La Rioja Alta is one of Rioja's largest and most consistent traditional style producers. They are well represented in America by several distributors, so their wines are among the easiest of the traditional Rioja producers to get your hands on.

A region that has long made high-quality, ageworthy wines that, with a few decades on them, are very reminiscent of fine old Barolos and Bordeaux is Rioja -- Spain's illustrious red wine-producing region.

Near the end of last year, I attended an event where Kevin Zraly, the famed wine director from Windows on the World, was leading a panel discussion on...

Wine should taste like where it came from, and shouldn't be manipulated into big alcoholic bruisers crammed with "jammy" fruit. Wine expert Gerry Dawes is a fan of old-fashioned wines made the old fashioned way: "Great wine is made in the vineyard, not in the winery."