What a nice surprise this morning - Padre Jesus came by around 845 to say "goodbye ". Usually he doesn't stop by until around 10. The new hospitaleros arrived just before we left which was a great relief. We turned over the books and the keys. Javi gave us a ride to Haro, I'm going to miss him! On to wine tasting! The tour guide, Ruth did a fantastic job! This bodega is embracing new technologies in their wine production. For example, they are using a scanner to identify which grapes are selected for the reserva and grand reserva. They have also been using stainless but have kept their wooden casks for historical purposes. I was surprised that the majority of oak they use is American. They have a cooper onsite making barrels but he isn't able to make all the barrels they need. Another interesting thing about the bodega is that they were the first place to have electricity in Rioja. Ruth showed us this setup; there was a long handle hanging on a couple of conductor lines and when you pulled on the handle the light bulb went on. When the tour was over we had a very nice, generous tasting. Next Valenciso.
It was too far to walk so we took a taxi for 8 euro. The owner, Luis Valentin met us and gave us a very informative tour. They are using concrete for the fermentation process, very modern. He is using Russian oak. Very nice tasting with crackers and manchego. White blend of granache and viura. White Tempranillo discovered in 1988. After the tasting, the owner gave us a ride back to Haro so we didn't have to take a cab.
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