The BritishSpanish Society filled Camino’s cosy Bar Rioja for an enjoyable evening of wine tasting. Keep on eye on our event calendar for details of more wine tasting events in 2025.

Our host for the evening was Camino’s owner and wine enthusiast, Richard Bigg. Richard and his team gave us a warm welcome over pre-tasting drinks in Camino before we headed across the courtyard to Bar Rioja for our wine tasting session.

We were introduced to a variety of wines, all hand picked by Richard, to explore wines from different regions of Spain, the spectrum of flavours, and to demonstrate that you can find a good wine at a range of price points. 

Each wine was introduced and the story behind its creation shared with the group. For many of the wines Richard shared personal stories of his visits to the vineyards and their owners. 

Each wine was accompanied by a pintxo selected to compliment the wines’ depth and flavour. 

We had a wonderfully social evening sharing a great selection of new wines, and a delicious array of pintxos.

Here is a full list of the wines and their accompanying food:
Wine – Método tradicional Rioja, Azabache – Rioja Oriental Tempranillo Blanco
Notes – Aromas of white fruits and citrus sweet notes and a delicate floral background. Elegant and silky on the palate
Pintxo – Pincho of pan con tomate y jámon

Wine – Jarrate Blanco, Abel Mendoza – Rueda Verdejo
Notes – Ripe lemon and delicate tropical fruit. Harmonious, refreshing with a herbal twist of fennel
Pintxo – Creamy croqueta made with Ibérica ham

Wine – Albariño, Pazos de Lusco, Rías Baixas – Albariño
Notes – Ripe bright orchard fruits, an absolute classic that’s perfect with seafood. 91/100 Wine Enthusiast | Gold Bacchus
Pintxo – Gamba

Wine – Verdejo Naturette, Ancestral, (orange), Parra Jimenez – La Mancha – Verdejo
Notes – Subtle vanilla and spice along with delicate aromas of peach and orange are complimented by savoury peppery notes on the palate.
Pintxo – Octopus

Wine – Monastrell Collección, Bodegas Luzón – Jumilla Monastrell
Notes – Raspberry aromas with a hint of peppery spice. Juicy with excellent structure. 93/100 James Suckling.
Pintxo – ‘Torto’ – crispy corn tortilla with pulled suckling pig, purple cabbage.

Wine – Marqués de Riscal XR Rioja – Rioja Alavesa – Tempranillo Graciano
Notes – Intensely expressive aromas of black cherry, liquorice, cinnamon and black pepper. Concentrated blueberries and blackberries on the beautiful long finish. 96/100 Decanter Gold.
Pintxo – Ox Cheek