Are virtual tastings the future for the wine trade? | Alistair Gibson

I’ve talked with winemakers who were standing in their vineyards in Spain, and tasted samples of their, as yet, unblended wine with them.

A discussion on organic and biodynamic hosted from Cape Town involved winemakers and press from around the world.

I’ve also hosted a number of small wine tastings myself and early next month I will lead my first large scale virtual wine tasting for a local wine society, with more than 30 households taking part as we taste three wines together.

These are truly both interesting and innovative times!

I spent a really fascinating hour with winemaker Sara Bañuelos while she talked us through and tasted with us her range of wines at Ramón Bilbao‘s winery in Rueda, in northern Spain.

Sauvignon blanc is permitted in this region but for me it was Ramón Bilbao Verdejo 2018, Rueda (greatwesternwine.co.uk RRP £11.95) which really stood out.

Verdejo is a white grape well suited to this region, it offers a real point of difference to the more international sauvignon blanc. This is a pretty wine, fresh with lemon and ripe pear on the nose followed by a crisp, nicely textured palate with crisp, bright acidity and a nice clean finish.

Paula Fandino is the winemaker at Mar de Frades, one of Galicia’s most respected wineries and she is responsible for an absolute benchmark Albariño.

As I sat at my computer we tasted two recent vintages of her Albariño as Paula stood in the vineyards. She also gave us an insight into some of the techniques that she is using in the winery, including some interesting experimental ideas for the future.

Mar de Frades Albariño 2019, Rias Baxas (greatwesternwine.co.uk, thefinewinecompany.co.uk – £18.95) is bottled in a very distinctive blue bottle which has a ship designed into the label that only appears when the wine is chilled at the correct temperature, a very neat touch.

It is from a very good vintage which reflects the Atlantic influences on the region.

The nose offers tropical fruits including mango and lychees, orange blossom and a touch of salinity. The palate is very fresh, with more tropical fruits and a wonderful seam of fresh acidity running through it.

In the future there maybe well be single vineyard versions of this but currently this is Mar de Frades’ flagship wine and it is really thrilling.

You can almost taste the sea.

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