The wines that come from the region of Rioja in Spain carry the DENOMINACION de ORIGEN CALIFICADA Designation of Origin (D.O.Ca., “Qualified Designation of Origin”) Rioja wine is made from grapes grown in the communities of La Rioja and Navarre, and the Basque province of Alava. Rioja is further subdivided into three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa. It is common to have wines made from the blended fruit from all of the zones or the winemaker will experiment and maybe choose fruit from only one zone. Here again is the ever-present reminder that it is always the winemakers decision whether to blend or to use a single vineyard selection of fruit.

I was watching the 9 AM Sunday Morning Show on CBS. As per usual, I was in my half-asleep mode when all of a sudden I heard the announcer say, “Birds in the vineyard.” That got my attention and I Immediately sat up. I imagined that the birds were helping themselves to a few stray grapes that had fallen on the ground. Not so! The segment was approximately eight minutes long and it was reporting on a situation that growers have to deal with every year with each new crop. It is just something that does not make the news very often i.e. the grapes develop, the birds come, the workers scare the pests away and that is that. It is in the NOT taking care of the pests that would spell disaster.