Is Rioja’s Juan Alcorta the world’s most state-of-the-art winery?

Perched high on a hillside above the town of Logroeo, the centre of Spain’s Rioja wine region, the strikingly modern Juan Alcorta winery commands superb views of the Ebro River valley below. Reached by a quiet windy road and surrounded by Tempranillo vines, the winery’s modest, modern buildings are the elegant cork to a magnificent subterranean complex where Spain’s best-known wine, Campo Viejo, is produced.

I’m not really much of a riesling man – good in small doses with certain dishes, and not really something I like glugging on its own – but tonight was fun. Highlights included the Murdoch James (from Kiwiland’s South Island), the Clare Valley Majella and two wines from Germany that bucked the Blue Nun stereotype: winemaker of the year Dr Loosen and the delicious Bird Label. Highlight had to be the delicious D’Arenberg Noble dessert wine: honey in a glass.