Spanish restaurateur, Abel Lusa, has picked up many an award in his time, but none can have felt as personal as the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ recognition he received at the recent ‘Rioja Recognises’ event for that is where he was born and grown up and is very much part of the food and wine offer across his Cambio de Terco group of restaurants.
How do you feel about winning this accolade from Wines of Rioja?
I’m very happy to have the award, and twice as happy as it’s from Rioja.
Why are Rioja wines such an important part of your business?
“I was born and brought up Rioja and wine is the most important thing in our region. Rioja is something that will always be associated with my life, I cannot imagine my life without our wines, it just comes naturally to me. We have a reputation for our wine menu, which includes 500 fine wines and is strong in sherry, Priorat and Riojas.
What particular styles and advances in winemaking in Rioja have been the most important?
“Rioja has a very recognisable style, but many people still don’t know that within the region there are so many different styles. The new Riojas are fuller bodied and richer than the more classic styles, although they give Rioja something very distinctive, which no other region can offer.
But about 25 years ago Rioja started fading away a little bit, just when other regions were starting to produce more exciting wines. This acted as a wake up call to Rioja. We have the best soil, the possibility of producing the most fantastic wines, and every winery realised that the tendencies were changing, because we have the best produce, we realised we could create the most exciting wines again.
Abel Lusa celebrates receiving the award at the Rioja Recognises ceremony
Can you explain the phenomenal popularity and consumer awareness of Rioja?
Rioja, in my opinion, produces some of the best value for money wines in the world. You can get some unbelievable easy drinking Tempranillo and Crianzas with lots of fruit for as little as £7 in the supermarkets, but we do some great wines at the top level too. Rioja has to be recognized not only for its good value wines but for our world class wines as well.
Can you describe your Rioja portfolio and the most popular styles and price points?
We probably have around 80 Riojas on our list, with half of those over £100, going up to £700. By selling the best wines from Rioja, we give more credit to the others – it raises the bar for all wines from Rioja.
The cheapest Rioja we offer from our menu is £35, the price region where you find most Riojas. But we try to encourage people to spend a bit more on a high class Rioja, to try something different they’ve never tried before. If you’re going to spend £100 on a bottle of wine in a restaurant, try some high class Rioja. If you want to try a cheaper wine lets go to a different region.
Rioja is probably in the top ten of the most important wine producing regions in the world, and acts as a doorway for consumers into other Spanish wines.
We also produce some of the world’s best wines at the top level, and that is where we like to concentrate.
All roads lead to Rioja at Cambio de Tercio
What specific activities have you done with Rioja over past year which you think might have helped you win this award?
Every time I go back home to Rioja, I visit new wineries, and meet up with new winemakers. We are not afraid of trying new wines, regardless of the cost. One of the best producers in the region creates a range of wines from small plots of land, and at very high prices, but we don’t mind, we look for quality regardless of the cost.
How do you see your wines in context with the best of the Spanish wine category?
Nobody can imagine a wine list in a Spanish restaurant without Rioja. It is the region that introduces consumers in the UK and Europe to Spanish wine. You get excited about Rioja, and then you can try another region of Spain. For many people it opens doors to other Spanish regions.
How are you going to use this award in your business?
I’m going to show it off, I am a member of the Caballero de la Gran Orden del Vino, and was awarded the best Time out Spanish wine list, but this means so much more to me as its from Rioja where I am from.
* You can catch up on all the Rioja Recognises award winners, that were celebrated at a special ceremony last week at London’s Hispania restaurant, in this specially produced mailer produced by The Buyer and Wines of Rioja.
