It's freezing outside, no-one’s got much cash, and the pub’s just a schlep too far. This is the time of year when a night in with friends turns out to be the best idea possible, especially when you upgrade the home cooking with a bottle or two of elegant, flavourful, and sustainably produced wine. Enter Beronia, an award-winning winery based in the Rioja region in Northern Spain, which prides itself on creating some rather delicious drops. Rioja, of course, is known for big, bold reds. With tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo and graciano grapes growing in their main vineyard, you can expect some punchy flavours, perfect for savouring over a generous board of cheese and charcuterie.
Founded in 1973 by a group of friends on a mission to create great wines that would be ideal for pairing with food, Beronia has won countless awards over the last five decades. Its pioneering flagship winery is one of the most sustainable in Europe, bestowed with some of the highest accolades available for modern sustainable buildings and has a Wineries for Climate Protection certification for its commitment to the environment — so you can indulge with a clear conscience. Now, what to choose? 95% of Beronia’s wines are red, and aged, somewhat uniquely, in mixed wood barrels. A combination of loose-grained American oak imparts flavours like vanilla, coconut, and sweet spice, whilst fine-grained French oak lends more subtle flavours, and toasty, nutty characteristics. The wines benefit from a lengthy ageing process, resulting in rich, elegant and complex flavours.
The Beronia range of wines
Beronia’s Rioja Reserva is the true hero of their Classic range. A velvety blend of 95% tempranillo grapes with 4% graciano and 1% mazuelo, it’s smooth and silky with notes of dark fruits, cinnamon, cacao and roasted hazelnut that pair perfectly with roasted meats or cheese. Add a roaring fire and chat and laughter with your best friends, and you have the perfect recipe for the ideal evening.
Perhaps you don’t conform to the idea of drinking red wine in autumn and winter (you maverick, you), in which case you’ll be glad to know that Beronia also produces white and rosé wines. They have a second winery, dedicated solely to the production of verdejo - a light, fresh white wine - in nearby Rueda, but they also make a citrussy, peachy viura, and a soft, sophisticated rose, made with 55% garnacha and 45% tempranillo grapes. Nothing says Christmas quite like sharing, and luckily Beronia offers a wide range of formats including magnums, double magnums and 15L bottles. So that’s the wine sorted - now all you need to do is decide who to invite round. Cheers!
For more information, please visit beronia.com/en-gb/wines and @Beronia_UK.
