This was a scholarly trip with a group of very well-educated educators, with a focus on the wines and wineries of Groupo Faustino. We began with their winery in Navarra, which is just about a half hour from our hotel in Logrono. Our leader was the very affable and fun Javier pictured above with an equally fun member of our group.

The wineries include Campillo and Marques de Vitoria also in Rioja; the above-mentioned Valcarlos in Navarra; Condesa de Leganza in La Mancha; Bodegas Portia in Ribera del Duero; and Bodegas Victorianas, which offers varietal table wine from across Spain.

The winery was founded 150 years ago, and by the 1930s, the Faustinos made a name for themselves by being the first winery in Rioja to bottle wine. In those days, wine was basically carted by cask to a restaurant or people filled up bottles from the winery to take to their homes. Visitors from around the world wanted to bring Faustino wine home with them, so the Faustinos started to bottle it.

The Valcarlos winery is sleek and modern and after an extensive tour of the vineyard and the modern winery we had a tasting of the line, followed by dinner.

The following day we had a two-hour drive to the Faustino winery in Portia -- very sleek and modern. The wines were delicious as well!

That evening, we enjoyed a "Tapas Run" at Calle Laurel de Logrono, the traditional spot to "tapas hop."  Each tapas bar has its specialty, such as shrimp or ham or mushrooms, and we enjoyed different wines at different bars. The evening was very hot ... can't imagine what it would be like in summer if it was like this in May.

On the last day of this three-day trip we visited the Faustino Winery and museum, and were lucky enough to have lunch in the very room where the family has its lunches today. They grilled baby lamb for us on old vines, and tasted some fabulous vintage wine.

Here is my write up of the event:

"The president of Spain chose Faustino wines out of a blind tasting for both his daughters' weddings," said Javiar, our affable guide to the Faustino winery and museum.

Our gorgeous sunny Rioja day started off in the vineyard where we examined the graciano grapes in the soft chalk soils and the explored the winery with its giant stainless steel tanks and oak barrel rooms where we learned the barrels are cleaned every four months to erase the film that develops during this time on the barrel's interior surface and blocks the oxygen exchange.

While the barrels are being cleaned the wine goes into stainless steel so the winemaker can analyze it and see what sort of oak (younger or older barrels) is needed when it goes back to barrel.

The museum has pictures of the founders, replications of the portraits you can find on the Faustino labels, and ancient winemaking tools.

The tasting featured some fabulous vintage wines, the star being the Faustino 1 Gran Reserva 1981 with its faded brick color and aromas of strawberry and leather and Faustino 1 Gran Reserva 1999 which is surprising youthful and the currant vintage in the UK market today.

Talk around the tasting table centered on the differences between the traditional '81 Gran Reserva and the powerful 'modern' Robert Parker style Autor 2004 with a bold cherry nose and rather tannic structure. Though they both spent many months in oak they represent two dramatically different styles.

Highlights during lunch in the exclusive private dining room included Gran Reserva 2000 still young after 12 years with a concentrated purple color and bold tannins.

Viticulture is a key factor in quality grapes. Rules about irrigation differ all over the world. Moreover, the timing of water and heat through the growth cycle determines the quality of the grapes.

During my recent visit to Bodega Carrau in Montevideo, I asked Francisco Carrau about the effects of water and heat in the vineyard.

Here is what he explained:

"Vines in Uruguay are not irrigated in the majority of the cases except for the first year of plantation. So we will have years with more or less rain that will give some vintage variations."

"Soils were selected to prevent rainy years, such as the one where we have more sandy and deep structures in the northeast that was the first site selection selected scientifically in 1973-75. Vineyards around Montevideo since 1870 were because of logistic problems and not for site quality selection."

"The soils with more clay and calcarius of the Montevideo vineyard retain more moisture than the sandy red soils of the north, but neither needs irrigation when you are producing limited quantities for quality grapes."

