Following up from yesterday’s little video, I thought it best to explain a little something that was completely lost on me for a while. So we’re out in Haro, Rioja at this brilliant wine festival drinking all the wines (great), eating lovely food (brilliant), and it’s all based around a train station. Didn’t get that bit for a while, but as ever, a quick bit of digging and you find out why railways are so iconic in Rioja.
Before the railways turned up, no bugger knew about Rioja wines outside of Rioja itself.
Back in the day, if you were close to the coast or had a port (e.g. Bordeaux), or on a river system that linked you to your markets (e.g. Burgundy and Champagne) then you’re sorted. But land locked? Hmmm, bit tricky…or expensive…or both.
And then, in the 19thcentury, came the railways, and places like Rioja were changed forever. Madrid and Barcelona were open. The port of Bilbao was right there. The brakes were off and Rioja could take its place at the table of world wine.
So there you go, why these 7 top wineries were based all the way round this train station in Haro. The penny had a long fall, but it’s dropped now.
Maybe I missed that bit of the translation, or maybe I’m just a doughnut! 😉
Cheers
