bilboburgler

This year's September wine shopping trip will be based in Rioja and Bordeaux. We are meeting up with a bunch of friends for a few days B&B in the Haut Medoc and we can plan to catch a ferry from/to Portsmouth to the North of France and the North of Spain.

Mrs Bilbo speaks Spanish which is one of the languages spoken in Rioja and we've been before but not for some 15 years. We both speak French. We've spent a fair bit of time in Bordeaux over the years and can find our way around.

So looking for some insights about wine, visits, staying, restaurants in Rioja and on the road from Rioja up to Bordeaux. So ideas please?

Robert2533

Take a look at Maribel's Guide to the Rioja for a start. It's a must read. As far as buying wine in the Rioja, there are a number of Vinotecas in the area; Logroño, Haro, Elciego and Laguardia. You can also purchase wine at any of the bodegas you'll visit (reservations required for a visit/tour). Some bodegas have opened wine tasting rooms that do not require a tour of the facility, but these are few and far between.

One wine that you will not find in most Vinotecas would be EMPATIA TINTO from the cellars of Villa de Ábalos. It's a small production that typically goes out to restaurants (including some in Asia) and wine enthusiasts who are aware of it.

sandralist

bilbo

From my files:

http://forked.ie/2014/03/the-wine-guys-guide-to-rioja/

http://catavino.net/travel/spain/rioja/

Robert,

Are you married to Maribel? If you are, it would really be appropriate for you to mention that before posting it is a "must read." It's a commercial website, even if some of the content is free. If you are not married to her, then it would be to clear up this long standing rumor on Fodor's because I have seen it alluded to before (and not by me).

sandralist

one more

http://thepointsguy.com/2014/11/a-gu...-rioja-region/

bilboburgler

Thanks Guys, Maribel's was on my list of things to look at.

Michael

Check out the Madiran wine area at the foot of the French Pyrenees.

Robert2533

There is also the Irouléguy wine region in the Pays Basque and Jurançon in the Béarn, which sits below the Madiran (Gascony). It's difficult to go too far without stopping to sample to nectar.

skatterfly

Nothing to add, except a question for Bilboburger... are you somehow bringing wine back with you? If so, what's your technique... box, shipping, a friend who is a wholesaler? We're going back to the Loire and then on to Burgundy this May/June and would love a reliable way to bring our favorites home. Gosh I miss those days when you could bring a half a dozen bottles home in carryon.

Robert2533

You can still bring a half-dozen bottles in checked luggage. We do it all the time, but you need the proper container, like something from Wine Cruzer (www.winecruzer.com).

We use to have wine sent via UPS, but it has become too expensive.

bilboburgler

Skatter, I live in England so bringing wine home is easy by ferry

Good ideas about the various wine regions (I just know the car's cellar will be full early on, but there is the under cellar, where the spare tyre used to go).

I'm looking for pretty places to stay on the journey as well?

skatterfly

Bilboburgler, sneaky. ;-)


Robert... I'll check that out. My brother just put a few bottles inside shoes or wrapped in the middle of his checked luggage but I'm not that brave. I thought I saw a service a few years back in Burgundy that would wrap and ship your wine back to the US, but since there's probably laws against that (unless you're a wine wholesaler) I gather that business didn't stay open.

Robert2533

There's no laws against shipping wine for personal use, or as samples, but the problem came up last year when friends in the Rioja, who took care of shipping our wine, said that UPS had more then doubled the shipping price, making it too expensive to ship most wines home. We used to pay 10€/bottle.

It's now less expensive to use a carrier from Wine Cruzer, but it's also one more piece of hard luggage you have to tote around.

rialtogrl

You can also buy a styrofoam shipper if you want to check more wine on an airplane. I have bought them in Spain and I can't imagine they don't sell them in Burgundy. Checking an extra box can be expensive, so just make sure it is worth it.

I've taking wine home in my checked luggage many times with no problems. Bring some bubble wrap with you, or buy "wine skins." http://www.wineskin.net/

Sarastro

There´s no law against shipping wine for any use, personal or commercial, but there are laws about how to go about it. To get wine through customs, you´ll need an importers license or an agreement with someone who has one. It´s just not financially viable to ship wine to the USA, particularly in small quantities.

If you want to risk bottles of red breaking in your luggage and soaking your, and other´s belongings, you can always check them.

Is there really a shortage of wine available to consumers in the USA?

bilboburgler

"To get wine through customs, you´ll need an importers license or an agreement with someone who has one" are you sure? I would have thought that would be for commercial purposes.

You can get bubble bags with sealable ends so if the bottle cracks the wine stays in the bags, that is how we get wine back from NZ to the UK

bilboburgler

Still, any more travel thoughts?

skatterfly

No shortage. In fact our last trip to Paris we saw a handful of bottles in a wineshop that we already own at home. But it would be nice to bring home something special, perhaps something to remind us of our trip. Just a bottle or two. I've heard a lot about the wine skin and may bring a few of them if I work up the courage to put 'em in my checked luggage... inside a wineskin, and a plastic bag, etc....

Sorry to hijack Bilbo's thread...

bilboburgler

;-)

Robert2533

>but there are laws about how to go about it. To get wine through customs, you´ll need an importers license or an agreement with someone who has one< Where did this come from? Something new we haven't heard about.

By (USA) law, you're allowed to bring in one liter of wine, or any other alcoholic beverage, free of charge, but customs normally will not bother you if you have a dozen bottles or so for personal use. Too much paper work for so little revenue. We're returned a number of times with a dozen bottles in checked luggage and declared them with no problems.

In France you should still be able to buy the heavy duty wine mailing cartons at most post offices and at some wine stores, like our friend Juan Sanchez's La Dernière Goutte (www.ladernieregoutte.net/vins/index-swf.php) in the 6th.

The Spanish post office has never come up with a good shipping carton.

Sarastro

<i>Where did this come from? Something new we haven't heard about.</i>

Please read the entire paragraph. The comment is about shipping wine, not carrying it through customs.

<i>By (USA) law, you're allowed to bring in one liter of wine,</i>

Customs will enforce the liquor laws of the state through which you enter the USA. Some are more restrictive than others.