What makes the Rioja region of Spain a must-visit destination for wine lovers? What are the best food pairings for Rioja wines? What’s the sticky history behind the Battle of Wine festival in La Rioja?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Adam Lechmere, editor of The Smart Traveler's Wine Guide to Rioja, among other books in this series.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

Giveaway

Two of you will win a copy of the terrific new book, The Smart Traveller's Wine Guide to Rioja, written by Fintan Kerr and edited by our guest Adam Lechemere.

To qualify, email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com and let me know you've posted a podcast review. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!

Highlights

What was it like to interview the famous movie director and winery owner Francis Ford Coppola?

Are there parallels between the worlds of wine and film?

Why did documentary filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter walk out of his interview with Adam?

Why was Adam banned twice from Château Latour?

What surprising insight did Adam learn while editing The Smart Traveller's Wine Guide to Rioja?

How is The Smart Traveler's Wine Guide written especially for wine-interested tourists?

What's the biggest misconception people have about Rioja and its wines?

Where is Rioja geographically located?

What are some of the culinary traditions you can enjoy in Logroño, the capital of La Rioja?

Which Rioja and tapas pairings should you try?

What’s the history behind the Battle of Wine and El Barrio de la Estación de Haro?

Key Takeaways

What they do so brilliantly in Rioja is combine traditional winemaking and outstanding wines with ultra-modern, avant-garde buildings often next door to ancient, gorgeous medieval churches.

Lamb and Rioja is a brilliant combination, according to Adam and I agree. The rule of thumb for any wine region is to pair it with the food that's made in the region. What grows together, goes together.

When you have lots of anything that is also your livelihood, you celebrate it. The Battle of Wine festival is a series of processions that begins about a week before on the 23rd of June, and it culminates with everybody going up onto the hill to what they call the temple. Like a lot of these festivals, it goes back into the mists of time and people don't know exactly how it started.

About Adam Lechmere

Adam Lechmere is the publishing director of Academie du Vin Library, contributing editor to Club Oenologique, and general manager of the Academie du Vin Foundation, a charity dedicated to improving diversity in wine and hospitality worldwide.

Formerly editor of Decanter.com, which he launched in 2000, he has been writing about wine for 25 years, contributing to Decanter, World of Fine Wine, Meininger’s, janeanson.com, the Guardian and other publications; at the end of 2018, he launched Club Oenologique.

To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/303.