London wine tasting on a floating bar

Fed up with the UK weather? Still have some time to go before you’re off on your summer hols? Fear not- for our friends at wine maker Campo Viejo have brought over a small slice of Spain, complete with Rioja and tapas, to south London in the form of a floating bar as part of their #SummerofColour. And it’s well worth checking out.

But hurry-the Lake of Colour is only around till June 12th. If you really want to impress your other half/ date it’s well worth booking their Blend Your Own Wine masterclass. This is where the true fun begins, as Campo Viejo teach you how they blend their own Reserva using a combination of Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo grapes. You then go on to blend your very own, experimenting with different measures of each grape variety.

For me, it seemed such a waste to pour away the surplus of my efforts that by the end of it I wasn’t sure whether the movement below my feet was the floating bar or the effects of my blending attempts-all whilst I clutched a bottle of my very own creation to take home.

Be warned, Campo Viejo is very easy to drink-there’s a good reason why it’s the biggest selling Rioja in the UK –which accounts for over half of its global export. It’s also the number 1 selling Rioja around the world.

If you’re not a lover of red wine, don’t worry- you can now try Campo Viejo’s brand new white Rioja, its first ever Viura-Tempranillo Blanco 2015. Back in the eighties they noticed that some of their Tempranillo grapes had mysteriously mutated to a white variety. The grape was certified, the clusters were isolated and a new grape was born and finally the new white Reserva has finally been released.

Like its opposite red number this is very easy to drink without any of the sharpness that many white wines often have. This one has citrus and floral undertones and I’m sure will be a big hit.

So get your summer underway and head down there. If you miss it, then you have a great excuse to make your way to the Rioja region in Spain and take their wine blending masterclass over there! Salud!!