The Gehry - Marques de Riscal Winery Hotel: restricted access only

Writing in today's El Pais newspaper, Llàtzer Moix laments the no-access policy of the new Rioja landmark, the Marques de Riscal deluxe hotel and restaurant created by Frank Gehry. Access is only allowed to guests staying the 43-room establishment or dining the restaurant. Even those who pay the 6 euro fee to visit the winery (built in 1858) are only able to look the new structure from the outside. Hotel Director Michel Nader defends the policy given that the guests are paying for their privacy and that to enjoy a visit in the hotel "there is a simple solution: book a room there". The mayor of Elciego where the winery is located is trying to get the hotel to set up an "open-door" day. Meanwhile the throng of visitors hoping for a peek inside need to book a room or a reserve a table at the restaurant.

For those not yet able to make the visit, the town's website features this video via Youtube: http://www.elciego.com/elciego/gehry_riscal.htm

Spanish wineries and cutting-edge architecture

With a few notable exceptions, wine tourism has not been a part of the marketing mix for Spanish bodegas until quite recently, but this is defintely changing. Wineries in Spain's premier winemaking region, La Rioja, have been hiring internationally renowned architects to bring some new dazzle to the region.

The most attention-grabbing project in terms of international press coverage, has been the Marques de Riscal winery designed by Frank Gehry. The facility opened last month and features a hotel (prices range from 350 to 1,350 euros and some rooms are already booked up to 2010), a restaurant and spa using grape-based treatments. The project took 8 years to complete and required a 70 million euro investment. The result is pure Gehry: sheets of metal that over the building that seem to waving in the breeze.

For the Lopez de Heredia winery in Haro, the Pritzker-prize winner architect Zaha Hadid has created a stunning bottle-shaped entry to the winery, which houses a part of the winery built in 1910.

Santiago Calatrava, one of Spain's premier architects, has designed the facility for Ysios, which features a very broad, undulating roof, that from a distance seems pixelated.

Bodegas Baigorri commissioned architect Iñaki Aspiazu to build their winery, the main part of which is underground. The only part above ground is the entry, which is a 400 square meter glass cube that offers 360 degree views of the estate.

Amazingly all of the above wineries are located in relative close proximity to each other, within 25 kilometers, in two of the three Rioja regions: Alavesa and Rioja Alta. For more tourism info: www.lariojaturismo.com and www.rutadelvinoderiojaalavesa.com.

Cava Week program / the mood of the Cava world

Last night, the cava promotional organization the Confraria del Cava released the program of Cava Week (Setmana del Cava: Oct 7 to 15) and the new poster by leading designer Xavier Mariscal. The presentation provided clues to the mood of Cava producers going into the all-important year-end season.

In general, the mood is of cautious optimism following the cava boycott of a year ago in parts of Spain. In all sales of cava in Spain declined 7%, while exports rose. The Catalan Government's Counselor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, Jordi William Carnes i Ayat, said that the boycott can have the positive effect of raising awareness of cava by its having been talked about so much.

The presentation included calls for more international promotion of cava and promotion of drinking it not only at year-end and that the cava producers should all be working together to build markets - an oblique reference to the end of the Cava War between Freixenet and Codorniu, the two major cava houses that produce roughly two-thirds of all cava.

This year's Cava Week event will overlap and continue on after the open air tasting event Cavatast, Oct. 6 to 8. and will feature the parties and competitions, the crowning of the Queen of Cava, plus a conference on the effects of global warming on viticulture and enology.

Wine tourism in Spain

It seems that Spanish wineries have at last woken up to the need to get involved in wine tourism to support their brands.

Some have known and acted on this for quite some time (many the very big houses: Codorniu, Torres, etc.) but for the vast majority, it has been an after-thought and not a key part of the business plan, as it is in the New World.

Spanish hospitality being what it is, the welcome extended to the chance winery visitor would be very warm and inviting, but with a fair amount of rough edges since no real preparations had been taken to have, for example, a dedicated staff member to field inquiries, multi-lingual materials, adequate tasting facilities or, most importantly for the winery, a way to sell wine to the visitors.

But at every wine conference these days in Spain, the catch-all phrase "enoturismo" cannot be escaped. This week, for example, at the 29th Annual Congress of Wine and Wine being held in Logroño, Spain (in La Rioja), a special section will be dedicated to the subject. Hopefully, the warm hospitality combined with a bit more polish will improve the quality of winery tours for both the visitor and the wineries.

Probably the most anticipated addition to the Spain's wine tourism offering is the building Frank Gehry has designed for the Marques de Riscal winery. The facility will house a luxury hotel with wine spa and museum. The opening has been delayed by three months to Sept. 1st due to challenges in the construction. But, if all goes well, the official gala opening will be held in mid October.