Wine and tourism... are they compatible?

Almost a year ago we told readers that we were planning to "internationalize" the magazine and step outside Spanish territory, not just to cover non-Spanish wines, but to include international reports, interviews and opinions. Well, we are now making good on our promise and this issue sees the start of our magazine’s "internationalization".

In late August, Selectus Wines and our partner, Joan Gomez Pallares (www.devinis.org) spent a few days in a wine region considered to be the most glamorous in the world - the Champagne region. While there, we were able to visit some leading champagne houses (Krug, Roederer, etc.) as well as some of the smaller producers (Roger Coulon, Georges Laval, etc.). We also took the opportunity to do some sightseeing, either directly wine related or linked to local history or gastronomy, etc.

In this, and future issues of the magazine, we will be taking you on a virtual tour of some of the champagne houses and wineries in this wonderful region. We will also be giving you tips and recommendations so that you will have some point of reference, should you decide to visit the region yourself.

Marcos and Miguel Eguren are behind some of the great wineries and great wines from the Rioja and Toro D.O.s. And they are great people too. They treat their visitors as they treat their wines, as we can testify.

In her article entitled the Great Riojan Orchestra, our contributor, Paz Ivison, introduces us to these "monsters" of Rioja wine growing. Harvest time is upon us again. So while they are producing the new vintage… sit back and enjoy the read!