Campo Viejo wines, maker of white, sparkling, rosé and red wine from Rioja, Spain.  The company origin date back to more than half century when they produced table wines.  After a short while they started bottling the wines and started distributing wines across the world.  India’s history of growing grapes and wine making traces back to Bronze Age.  It was only after 1980s that the wine production and consumption started increasing significantly.  Couple of wine-makers in our country like Sula & Grovers started setting vineyards (Nashik & Nandi Hills) and produce wines commercially.  But the popularity of imported wines from Europe and America have been all been more than the local wines.  Campo Viejo found this as the perfect opportunity for introducing, two of their best wines into Indian market. 

Wine Launch in Bangalore

The brand setup a wine-launch event at one of the popular pubs, Boho in Koramangala, Bangalore on 24^th May 2018.  For this event, they invited select group of people from media and blogging community to experience the wine.

We had Anne (brand-representative), who flew down from Spain to give insight on Campo Viejo wines, Rioja region, Wine making process, traditions and many other aspects.  The event was sphere headed by Ankita Choudhary who represents the brand in India.

New Wines in India

Campo Viejo Tempranillo (RED)

It’s got a smell of Ripe Red Fruits, Vanilla, Wood & Sweet Spices. In terms of taste, one can feel the cocoa and spices in it.

Campo Viejo Viura Tempranillo Blanco (WHITE)

This has the smell and taste of Apple, Pear & Citrus. A very smooth drink that can be enjoyed with creamy or slightly spicy Indian food. The wine seems to be perfect during a hot summer evening.

Flamenco Dance

Highlight of the evening, apart from the Wines, was the FLAMENCO Dance performance by Archana. This traditional Spanish Dance requires tremendous flexibility and expressiveness.  While the dancer performans, one of guitarist plays the music synchronizing with the dance steps.  Every performance lasts for 5-10 minutes in which the dancer tries to convey a story to the audience.

The flamenco lasted for 15 minutes but it was mesmerizing to see the dance moves and I felt in love with the dance-form.

Fun Activities

The event was also meant to educate the audience about Spain and wine-making process.  A quiz competition was the best way to be achieve the objective.  For every answer, we would get to hear interesting facts about the Spanish Wine.

Last part of the fun activity making of Pineapple, Cheese & Cherry sticks being blind-folded.  The person blind-folded had to take help from partner to know the location of the location of the items.  It was great fun, and everyone enjoyed performing.

Along with all the fun activities, we also got to try some wonderful foods at BOHO including Pita breads Hummus, Malai Paneer Tikka, Bruschetta and many other non-veg items.

History

Rioja is Spain’s premier wine-growing region and the native home of Tempranillo grape. The area has a long tradition of winemaking that dates back to the Roman Empire.

This knowledge and experience have been handed down through generations of local winemakers, giving us the opportunity to enjoy the richness and diversity of the land and to continually produce unique, complex and refined wines.

To make the most of Rioja’s signature grape, we grow and harvest Tempranillo under three subtly different climates. The conditions in Rioja Alta are ideal and generate light flavours. The fruit that comes from the harsher environment in Rioja Alavesa brings about full-bodied flavours. On the other hand, the warm, dry atmosphere in Rioja Baja produces rich, deep flavours. When combined, they create the true taste of Rioja.

Overall Experience

It was one of the best wine launch event I have attended in a while.  Campo Viejo brand introduced 2 of their finest wines – Tempranillo Blanco (White) & Tempranillo (Red).  I enjoyed both the wines, but especially enjoyed the White wine more.  It was great interacting with Ann (Campo Viejo brand representative) and watch the Flamenco dance performance.  I am sure this wine will be a big competition for other popular wines in the Indian market. Hoping to see many more such events from Campo Viejo wines in future.

References

https://www.campoviejo.com/