(ed. note: Amorita and her husband Scott are currently in France celebrating their honeymoon. Our hearty congratulations on their marriage and best hopes for outstanding times abroad)

by Amorita Bastaja | After Champagne (read), Scott and I move into Spain. A long drive through the scenic Loire Valley and Bordeaux finally brings us to the border, into Basque Country (please someone open another Pinxo’s bar in Vancouver!)

After San Sebastian, we move on down into the Department of Castille y Leon to visit the tiny little town of Aranda de Duero. Surrounding us is the reddest soil I’ve ever seen, supporting gnarled little bush vines everywhere. We’ve entered the wine growing region known as Ribera del Duero, and we are off to visit the winery PradoRey (meaning King’s Meadow, the King of Spain used to summer here to hunt).

Fabian, our host at PradoRey, describes the region as an island within Spain.  Located in the northern plains, just before Madrid, it has a classic Continental climate. Very hot during the day (when we arrived it was pushing 33 degrees) and at night the temperature drops considerably (it was about 9 degrees when we went to bed). The challenge here in grape growing is achieving ripeness late into the season. Some of the grapes are picked as late as early October. Given these huge temperature fluctuations, frost is a very consistent problem. Throughout the vineyards, windmills spin lazily to create air flow, which helps keep frost damage at bay.

Fabian took us on a drive of the farm that PradoRey owns. It’s completely self-sufficient, powered through a generator located on the Duero River, and with solar panels found along the property. In addition to the vineyards, the farm also has cows, chickens, goats and many fields of vegetables – lettuce, maize, beans, the list goes on.

The unique feature of the wines is their single vineyard status. As Fabian bombed us around in his Land Cruiser, he pointed out each of the different vineyards and told us about which wines each one made. This is quite unique for the region. The star varietal was Tempranillo, creating wines of considerably complexity, ripe with berry flavours, tobacco leaf and plum. There was a ‘dustiness’ to the tannins, which is absolutely charming.

At dinner, we feasted on local suckling lamb, beans and potatoes from the garden and cheese made from the goats on the property. This is a constant in Spain: local, fresh and simple food at the table. A paradise island indeed.

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Amorita Bastaja is a manager at Legacy Liquor Store, the largest liquor store in British Columbia (located in the Athlete’s Village), and the Wine Editor of Scout. Her love of imbibing steered her through courses from the International Sommelier Guild and the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and has taken her to many wine regions, including Washington State, Napa and Sonoma, Piemonte, Veneto, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Provence and all over the Okanagan Valley.