Finding Calgary's Best Rioja and Tapas Pairing and Celebrating Rioja's 100th Anniversary

BY LINDA GARSON

The wine region of Rioja, in northern Spain, is celebrating its hundredth anniversary of Designation of Origin status (Spain’s first!), granted in 1925. And here at Culinaire, we’ve been celebrating with them by partnering for a competition to find the best Rioja wine and tapas pairing.

When you order a glass of wine in Spain, you’ll probably be brought a complimentary little snack or tapas; it’s not a meal or even an appetizer, just a way of starting your evening – and conversation – in a delicious, relaxed way. We wanted to adopt the idea here, so we invited over twenty restaurants to see how they fare offering a small bite at no charge to complement the flavours of the wine when guests ordered a glass.

We’ve been thrilled with the enthusiastic response from both the restaurants and from readers like yourself – it seems many of you have really enjoyed trying the pairings in the different restaurants and discovered your new favourite wine at the same time! We heard that many so enjoyed the small bite with their wine that they ordered another, and many then ordered a full bottle of the wine to drink with their meal at the restaurants as they liked it so much.

It was a fascinating, lip-smacking journey, with more than 30 pairings spread across more than twenty restaurants (some groups really had fun with different offerings over multiple venues!). We couldn't do it alone, so myself and Carmel Loria, our newest member of the team and skilled taster, along with Clément Gallois of Wines of Rioja, who flew in for the competition, enlisted the help of two local food and beverage experts and writers too: Shelley Boettcher and Elizabeth Chorney-Booth.

“I was so impressed with all these Rioja wines — every wine, no matter the price point, had plenty of character and they were all very approachable. What they did have in common was how well they all went with food,” says Chorney-Booth.

"I really loved experiencing the excitement and pride every participant had when presenting their pairings,” Loria says. “Honestly, they were all amazing!"

“It was wonderful to see the creativity and inspiration behind these pairings, which celebrated these beautiful wines so well,” says Boettcher.

What makes the perfect pairing? What were we looking for?

• The wine: is it a good choice for people who may or may not know wine? Is the price reasonable?

• The dish: was it delicious and tasty? Did it invoke the spirit of Spanish tapas even if it was different from classic Spanish bites?

• The presentation and the pairing: how good did it look? Was it enticing and presented well? Did the dish and the wine complement each other?

• And finally, with twice the weight of each of the previous categories, we asked ourselves how highly would we recommend this wine and tapas pairing to a friend. We take this very seriously, and if we’re recommending the best of the best, everything has to be first class –and consistently so.

We’ve split our awards into distinct categories:

• The highest scoring wine and tapas pairings

• Spanish Classics

• Taste Adventurers

It was an exceedingly close contest, and in many instances there was only a very small difference between pairings, which is why more weight is given to how likely the judges would be to recommend the wine and tapas at a particular restaurant.

We’re delighted to announce the winners of our competition, with a short quote from our judges to explain why it scored so highly.

Please check with these restaurants as many are offering the wine and tapas pairings throughout May too so now you can try them yourself!

Our highest scoring Rioja wine and tapas pairing:

Modern Steak

WINE: Cune Reserva

TAPAS: Mashed potato croquette with paprika, shaved chorizo, pickled pepper, and smoked paprika espuma

“Absolutely fantastic, really matching the fancy tapas bars in Bilbao or Logroño. If you want to visit Rioja or Spain without leaving Calgary.” CG

“It looks beautiful and tastes even more so, and it’s the perfect size for a tapa.” LG “Really, really good pairing. Good value, excellent wine, excellent pairing.” SB

“Would absolutely recommend. They understood the spirit of the assignment.” ECB

Highly Recommended Rioja wine and tapas:

(in alphabetical order):

Olea Restaurant

WINE: Beronia Reserva

TAPAS: House-made chistorra and cider marinated, pickled apple

“They very much understood the assignment. A very good ‘what grows together goes together’ pairing.” SB

Sumaq

WINE: Beronia Reserva

TAPAS: Adobo pork and sweet potato, salsa criolla, and huacatay (an Andean herb) sauce.

“Superb for the eyes and the mouth, The smokiness from the adobo pairs well with the oaky notes of the wine.” CG

Thai Sa-On

WINE: Montecillo Gran Reserva

TAPAS: Beef and potato masaman puff with peanut sauce and cucumber salad

“People may not think that Thai food and Spanish wine are a good match, but this will definitely change their mind!” ECB

Highly Recommended Spanish Classics:

(in alphabetical order):

Flora Euro Kitchen

WINE: Muga Reserva

TAPAS: Pan con tomate (tumaca) with serrano ham, garlic, and olive oil

“The most authentic tapa on the best homemade bread. Delicious, rustic, simple, very delicious – and generous!” LG

Murrieta’s

WINE: Faustino Artist Series Crianza

TAPAS: Chorizo and Manchego croqueta with preserved lemon aioli

“It’s a lovely mouthful, and we’re not surprised that people are ordering it and then ordering another!” LG

The Artist Lounge

WINE: Otano Rioja

TAPAS: Roasted lamb chop with black cherry reduction

“Very good, very generous, and beautifully presented.” SB

Highly Recommended Taste Adventurers:

(in alphabetical order):

Hutch Café

WINE: Marqués de Riscal Reserva

TAPAS: AAA CAB tenderloin steak tartare

“A lot of effort on the tartare and its sauces. We can feel they want their customers to be impressed.” CG

Big Fish Open Range

WINE: Faustino Artist Series Crianza

TAPAS: Chimichurri shrimp on a corn tortilla chip with fresh guacamole

“The pairing was perfect - salty chip with the fruity wine.” CL

Vin Room West

WINE: Muga Reserva

TAPA: Dry coffee rub petite tenderloin with a blackberry and cherry reduction

“The chef and somm worked together; the wine paired perfectly with the meat and the bitterness of the coffee.” ECB