One thing I noticed during my visit was that a special grass is used to absorb water from the soil when there is too much rain. Francisco answers the question here:

" This is a traditional management we do since the 1990s and we introduce this concepts in the CREA groups of Uruguay. Natural grasses do this job and sometimes are better than planting a unique spice. There are some studies in INIA looking for different species but combinations appear to be more balanced.  In times of great heat grass helps to low the temperature if we have a very dry season. You cut the grasses very low so as to take less water out of the soil. But, also the dry seasons normally kill the grasses as they are superficial and not go so deep as the vines, so this is also good for getting the balance of dry or rainy seasons in a soil. All these managements are thinking always in low yields, because with high yields all plants are suffering excess of demand of water from the fruits.

Recently I was invited to a fabulous artisanal Neopolitan pizza dinner at La Pizza Fresca in Manhattan featuring a treasure chest of top Barolo from the very best producers, all from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintage. Producers Giorgio Ballarin, Andrea Giordana and Aurelo Settio attended the tasting of 23 wines (representing the 23 producers of La Morra).

The wines were of very different styles and all were enjoyable ...

... yet the MAIN reason for the dinner was that this band of 23 producers were part of an organiation called Annuziata di La Morra, with their goal being to rebuid the great historical landmarks in their ancient town. Among these is the church you see above, the Abbey of the Annunziata, which overlooks the vineyards of the Barolo valley and dates from the 12th century.

Each of the 23 producers donated their wines in an effort to raise money during the Christies auction to be held the next day ...

... though the total amount needed would be close to a million Euros, the producers came close to their goal of 150 Euros for immediate repairs.

During the dinner I had the good fortune to sit next to Giorgio Ballarin of Cascina Ballarin.  I learned a lot about production!

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be the wine director of a restaurant? Of course, in some ways it sounds like a fantasy job. One can imagine the pleasures of having distributors visit your restaurant, bringing you fabulous wine to savor and discuss …

Yet of course this is really only a fantasy. The reality is that most restaurant wine directors are so stressed with so much to do they must limit visits from distributors, and even then, savvy wine directors tell the distributors in advance exactly what they are looking for so as to save time.

Yet if you ever wanted an inside peak into the restaurant world – including how wine is bought and priced and sold  – you may want to check out the new book RESTAURANT MAN by Joe Bastianich, even though  the focus here is more on the mechanics of creating a restaurant more than the responsibilities of a sommelier.

Joe is the son of Lydia Bastianich, who runs Felidia and is a famous TV celebrity chef and cookbook author. I met him once at Felidia, Lydia’s top-end restaurant, when he was giving a presentation to the Wine Media Guild about the family’s vineyard in Italy. In the book he spends countless pages describing his childhood helping out in his parents’ earlier restaurant in Queens – and his dreams of being a ‘restaurant man.’

His first restaurant, Becca, was wine focused … Joe explains his goal was to find a variety of interesting Italian wines from all over the country, and introduce them to American customers at a price point of (then) $16 dollars. According to Joe, though the “restaurant math” was wrong because restaurants typically price of a glass of wine what they pay for a bottle (and mark a bottle up 3x the wholesale cost), what he lost in margin he made up in quantity.

Some of the more interesting parts of the book concern Joe’s wine education traveling around Italy, buying wine for the high-end Felidia, and basically self-educating himself about the best Italian wines. You can also find some interesting restaurant gossip, such as the passage when he says “selling wine is all about sizing people up, and it takes a certain amount of chutzpah. The tableside bottle sell is a very funny thing – you take a look at the guy’s blazer, what kind of shoes he’s wearing, what kind of broad he’s with … is he trying to be a hero? A cheap #S#D? Who does he want to impress?”

Another colorful passage is when he compares tasting wine to looking at women. “Tasting  the first wine in the morning is like seeing the first pretty girl of the day – the impact is clear, the impression vivid, there is little ambiguity. Beauty is apparent and it lingers.  But with every wine tasted after the first one, it is the same with every girl you see on the street – you’re more likely to observe a ripple or a wrinkle, a blemish, poor posture …as you taste through a massive quantity of wines, what was crystal clear becomes a blur of sensations, tactile and olfactory.”

