“We have nine wines for you to try this evening,” has got to be the best possible sentence a gal could hear on a Tuesday! When Rioja Wines invited me to a special wine dinner at Catch in Dallas, I was ecstatic. I happen to love Spanish wines and couldn’t wait to hear more!

While sipping a refreshing sparkling wine, I learned that they’ve been making wine in the Rioja region of Spain for over two thousand years – since before the Romans! It’s safe to say they know a thing or two about wine. There are over 163,000 acres of grapevines planted in Rioja, which only made me want to plan a trip more!

We had the privilege of trying several Rioja brands: three wines each from Bodegas Proelio & Nivarius, Bodegas Faustino, and La Rioja Alta S.A expertly paired with seafood delicacies. I am a sucker for a tempranillo, a grape variety native to Spain and very prevalent at this tasting, so I was a happy girl.

A few highlights of the evening were:

• 2025 Tempranillo Blanco, described as the “best of both worlds” with high acidity, a lasting finish, and notes of toasty melon and ripe kiwi
• Faustino 1 Gran Reserva: fruity and spicy with a long finish. We loved this with crispy shrimp!
• Gran Reserva 904: a smoky, herby wine that went so well with the cinnamon donut.

The food was absolutely delicious. I clearly need to go back to Catch ASAP! A few of my favorite bites were the Vegetable King Roll, the Ahi Tuna Pizza, Crispy Shrimp, Miso Glazed Sea Bass (I don’t even like sea bass and this was my favorite bite of the night!), the Hit Me Chocolate Cake, and the Warm Ricotta Donuts.

Huge thank you to Rioja Wines for hosting me. Someday I’m going to make it to Spain and visit these stunning vineyards in person.