LA RIOJANA SCOOPS TORRONTÉS TROPHY AT ARGENTINA WINE AWARDS 2012

La Riojana, Argentina’s leading producer of Torrontés, is absolutely delighted to have won the Torrontés Trophy at this year’s Argentina Wine Awards. This highly-coveted award was given to Tilimuqui Single Vineyard Fairtrade Organic Torrontés 2011, a wine which comes from La Riojana’s vineyards situated in La Rioja province, one of the country’s most exciting wine regions, and is available exclusively in Waitrose throughout the UK. 

The Argentina Wine Awards, which are now in their sixth year, were announced on Friday 24th February 2012 at a ceremony held in Mendoza. The annual wine competition, which is conducted by Wines of Argentina and COVIAR, is held to let the world know about the best Argentine wines. This year there were a total of 773 samples submitted to the tasting held from 19th to 23rd February at the Diplomatic hotel in Mendoza. For the first time, entries were judged by twelve of the world’s top winemakers from wineries across the globe including the USA, France, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, and Chile. 

Walter Carol, Export Director for La Riojana, comments: “This trophy means a lot to all of us at La Riojana. Often when people think of Argentina and Argentinean wine, they tend to think of Mendoza and seem to know little of the winemaking regions beyond this area. So with this trophy, we are able to show the world that regions like La Rioja do also produce excellent wine and in particular outstanding Torrontés. At La Riojana, we produce nine different styles of Torrontés, all from Torrontés Riojano, a clone particularly well suited to the climate of La Rioja where the majority of our vineyards are located. Over the years we have been steadily growing a good reputation for the quality of our Torrontés and this award helps show the fruits of all the hard work.”

LA RIOJANA ADDS A TOUCH OF SPARKLE TO THE WOFA ANNUAL TRADE TASTING 2011

La Riojana, the world’s largest producer of certified Fairtrade organic wines and Argentina’s largest producer of Torrontés, will be showcasing a host of new releases, including new Sparkling Torrontés and exciting Torrontés blends, all of which will be Fairtrade certified, as well as Moscato Frizzante at this year’s Wines of Argentina Annual Trade Tasting (table no. 7), due to take place at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London on 14th September 2011.

The tasting line up is led by the launch of two Fairtrade sparkling wines under the winery’s flagship Raza brand. Firstly, the European launch of the demi-sec Raza Fairtrade Dolce 2011 which has recently taken the US by storm, winning double gold and the “Best in Show Sparkling” award at this year’s San Francisco International Wine Competition, and supported by Raza Fairtrade Brut 2011. In addition there will be two new Moscato Frizzante wines, a white and rosé, called La Mia Vita.

La Riojana has also added further new Fairtrade certified products to its Raza range including four new dual varietal blends. The two new white blends on show will be Raza Fairtrade Torrontes-Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Raza Fairtrade Torrontés-Pinot Grigio 2011, and the two new red blends will be Raza Fairtrade Cabernet Sauvignon -Malbec 2011 and Raza Fairtrade Bonarda-Malbec 2011.

At the tasting, La Riojana will also show its new El Condor Fairtrade organic range, with two dual varietal blends; Torrontés-Chardonnay 2011 and Shiraz-Malbec 2011. As well as new vintage releases from its Fairtrade brand Solombra, including a Reserva Malbec 2011 and new for 2011, a Reserva Torrontés.

La Riojana’s commercial and winemaking team in attendance at this year’s Annual Tasting, will include Nick Day, sales director for UK and Europe, Walter Carol, export director and chief winemaker Rodolfo Griguol. They will be happy to answer any questions regarding La Riojana and the current wine ranges.

LA RIOJANA WINS GOLD AT VINANDINO 2011

La Riojana, Argentina’s largest producer of Torrontés, was delighted to win a gold medal for its Raza Argentina Bicentenario Torrontés 2010 and a silver medal for its Santa Florentina Tardio Otoñal 2009 at the 10th edition of Vinandino, the prestigious international wine and wine-based spirits competition held in Argentina from 9th to 17th September 2011.

Raza Argentina Bicentario Torrontés 2010 was awarded gold within the “aromatic varietal wine” category and La Riojana’s Late Harvest wine, Santa Florentina Tardio Otoñal 2009, was awarded silver within the “natural sweet wine” category. These two winning wines, like all Torrontés produced by La Riojana, were produced from Torrontés Riojano, the predominant sub-variety of the three different sub-varieties of Torrontés produced in Argentina.

Vinandino was first held in Argentina in 1993 and was the first international wine competition to take place in the southern hemisphere. It is organised every two years by the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (National Institute of Vitiviniculture) and the Consejo Federal de Inversiones (National Board of Investments) from the Republic of Argentina. In addition to which, it is sponsored by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and the International Union of Oenologists (IUO).

The judging for Vinandino 2011 took place in the provinces of La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza, and for the first time the competition was held in Chilecito, the home town to La Riojana and its principal bodega. Judges for the competition included wine tasting professionals from different parts of the globe, including Argentina, Canada, France, Uruguay, New Zealand and South Africa.

RAZA DOLCE TORRONTÉS 2011 SCOOPS “BEST IN SHOW” AWARD IN US COMPETITION

La Riojana was absolutely thrilled to have won a Double Gold medal and the “Best in Show Sparkling” award for its Raza Dolce Torrontés 2011 in America’s largest and most prestigious wine competition, the San Francisco International Wine Competition. In addition to this, La Riojana was delighted to win a Silver medal for its Raza Reserva Malbec 2009.

This year celebrated the 31st year of the San Francisco International Wine Competition and was held at San Francisco's Hotel Nikko on 17th, 18th and 19th June 2011. It was at this hotel that 48 wine industry professionals convened to evaluate wines from 20 states and 29 countries. In total the tasting included 4,184 wines from over 1,200 wineries, including 392 new winery participants.

The total number of medals awarded included 153 Double Gold awards (a wine is elevated to Double Gold status when all judges on a particular panel agree that a wine deserves a Gold medal), 290 Gold medals, 1,102 Silver medals and 1,549 Bronze medals.

In addition to the medals, the competition awarded "Best in Show" awards, which included: La Riojana’s Raza 2011 Torrontés, Famatina Valley, $10 for Best in Show Sparkling; Turk 2009 Gruner Veltliner, Kremstal, $20 for Best in Show Dry White Wine; Lynmar Estate Winery 2009 Pinot Noir, Quail Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley, $60 for Best in Show Red Wine; V. Sattui Winery 2009 Late Harvest Riesling, Napa Valley, $31 for Best in Show Sweet White Wine; and Pocas Junior 1976 Colheita Port, Douro Valley, $80 for Best in Show Fortified Wine.