Blame it on Rioja

In yet another sign that appreciation for “traditional” wines is hitting the mainstream, this week’s ‘Wines for the Weekend’ column on Forbes.com, entitled “Wines Columbus Would Drink,” features two classic-style wines–one from Italy, the other from Spain–going head-to-head for the holiday.

Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, came up with the match-up (and a few other minor bouts), which pits a 2003 Barolo from Giuseppe Mascarello with a 1999 Rioja Reserva from the house of R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia. Eric Arnold is the author.

The keywords for both wines: ‘light,’ ‘delicate,’ and ‘age.’ Preference is a subjective matter.

Click here to see a short video related to the taste off.

I love maps. In fact, I think one of the main reasons why I love acquiring wine and cheese knowledge by the bucketful is the simple fact that a big portion of this activity involves gazing at maps.

Is it a guy thing? Is it some instinctive primordial tendency toward orienting?

Whatever it is, I love it.

Which is why I was quite stoked to learn from my friends over at Catavino that the DeLong Wine Company, the folks behind the ingenious and also-great-to-gaze-upon-for-hours Wine Grape Varietal Table, have recently released a Wine Map of the Iberian Peninsula.

One of DeLong’s gifts is their ability to present a ton of information visually in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the brain’s capacity to process it. I like that in a map because every time you come back to it, you find something new. Who knew, for example, that Rioja lies more or less on the same latitude as the Finger Lakes of New York State (42.41 N)?

The Wine Map of the Iberian Peninsula is available for purchase online for $29.95 plus shipping. Please Note: Orders will sent out beginning September 21.

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz, the tireless couple behind Catavino.net, don’t mess around.

Apart from compiling a huge trove of information and insight on Iberian wine and constantly tweaking their website to benefit their readers’ online experience, the Barcelona-based duo are also launching the first annual European Wine Bloggers conference next month in Logrono, La Rioja’s capital, a collaboration with Robert McIntosh, author of the UK wine blog, the Wine Conversation.

After a whirlwind trip to Rioja this spring, they compiled an extensive dossier on the Rioja wine region, complete with maps and tasting notes and even video, by far the best single online resource on the region that I know of.