Written in a style slightly similar to Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential, it is a “must read” for anyone who is considering starting a restaurant – or perhaps, even being a sommelier though the focus here is much more on Joe’s intriguing life.

And after reading it, well, all I can say is that you’ll never walk into a restaurant the same way again.

I liked all the wines, especially the high end reds.

Great property and quality across the line

Sauvignon Gris 2011
Medium straw color, herbal character on the nose as opposed to the more floral aromas of Sauvignon Blanc. Assertive palate with lively acidity and texture from the terroir. Long crisp finish.  Calcarious soil. Crisp and refreshing.  Unoaked

Classic Sauvignon Gris 2009
Deeper straw color from 18 months in first use French oak.  On the palate unique flavors and high minerality with racy acidity. Some notes of the sea … a saline quality. Sharp nose and dry crisp finish

Cabernet Franc Syrah 2011 (60% CF, 40% Syrah unoaked)
Deep purple black color, lighter rim, rich grape-y nose of ripe fruit, well balanced and dry with rich ripe fruit and no oak . Fabulous wine with natural qualities and incredible balance.

Pinot Noir Proprium 2011
Deep purple color, nose of rich ripe fruit, a touch of sweet vanilla that seems like it is from oak yet there is no oak in this wine.  Lots of rich ripe fruit (blueberries) on the palate.

Tannat Cabernet Franc (50/50) 2011
Very black purple color with a lighter rim.  Black ripe vanilla bean on the nose and palate, lots of super ripe plum (almost soaked cooked prune). Nice finish.

Tannat 2011 (no oak)Scintillating purple color, lighter rim, spicy nose, bright fresh purple fruit. A simple well made wine

Really fabulous wines here, especially from the Proprium category. Excellent quality and selection.

Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Straw colored, strong mineral nose, high acidity, minerality, very rich on the palate with complex flavors.  87 points

Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Straw colored, very fresh aromas of ripe sweet fruit such as apricot, peach – very rich palate with luscious ripe fresh fruit. Incredibly delicious. 92 points

Viognier 2011
Rich, ripe aroma of sweet ripe yellow-fleshed fruit, on the palate a lot of richness and sophistication. Very elegant and supple. 93 points

Viognier 2012
Grapefruit … still in tank but an interesting comparison to the 2011, which was a riper year so there is a bit more residual sugar. 87 points

Tannat Reserva Rose 2011
Ripe flavors of summer-ripe red fruits, good structure and acidity on the palate with a crisp dry finish. 87 points

Tannat Reserva Rose 2012 Saignee method
Very pretty light transparent cherry color, bright fresh fruit flavors on the nose and palate.  Bright fresh cherry. 87 points

Cabernet Sauvignon 100 Anos 2011
Dark deep color, purple with lighter rim, nose of ripe tannins, rich ripe dark berries, delicous well balanced, well textured palate with notes of chocolate, ripe rich red fruit. Very well integrated tannins and oak. 92 (it is 60% American, 30% French) with only a third in the wine ... the rest is epoxy. First second and third use of oak. 93 points

Malbec Alta Reserva 2010
Dark purple color, spice on the nose, on the palate very jammy flavors, lots of spice. Red fruits.
Good structure with ripe rich red fruits. 87 points

Merlot 2011
Deep dark nearly black purple, an elegant, polished sweet note on the nose with a touch of vanilla. 70% French and 30% American oak. Very elegant and delicious when many layers of flavor and a smooth, elegant finish of rich red fruit and spice. 93 points

Tannat Alta Reserva 2010
Very deep purple black color with a slightly lighter rim, elegant nose of rich ripe fruit, some notes of vanilla bean and black concentrated fruit, some spice. Palate very refreshing despite the ripe fruit with an excellent balance of well-integrated fruit, vanilla, and ripe fruit. 70% American, 30% French oak (just 57% mixed with stainless steel and epoxy). Absolutely delicious! 93 points

Syrah 2011
Deep purple color, very scintillating, on the nose lots of spice and rich concentrated black fruit, inky qualities and very rich ripe and concentrated. Nice balance of some subtle well-integrated oak. Delicious long dry finish.  93 points

Tannat Premium 2009
Very dark purple/black color, scintillating, on the nose sweet vanilla (from what must be French oak) and ripe yet elegant black sun-ripened fruit.  Very delicious palate with rich ripe concentrated sun ripened fruit with layers of vanilla and other flavors.  Quit elegant and smooth. Absolutely stunning. Good showcase for the national grape.  95 points.

