Texas + Rioja: Spain's finest wines come to Dallas

You could say that we’re separated by an ocean but united by a grape. Texans adore our smooth, spicy, food-loving Tempranillo wines, whether homegrown or imported from the historic wine-producing villages of Spain.

That love was evident when Rioja came to town this week, bringing lots of their signature Tempranillo-based reds–plus a few delicious surprises! As it courts the large import markets in Houston, San Antonio, and DFW, Rioja DOCa is eager to demonstrate the range, versatility, and value-for-money the region has to offer.

A Rioja masterclass overlooking Dallas’s Harwood District from the Hôtel Swexan’s Junior Ballroom.

My epic Rioja Tuesday started in the morning and ended long after the sun went down. I experienced this multi-faceted region through several lenses: as a student, as a wine server, and finally, as a diner. There was Tempranillo, of course–and so much more to taste and learn.

Morning: Rioja Masterclass

My day began at the swanky Hôtel Swexan, with a Rioja session presented by Master Sommelier Steven McDonald. In his role as Executive Wine Director for Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, the Houston-based somm manages a 40,000-bottle cellar that includes both classic and innovative Rioja styles.

Dallas sommeliers and buyers begin to take their seats for the Rioja Masterclass with Steven McDonald MS.

Ten wines were poured during the masterclass, preceded by a traditional-method sparkling wine from Carlos Serres.

A pair of white Riojas (a high-acid, Malvasia-scented blend and a barrel-fermented Viura/Garnacha Blanca with toasty oak notes) showed the range of the category. We all swooned for a 2013 Gran Reserva Rosado–onion-colored, complex and textural after four years in oak and twice as long aging in bottle. And a partial-carbonic 2025 Tempranillo blend was a perfumed stunner. Blue-purple and redolent of violets, bright blackberries, and clove, it showed the aromatic beauty that Tempranillo can express.

Bubbles consumed–the still wines are waiting!

We covered the official sub-regions of Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja). Then it got even more nerdy.

McDonald had plenty of Rioja-specific tips for those who are studying for certification exams. (Rioja’s historic seven permitted grapes have been joined by seven more authorized varieties since 2007–can you name them? And careful with mix-ups around Spain’s Turruntés grape–it’s completely unrelated to both Spanish and Argentine Torrontés!) We also reviewed maps, DOCa regulations, and stylistic and consumer trends that are influencing today’s Rioja wines.

Afternoon: The Grand Tasting

Just before 1 PM, I hustled over to the Grand Ballroom for my next appointment. Over 40 Rioja producers had sent wines and/or representatives for the Grand Tasting, and the doors were about to open to Dallas’s community of wine buyers, sommeliers, and educators.

The Swexan’s sixth-floor ballroom is styled like a Parisian salon. There are herringbone parquet floors, gilded chandeliers, and deep coffered ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out from two sides on Dallas’s glittering Harwood district.

Rioja Grand Tasting at Dallas’s Hôtel Swexan (September 22, 2026).

I was slated to pour for Bodegas Óbalo, a winery based in the historic Sonsierra area and which was founded in 2006. The wine was the 2020 “La Encina,” a Crianza made from 100% Tempranillo from older vines. With its balance of maturing red fruits, structured tannins, and subtle spices from French oak, tasters found this wine both modern and refined.

Rioja wines are renowned for their pairing ability, and attendees tested that proposition by drinking them alongside a sumptuous buffet. Swexan’s chefs set up a Tex-Mex taco station and a Spanish cheese and meat display.

At the center of the Grand Ballroom were chilled bottles of water (gotta stay hydrated!) and a pyramid of pastries decorated with pastilles and glitter. The walk-around tasting was punctuated by three breakout sessions: on old vines, white Rioja, and high-altitude expressions.

Because I was working, my own tasting opportunities here were limited. But I was enchanted by the wines my neighbor (Heras Cordón, sole Rioja supplier to the Vatican) was pouring–especially the white.

Their Ana de Heras Cordón is 100% Viura with intense stone fruit flavors and a crisp, super-long finish of citrus and fresh butter. (It’s shockingly well-priced, too.) Both assertive and elegant, wines like this challenge the assumption that Viura is a neutral variety.

Tasting Ana de Heras Cordón at the booth next to mine.

Three hours went by quickly–as it tends to do when you’re serving great wine and chatting–and my Rioja day was about to become a Rioja evening. I chugged a water, shed my blazer, and fluffed my hair in preparation to trek a few blocks north for the media dinner.

Dinner: Three Faces of Rioja

Although I grew up in and around downtown Dallas, I felt disoriented as I left the Hôtel Swexan. The neighborhood, with its plate-glass high-rises, is now a mirrored tunnel that towers far above the streets I used to know.

I asked the bellhop to point me toward Oak Lawn Avenue so I could walk down the avenue to dinner. “Walk?” he said quizzically, and summoned a car that promptly dropped me off at the trendy Uptown seafood restaurant CATCH.

At the bar downstairs, I ran into Andrew Chalk of The Chalk Report, a Texas wine blogger I’ve been following since forever! We chatted about Texas wine and Spanish wine while waiting to be called upstairs for dinner.

“Rioja in Dallas” pouring station, with a flute of Extra Brut sparkling Rioja from Bodegas Vivanco.

In the private dining room at CATCH, I was greeted with a welcome pour of Vivanco “Cuvée Inédita” Reserva, an Extra Brut sparkler made predominantly from indigenous Riojan varieties.

I mingled with the group of food/beverage and travel influencers. We then settled in for a multi-course meal paired with red and white wines from Rioja’s Bodegas Proelio & Nivarius, Bodegas Faustino, and La Rioja Alta S.A

Wine selections were organized into three flights, each highlighting a winery or winery group. Memorable wines included the delightfully rich 2020 Faustino I Gran Reserva Blanco (a blend of Viura and Chardonnay that is produced only in exceptional vintages and spends years maturing in the winery before its release). Another exciting pour was the rarely seen Tempranillo Blanco, a white mutation of Tempranillo that is a specialty of Nivarius.

Dinner was served family style and reflected Catch’s menu of colorful seafood small plates and steakhouse standards. (My new pal, Katie-Rose Watson of The Rose Table, has the scoop–and all the drool-worthy food pics!)

Dessert was paired with a show-stopping trio of dry reds from La Rioja Alta, culminating with their gorgeous 2016 “904” Gran Reserva.

Wines from Bodegas Proelio & Nivarius, Bodegas Faustino, and La Rioja Alta S.A at the Rioja media dinner.

After a long, dream-like day of tasting, I felt like I had truly gained a fresh appreciation for Rioja. There was sparkling, rosado, carbonic action, old vines, high-altitude vineyards, new white blends, and plenty of classic reds, all sharing the same broad Rioja identity. I came for the Tempranillo. I left with a much longer list of wines to seek out.

Disclosure: I attended a series of Rioja events as a Dallas wine pro and media guest on September 22, 2026. I received hospitality from and was employed as a pourer by representatives of Rioja DOCa. I did not receive any compensation for this post, and opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.

Wines tasted (all are from Rioja):

Carlos Serres Brut Método Tradicional (2020)

Artuke Trascuevas Blanco (2023)

Valencisco Blanco Barrel Fermented (2022)

López de Haro Gran Reserva Rosado (2013)

Victor Ausejo Mazuelo (2022)

Luberri Orlegi (2025)

Alegre Valgañón Tinto (2023)

Bodega Obalo “La Encina” Crianza (2020)

Ana de Heras Cordón (2024)

Nivarius Tempranillo Blanco (2025)

Nivarius Edición Limitada (2023)