La Rioja Alta Wine Tasting
North Loop Wine & Spirits
218 N Washington Ave
Mpls MN 55401
Date: Nov 6, 2025
Phone: 612-338-5393
www.northloopwine.com
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La Rioja Alta Wine Tasting
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La Rioja Alta Wine Tasting
North Loop Wine & Spirits. 218 N Washington Ave, Mpls MN 55401 Nov 6, 6:30 PM
We go to sit down wine tasting about ten times a year. That is in addition to our every Friday night wine tasting. Does that mean we have an obsession? Or do we just like to learn about the world, food, drink & fun… THAT remains to be seen.
Lisa the owner of North Loop Wine & Spirits, have put together an incredible wine & spirits shop. They are located near the river & St Anthony Falls and across the street from Runyons oh and a block from Sex World… Yea you know EXACTLY where of I speak. That building is one of the oldest continually occupied buildings in the metro. The basement where their classes are held is absolutely gorgeous showing what time, care and great engineering can create. So, when Lisa has a tasting, we try to make it.
This tasting was about Spanish Rioja (River) Alta (Mountain) wines from the winery Lagar De Fornelos. Estrada Loureza, 86, 36770 O Rosal, Pontevedra, Spain Phone: +34 986 62 58 75 www.riojalta.com their wines were presented by Jose Luis Navarro, who flew up from Miami to conduct the class. Jose & the great staff of North Loop wines and wine tasting friend Pat from Bourget Wine Imports organized the event.
We had a group of about 50 fifty people that each paid $45 each to taste eight wines, get an education and meet some fun people. All of the wines came from Northern Spain known as the Rioja region. The De La Rioja Alta winery was formed by five families in 1890. The winery is unique in that it creates its own barrels out of American Oak.
If you think wine making is total science, you might doubt some of the processes. This winery racks i.e. moves the wine from barrels to bottles every six months by candlelight. Many might call that strange, but the great wineries might do many things that SEEM strange to science. But usually about ten to twenty years later the science catches up.
Beyond the American Oak barrels and the candle lit racking the winery ages each year for eight years before it is offered for sale. What does this do for the wine? If you look at the international rating of their wines, most are in two rating clubs 90+ and 95+ wines. That is the top 1% or so of wines. Something we look for when we buy wine. If you have no idea what to bring to a tasting party a 95 rated wine, which you should be able to start finding for about $30 will put you far above the $15 swill some try to pass. And if class only cost us $20 we are going there.
Some of the wines we had were from the following grapes: Alberino (typically whites), Tempranillo (reds) their Finca San Martin is held in American/French Oak Barrels for 16 months. A 2020 Vina Alberdi a Tempranillo held two years on American Oak the first year on a new barrel. A 2017 Vina Ardanza 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. This is an interesting blend with the Tempranillo being 36 months in oak and the Garnacha 30 months in oak. Then three years in the bottle before sold. Next, we tasted a 2015 Grand Reserva with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. The Grand Reserva 904 is made four times a decade and spends 4 years in oak barrels and 4 years in the bottle.
Next the 2020 Gran Reserva 890 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano and Mazuelo, made 2-3 times a decade, six years in the barrel and 6 years in a bottle. Then the 2021 Aster Reserva made from 100% Tinta de Pais, 18 months in French Oak barrels. Next the 2021 Aster El Espino made from 100% Tinta del Pais made from a select area of the vineyard and twelve months on French Oak.
North Loop hosted another great tasting and brought in incredible wines. We wish there were more events like this, Oh and North Loop needs to install a big screen TV and a roaring fire. Thanks to all that had a part in this great event.
Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com