Rioja, Spain: not exactly the most obscure wine region on the planet when it comes to producing gorgeous, internationally recognized wine. In fact, it was just a few days ago, on October 30th, 2025, that James Suckling announced the Top 100 Most Prestigious Wines of Spain. After evaluating 3,500 wines this past year, Rioja was crowned the best wine region in Spain for the third year in a row.

The Guanches: One reference indicated that the Guanches might have been in the Canary Islands in the first millennium B.C. and were the first ones to inhabit the islands. About this time, the Phoenicians and Romans were pushing expansion limits all around the Mediterranean and up the Portugal coast, but there seems little evidence to support expansion beyond the Mediterranean and southward.

Is it February that just brings out the crazy need to feel somewhat romantic with your spouse? Maybe it’s just the time of year. Christmas was two months ago, and we all spent way too much and regretted it. All through January, most of us hibernated because it was just too dark outside to get out after work. But here is February. The depths of what should be winter, and we realize that actually spending time with people again is a good thing.

Raise a glass of sparkling wine to the end of the year 2024! Join City Vino this week, as we feature sparkling wines and a Karaoke New Year’s Eve event with dinner and champagne toast. If you have not experienced a breath of sparking wines before, this is the weekend to get out and figure out for yourself the difference in taste between champagne, prosecco, and moscato. You might surprise yourself as there are a few really complex (not over the top sweet) moscatos out there.