wine festival in Hackney Bridge, the event features 50 Rioja wines to taste, covering all styles and colours and representing both long-established bodegas and newer faces, selected by Master of Wine and Spain expert Sarah Jane Evans MW.

In addition there are both wine and cooking masterclasses from Olly Smith, José Pizarro and Omar Allibhoy, plus food from Camino.

I took along hispanophile and next generation of wine drinker #2 child to see what he made of it all.

Trade professional Mike Turner aka Please Bring Me My Wine, summarises the event:

Spain’s most iconic wine region, @riojawine, turns 100 — and East London is throwing the ultimate party to celebrate! Join @pleasebringmemywine at @hackney_bridge on 19–20 July for 100 Years of Rioja: The Wine Weekender — where food, flavour, and fiesta meet.

• 50+ exceptional Rioja wines
• Live cookery demos by chefs like @jose_pizarro & @omarallibhoy
• Wine masterclasses with @ollysmith & Rioja winemakers
• Flavour-packed dishes from @mexclub.uk @filigrillz, @paellariauk & more
• Live music and entertainment straight from the heart of Rioja

The food

Colourful tapas-style snacks from Camino:

Fizz to start

We started with fizz — my first from Rioja and not-quite-my-first Tempranillo Blanco; elegant, savoury and complex with ripe citrus and orchard fruits.

Possibly slightly overchilled — as the picture below shows — resulting from a sudden change in the weather (after the previous day’s blue skies and sweltering 30C heat, organisers woke up to grey cloud cover and intermittent torrential showers)

The whites

A flight of whites — savoury, gastronomic, saline and mostly white-fruited, including the rare Tempranillo Blanco (a white-skinned clonal variant of the much more common Tempranillo), only the Allende was plusher and more ripely yellow fruited.

The reds

Rioja of all styles, ages and regions with Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa all represented.

There were mature old-school Riojas, long-aged with oaky spice, Big Beasts with ripe, dark fruit and 15% alcohol, high-acidity Rioja Alavesa and a concentrated single-vineyard Salinillas Tobelos belying its 7 years of age.

The events

There were food trucks, traditional dancing and a paelleria:

50 wines to taste with 100 years of history

Cooking displays and wine-matching from José Pizarro and Olly Smith:

Plus general hanging out and vibes that even the great British summer couldn’t spoil:

We rounded things off with a final cheersing of our favourite red, both considering the event a success, and headed home:

Others say:

Rioja Wine: Rioja 100 Years of Winemaking Excellence — Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja — Riojawine

Decanter: A hundred years of Rioja — Decanter

Time Out: 100 Years of Rioja Wine Festival | Hackney Bridge | Things to do in London

HackneyBridge.org: 100 Years of Rioja — Food & Wine Festival at Hackney Bridge — Hackney Bridge

Olly Smith: 100 Years of Rioja Wine and Food Festival — Olly Smith

British Spanish Society: Celebrate 100 Years of Rioja — British Spanish Society

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: 100 Years of Rioja: wine festival | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Sauce Mag: Rioja Wine UK Presents 100 Years Of Rioja