Luis A, Gimenez  Tannat 2007 (limited production)
Very deep purple black color, scintillating, elegant nose of rich ripe concentrated black fruit and black berries, vanilla notes, sweet violet ... very elegant concentrated flavors of concentrated ripe fruit tempered with vanilla and high quality oak. Great representation for the Tannat grape and also what the country can produce. 97 points.

Late Harvest Chardonnay Viogniet 50/50 2010
A light salmon transparent color, nose is of rich ripe fruit, texture is smooth and silky and full of ripe fruit, 95 grams per litre of residual sugar.  Vanilla ice cream is a good pairing, or hard cheeese. 86 points

Licor de Tannat 2007
Deep color absolute fabulous flavor! Concentrated fruit nose and delicious concentrated flavors of ripe black fruit. Notes of vanilla and some bright jalapeno peppers.

Have you ever considered moving to what some people think is the 'end of the world?" The landscape in this remote part of Uruguay is somewhat luner, yet it's the special terroir that makes the wines of Alto de la Ballena so good.

The winery was started in 2000 by Paula Pivel, who worked for Citibank, and Alvaro Lorenzo. They bought twenty hectares on the rocky slope of the Sierra de la Ballena. As the winery is located near the trendy resort town of Punta del Este, they have a study source of visitors.

You will find Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Vigonier here along with Tannat. The wines were extremely well balanced and made for the higher end quality market.

The couple and their dog are very charming and the wines, delicious and hand crafted. When you are in the area you must visit.

President Fernando Deicas (his prized car above) and his son Santiago Deicas showed me around along with different enologists. It is a giant winery with many different buildings, including an old brick building that was a dairy a hundred years ago.

The family started in 1979, when Juan Carlos Deicas (Fernando's father)  purchased the property. He first began to produce wine for brandy, and two years later planted vineyards for fine wines.

In the 1980s the family were pioneers in the wine industry and invested significant capital in buying new modern equipment.  Many people thought the family was crazy because they invested on high quality wine in Uruguay ….

... yet from the tasting notes below you can see it was worth it.

Pueblo de Sol Viognier 2011

Good terroir for growing Viognier ... golden color, rich ripe aroma, succulent rich ripe apricot and peach flavors on the palate, racy acidity and some minerality.  … it is paired with shrimp cream cheese and bread. Reserve line $14. An absolutely delicious value.

Pueblo de Sol Tannat Rose 2011
Red transparent color, juicy ripe red fruit flavors on the palate with zingy acidity

2010 Tannat
Deep purple concentrated color, inky purple flavors on the nose of ripe fruit, somewhat candied flavors on the palate – ripe purple and black fruit, balanced tannin and acidity. Earthy flavors. Five grams of residual young.  $10 US

Pueblo de Sol Tannat Reserva 2011
Deep purple color, ripe sweet black flavors on the nose, black ripe fruit flavors on the palate with lots of black licorice. Slight coffee grounds. Balanced dry finish.  @nd use barrels

Pueblo de Sol Tannat Blend (70% Tannat and Merlot/Cabernet Franc) Limited Edition 2007 Barrel aging, eep garnet purple color, nose of rich ripe purple and black fruit, vanilla notes from the oak, lots of black licorice. Refined tame tannins Delicious!

Family Deicas Preludio 2006
Deep purple color with garnet edge, delicious nose of rich ripe black fruit, very similar to the finest Bordeaux, black licorice, very balanced and refined. Elegant. A first class wine and excellent example of the region.  They work with different toasts and barrels.

