Rioja Makes Wine & Spirits “The Restaurant Top 50”

We are pleased to share that Rioja wines have landed not one but four spots on Wine & SpiritsMagazine’s “The Restaurant Top 50: The Most Popular Wines in America’s Top Restaurants.” With the 28th Annual Restaurant Poll, Wine & Spirits has also uncovered a few new trends.

More and more, the diner is handing over the reigns to the house sommelier, which allows them to look for more interesting and unique wine-pairing opportunities. As they work to differentiate their approach, pairings of the past are on the way out while those full of whimsical character are filling the lists. With the old go-tos on the decline, this year saw the continued rise of Spain. For the first time in the history of the poll, Spanish wines accounted for more than 10 percent of the most popular wines in US restaurants. According to sommeliers across the country, restaurants couldn’t seem to get enough of the traditional cellar-aged Riojas. With the future coming up Rioja, let’s raise our glasses to those who were honored:

 
4 – R. López de Heredia
15 – La Rioja Alta
23 – Ontañon
26 – Muga