Like the Colorado kid tearfully
lamenting the ongoing election coverage in the now-viral video, we’re ready for
this election season to wrap up, and with our votes already cast here in Oregon
(thank you, vote by mail!), tonight we plan to turn off the TV (and the radio
and Internet), put on our PJs and crack open a bottle of today’s Drink of the
Week—the 2008 Elaboracion Rioja from Beronia. More fleshy and fruit-forward
than traditional, all dry-fruit-and-dust Riojas, this vibrant Tempranillo from
the famed Gonzalez Byass sherry house (the family-owned company responsible for
the beloved Tio Pepe fino, among others) offers up a decidedly modernist take
to winemaking, fermenting the entire lot in highly toasted new-American oak
barrique. Risky, for sure, but worth every drop. Expect flavors of bright cherry,
fresh herbs and even some cocoa and spice—the perfect kind of bottle to hunker
down with on a night like tonight.