'HIGHLY COMMENDED' AT ANDRE SIMON AWARDS 2011 Picturesque Rioja, Spain's most prominent wine region, is a new world within a very old world. Beautifully illustrated with photographs of the people and landscape and with detailed maps, this guide ranges over a diverse area including not only Rioja but Navarra, Bierzo, Galicia, and the Basque country as it explores winemaking from the ancient to the traditional and modern. Written by a trio of experts on Spanish wine, it provides insider information on a region home to Spain's finest Tempranillo, its exciting Albarino, and many other indigenous grape varieties such as Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Viura. The authors look in depth at topics including climate and soil, grape varieties, and viticulture, and profile more than 85 individual wineries. They also include information not available elsewhere: several top ten lists plus secret addresses for the best restaurants and shops in which to find aged and historic vintages of Rioja.