CityLife

Raise a glass to the fine tastes of Spain

PLENTY OF CHOICE: Tapas Fantasticas

IF there’s one thing you can count on this summer it’s that, just as one major cultural festival packs up and leaves Albert Square, another colourful explosion of international flavours is readying itself to move in.

And so it is for Tapas Fantasticas, which takes over the square for two full days this weekend to celebrate Spanish culture, cuisine and – most importantly – fine wine. 

Organised by Wines From Rioja, the event is all about bringing a slice of the Med to the middle of Manchester via live music, wine tasting, sessions, food stalls and celebrity turns. 

But more than anything, it celebrates the great British love affair with Rioja wines.

La Rioja, an autonomous region in northern Spain, has been producing wine for around 1,000 years and the Brits have been supping it since the 1800s, when it was first imported. 

It has become one of the most important and highly regarded wine producing regions in the world.

Surrounded by the Sierra Cantabria mountains and crossed by the River Ebro, the region has hot summers and cool autumns which, coupled with its steep landscape, make it the perfect spot for growing grapes for young and mature wines.

The diversity of its produce means a trip to Rioja is now something of a pilgrimage for wine lovers.

The region produces a comprehensive list of reds, whites and rosé varieties, and Tapas Fantasticas brings over great examples of all of these from some of Rioja’s most famous vineyards.

This Saturday, then, it’s payback time for all that love we’ve been sending their way when vintners and chefs of the Rioja region finally come to our doorstep with a premium selection of their finest food and drink.

Stalls will be selling samples all weekend and 13 wineries have lined up to take part.

Organisers will be popping corks on bottles from Bodegas Ontanon, Baron de Lay, Campo Viejo, Berberana, Faustino, Bodegas Altanza, Marques de Caceres, Vina Ijalba, Bodegas Vallemajor, El Cote de Rioja, Bodegas Covila, Consejo de la Alta and Marquis de Murrieta.

Guidance

Everything is available to try and buy and each day there’ll be formal opportunities to get involved with tasting classes under the guidance of two expert critics.

On Saturday, Olly Smith – columnist for Sainsbury’s Magazine and Men’s Health and star of Sky’s Taste and the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen – leads us through an extensive selection, while Sunday Telegraph wine writer Susy Atkins takes over on Sunday.

Places on the courses are free, but limited, and any budding critics should sign up to attend at winesfromrioja.co.uk/tapasfantasticas.

In the same spirit, all those who come along to the festival will be given a free wine-tasting glass when they arrive and tokens to sample four wines of their choosing.

Far be it for CityLife to encourage over indulgence, but why not try it again after your tasting classes and see what else you notice about the flavours and smells? In for a penny… 

So that’s the food and drink covered... but what about the promise of culture? Well, there’s a good dollop of that planned too, right across both days as well.

Hot Spanish DJs and bands will be performing traditional music in the square and mixing up some proper regional grooves to soundtrack your taste buds’ trip to Spainas authentically as possible.

DJ Mr Bongo starts the music on Saturday before handing over to Carmen Acoustic for a full band performance and then some Nuevo Flamenco sounds from DJ Miriam. The live music continues throughout both days until 6pm.

And even though wine is the focus of the weekend, the event isn’t just for the grown ups – there’s some opportunities for the kids to get involved as well (and by ‘involved’ we mean doing more than just sampling the chorizo).

In the square, organisers have erected a huge faux-vine and children will be encouraged to colour in their own bunch of grapes and attach them to itthe vine.

They’ll learn more about fruit and growth and discover where all the wine their parents are sampling came from before it got into those bottles.

There’s nothing like getting them young...

And you never know, Tapas Fantasticas might even unearth the next Mancunian Oz Clarke or Jilly Goolden… (we’re keeping everything crossed it’s another Oz).

Tapas Fantasticas, Albert Square, Saturday and Sunday (11.30am-5.30pm). Free entry – tapas and wine samples can be purchased on site. For full details, visit winesfromrioja.co.uk/tapasfantasticas. Please drink responsibly: drinkaware.co.uk.