Familia Deicas Preludia 2000 Barrel Select Lote N 53
Deep dark intensity, almost black (blend of 200 barrels) on the nose, very fine Bordeaux style wine with rich, ripe complex aromas of black licorice, vanilla, a delicious grainy mouthfeel as if it was from Graves.  Very long finish with lots of concentrated ripe fruit and vanilla.

Familia Deicas Preludia 1997 Lot 35
Almost garnet color with very garnet, nearly transparent edges, on the nose sweet prince Edward cherry tobacco as in Bordeaux (could be a close call if blind tasting against a grand cru). On the palate a very silky concentration of ripe fruit tempered by quality oak and time. Outstanding. Delicious. Addictive.

Familia Deicas 1^st Cru Exception 2005 100% Tannat
Fabulous wine very deep in concentration (purple, black) with a garnet rim. Nose is ripe black fruit tempered by some balanced oak, tobacco. Extremely long finish. Grainy texture like Graves in Bordeaux. Incredible. Hand crafted with every step.

As you can see from the photo above the wines have won many awards. The charming Silvina Rosas led the tour and tasting of three fine wines, described below.

Chardonnay 2o11
Lemon color, fresh fruit on the nose, very fresh style of wine with high acidity and minerality.

Cabernet 2010 (11 months in oak)
Deep purple color, on the nose spice and fruit, soft tannins, very well balanced. A great food wine.

Tannat Viejo 2009
Dark rich purple color, rich ripe fruit tempered with oak on the nose, very balanced and delicious palate of rich ripe fruit tempered with new French oak.  Long spectacular finish.

“My 82 year old granny lives here,” says dark haired Juan Andres Marichal, pointing to a simple, one  story house near the tiny family winery. “Many years ago she would cook three meals a day for the workers.”

I peek into the old kitchen, which is now used as a barrel room, and see that the family set up a tiny museum with old pots and pans. The winery itself is small too … in the old days, the family would sell the grapes, yet in 1938. Juan’s ancestors came here from the Canary Islands Spain a few centuries ago as was the case of many families here.

Despite its small size the family produces 8000 cases a year and expots 70% to mostly Brazil and Germany.  Juan is an enologist and is doing a lot of experimentation in the vineyard, such as planting a grass called festuca which absorbs water from the ground faster than the vines.

The ocean is just 25 kilometers away, so there is a lot of cool breezes at night which helps the grapes achieve balance.

Chardonnay 2011 (unoaked)
Straw with lemon highlights – delicious aroma from two weeks on the lees after fermentation . On the palate, very rich with ripe concentrated yellow-fleshed fruit, and tangy with crisp refreshing acidity. A ‘naked wine’ without oak or malolactic yet still rich and a fabulous food wine as well. Chardonnay is planted on top of small hill with excellent drainage (clay and calcareous) …

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Blend 2007 (light rose)
Slight transparent rose petal pink color, tangy nose, on the palate extremely high acidity and minerality.

Pinot Noir / Tannat 2010 (70 PN / 30 Tannat)
Dark concentrated ruby color, fresh ripe fruit flavor
Very full bodied wine with lots of ripe fresh fruit, chewy tannins. Good with meat.

Tannat 2010
Attractive ruby color,  nose of rich ripe red fruit such as red currants, and a fruit flavor on the palate of cranberries and loganberries. Soft tannins and racy acidity. It is made with 5 days cold maceration (no dissolution of tannins in must) get the color but not too much tannins. Then separate skins to get the fruit. This creates a less structured, less tannic wine made without barrels that can be enjoyed within six months.

Tannat 2009
After 1 year blend the two different types – 70% with oak, 30% stainless steel.
Deep ruby color, juicy fruit on the nose, and on the palate a nicely structured wine with elegance and refinement from the oak maturation. Some spice. Well behaved. Can drink alone or pair with food.

Tannat A 2008
In oak for 18 months and bottle for two years - it is only made in the best vintages,
Deep concentrated ruby/garnet color, aroma of deep ripe cherries ... on the palate a velvet richness from the oak aging (both French and American oak). One can enjoy it as one would a fine Bordeaux, as this wine also has similar complexity and something like Prince Edward Cherry tobacco on the palate.