Rioja Winetasting at The Wine Store

James Morrison sent out another email invitation to join him and Chip Goss, chef and caterer of 3 Squared in Central Village, CT., for a Rioja winetasting with food pairings held on Tuesday, August 13 at The Wine Store in Westerly, Rhode Island.
This was the second event that we attended, the first was in June, when James hosted a Byron Winetasting and Skyping with Jonathan Nagy, winemaker at Bryon.
Tonight's winetasting accompanied by the food prepared by Chip was a great hit. We tasted 4 wines: a 2011 Monastrell from Jumilla, Spain. The Monastrell is the same grape as the French Mourvèdre. We had this with a beef brisket and what Chip called Texas caviar made of black beans, fresh corn and cilantro. It paired very nicely. The next wine was a 2010 Tres Picos Garnacha. The Monastrell and the Garnacha are both wines that are under $20.00, a good value! The next two wines were both Temperanillos, a 2010 Numanthia Termes (around $24.00) and a 2005 Lan Edicion Limitada ($55.00) and those wines were paired with a pulled pork slider with a delicious cole slaw. All the wines complimented the food. Come and join James Morrison and The Wine Store in Westerly on the second Tuesday of each month.