La Riocha - Haro

Gary's comments
Our last two newsletters commented on our ventures to Priorat, the wine region north of Valencia. We first stayed in Tarragona, on the Mediterranean coast and took day trips to the wineries.  On the second trip we stayed in the small village of Vilella Baixa and either walked or took a taxi to the wineries.  This trip we decided to revisit La Rioja, the only Spanish wine region other than Priorat that can use the DOC classification. Located in the Ebro river valley to the northwest of Priorat and south of the Atlantic coast city of Bilbao, the Rioja wine region is much larger than Priorat and has several very large distributors.  We were drawn to this region for a couple of reasons. First, we have fond memories of the area from previous visits on our wine club tours.  Second, our go-to-everyday wine, Cune, is produced in Haro, the self-proclaimed capitol of Rioja.

The trip
Our favorite way to travel in Europe is by train. The train system in Spain is great if you want to travel to cities along the Mediterranean coast or from Madrid to almost anywhere. However, if you want to go from Valencia to a place across the country like Rioja it is way more complicated and takes way more time. For this reason we took a plane to Bilbao, a city on Spain's Gulf of Biscay coast, and a train from Bilbao to Haro. Between taxis to airports and train stations and waiting for planes and trains, it was about an 8-hour trip. When we arrived in Haro about five PM, we expected to take a taxi from the train station to our Airbnb.  We were very surprised to find that the train station was closed, and we were the only people on the platform. Actually, we were the only people anywhere in sight.  The train station is right in the middle of the industrial area where the wineries are, and everything was closed for the day.  We checked with our travel advisor, Señor Google, and found that our hotel was only about a mile away on the other side of the Ebro river. So we started towing our suitcases down the road.  We got about 200 yards (0.18 km) when a guy driving a carryall stopped by and asked where we were going. Turns out he was a local winery owner on his way home. He gave us a ride to our hotel and a tour of his winery the next day. What a great reception after a lousy trip!

The city
Haro is a small city that isn't afraid to make fun of itself by claiming the title of the CAPITAL DEL RIOJA, the largest and most prestigious wine region in Spain. Below are a couple of images that might illustrate my point.  The top one is a mural of some guys who have probably had a bit too much wine while two women studiously ignore them.  Below that is a wall depicting a huge wine bota fight.

Aug 21, 2023 at 4:04 AM Permalink

Gearing Up For Crush

Harvest is upon us and all we have to do now is wait for the grapes to mature. The still have a little ways to go before they are ready to be picked. We are looking forward to all the hard work these next couple months bring!

Aug 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

A taste of Spain in the Zucca garden

The people, the wine, and the weather made for a wonderful global wine tasting in the garden this past Saturday. This tasting featured wines that Carol and Gary personally selected and brought back home from Spain. Stay tuned for details on future global wine tastings and navigate over to our facebook and instagram pages to see more pictures from this event!

Feb 5, 2015 at 9:24 AM Permalink

The Zucca's Spanish Expedition

The Zucca's spent the last half of November in Spain researching and exploring the Northern wine industry. "We toured some exceptional wineries in the La Rioja and Navarra regions of Northern Spain," Carol said. As with Italy, France, and elsewhere the Zuccas have toured, these Spanish wineries left lasting impressions on the couple.

Gary was particularly intrigued by the unique stories and long family lineages at many of these businesses. "What impressed me most about the Spanish wineries was their history. Most wine makers are in their third to fifth generation; some are making wines the same way they did 1,000 years ago, and some are using the most modern techniques," he said.

The Zucca's wanted to share their experiences with ZMV wine club members and came up with a way to do just that. "[We] brought back wines we thought our wine club members would like to try," Carol said. "We hope you will be able to join us for a special tasting on Saturday, January 31st. We would love to hear what you think."

Like us on facebook, or follow us on instagram to see more photos from the Zucca's trip!

Jan 12, 2015 at 11:43 AM Permalink

Exclusive Spanish Wine Tasting Event

Ever find yourself in the wine section of the grocery store wanting to try a Chianti from Italy or a Rioja from Spain? The international wine selection can be overwhelming. Where do you even start?

Join us from 5-8 PM on January 31st at the tasting room for this wine club only event to taste 14 of Gary and Carol's favorites from their recent trip to Spain! Gary and Carol will be there to tell stories and answer questions about their recent trip. Gary and Carol select the wines that they believe you would enjoy the most.

Limited space available! Contact Jody at 209-684-3278 or jody@zuccawines to reserve your spot. Reservations are $25 dollars per person and must be made by January 24. Don't miss out on this rare opportunity!

Jan 2, 2015 at 10:44 AM Permalink

Crushing Your Favorites!

The time has come where Gary and Carol start the process of turning tons of beautiful grapes into the delicious wine you can take home in a couple years. Grapes arrive in the morning from vineyards in Calaveras County and Amador County to find our eager crew at Zucca's crush pad. The grapes are dumped on a table (as seen above) to allow us to hand sort and remove any bad bunches of grapes so only the best grapes will be used. From there, the grape must (juice, skins, seeds and some stems) ferment for a week at the winery before it is pressed and the juice is moved to barrels or stainless steel tanks. Okay, it's time to get back to work!

Gary punching down the Syrah must. Bins need to be punched down a few times a day for the week to mix the must and juice and spread the yeast.

Carol gets a little messy while pressing the Syrah. The bladder press seperates the juice from the skins and seeds.

Sep 22, 2014 at 3:26 PM Permalink

Bottling 2012/2013 Vintages

We had our first bottling day of the year on Tuesday, March 11th starting with the beautiful, transparent pink 2013 Grenache Rosato. While rusty from not bottling in a year, our first day was a success. We bottled 165 cases of Rosato starting at 9am, taking an hour for a delicious lunch provided by Carol and finishing at 5pm. We also got the opportunity to taste the 2004 Barbera, 2003 Sangiovese, and 2007 Sangiovese during our lunch. While each wine was exceptional the 2004 Barbera was by far my favorite (I may be a little biased toward the Zucca’s Barbera).

Tomorrow is another day of bottling. Here’s to getting the rest of the rust off!

Cheers!
Jody

Mar 13, 2014 at 7:46 PM Permalink

Railtown Sip and Ride Benefit

We had a great time at our 2nd annual Railtown Sip and Ride Benefit. It benefits a great organization and we are excited to be able to put on the event every year. We will be holding the event around the same time next year so be on the look out for more information.

Apr 29, 2013 at 11:22 AM Permalink

Wine Club Pick Up Party

While bottling is still fresh in the back of our minds, we first need to take care of the wine club. We are having our first wine club pick up party this weekend and shipping out the other wine on Tuesday. We are excited to meet all of our wine club members this weekend. From 5-8pm we will open our After Hours to wine club members only so they can taste and pick up their wines.

Of course it’s also Murphys Irish Days this weekend. Cross your fingers for no snow!

Mar 13, 2013 at 12:42 PM Permalink

2013 Bottling Is Near!

Getting geared up to bottle! We are getting everything together so we can start bottling in the middle of March. Bottles, labels, corks, and more are making their way to the winery to come together to store some more great varietals!  All the hard work of crush and press, fermentation, lab tests, and other winemaking processes will finally wrap up too great a bottle of wine that we get to share with you. We will keep you updated on how it is going!

Feb 28, 2013 at 1:51 PM Permalink