CVNE, Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, S.A., Muga and Bodegas RODA have signed up Ikaro, Nublo and Ajonegro (La Rioja), El Serbal (Cantabria), Cobo Estratos and Erre de Roca (Castilla y León), six Michelin-starred restaurants, for their big event in Haro on 15 June
This fifth edition is the one which will bring together the largest number of culinary projects with recognition from the French guide, and will also include the offerings of Delicious Gastronomía and Kankel Bean to Bar
The great historic wines from CVNE, Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, S.A., Muga and Bodegas RODA have a date with six Michelin stars repesenting the new generation that is revolutionising Spanish gastronomy, in the Cata del Barrio de la Estación 2024, to be held on 15 June in Haro, in this privileged enclave where the largest concentration of hundred-year-old wine cellars in the world can be found. Twelve emblematic wines from the “Station Quarter” will be matched by the culinary creations of Ikaro, Nublo and Ajonegro, Michelin star establishments from La Rioja; El Serbal, gastronomy with a Michelin star from Cantabria, and Cobo Estratos and Erre de Roca, two Michelin-starred projects from Castilla y León, with dishes which will showcase local products from an innovative perspective. These will all help to make this fifth edition shine even more brightly, with a greater participation from restaurants with a Michelin star.
The wines of the “Station Quarter” have played an active part in the history of Spanish gastronomy and the country’s culinary revolution over recent decades, as they now do again, as allies in this key moment in Riojan cuisine, as the region with a record number of Michelin stars per head of population, and that of Spain as a whole, by promoting the Cata del Barrio de la Estación as the benchmark wine and food event in Spain.
The diversity of the styles of wine from the Barrio de la Estación and the broad spectrum of new approaches of the gastronomy present at this edition, can only enrich an event in which bodegas and restaurants become the perfect ambassadors for their regions and creators of destinations in the context of the boom in wine and food tourism.
During this day to celebrate the culture of wine and gastronomy, the heritage of the wines of the “Station Quarter” will be shared with the kitchens of six projects which delve into their local larders and geographical regions and combine techniques and influences, with the excellence of the raw materials, respect for origin and preservation of culinary memory as their starting point.
Kitchens which combine cultures and share frontiers
Rafael Prieto, the senior Michelin star at this edition, will bring the Cantabrian Sea from the establishment overlooking the Sardinero beach that he runs in El Serbal (Santander) to the Barrio de la Estación, with marinated tuna, crispy maize tosta, with pickles and an emulsion of meat juices and Santoña anchovies, as the symbol of the best of the Cantabrian larder, centrepiece of his cuisine, and always thinking about the perfect pairing, the defining aim of his project, in this case with the CVNE wines ‘Monopole Clásico Reserva 2020’ and ‘Imperial Reserva 2019’.
Iñaki Murua and Carolina Sánchez, the personal and professional tandem behind Ikaro (Logroño), will display their roots and their experiences at the Cata del Barrio de la Estación event, with an explosion of flavours from La Rioja, the Basque Country and Ecuador, as homage to their roots in a cuisine which takes care of the product and technique. Their proposal will be an Ecuadorian ham sandwich, spicy aji of tree tomato (tamarillo), pickles and crispy pork scratchings. Which will accompany the ‘Gómez Cruzado Viña Dorana 2017’ and ‘Montes Obarenes Magnum 2017’ wines.
Alberto Molinero, who has earned a first Michelin star for his Erre de Roca project (Miranda de Ebro), “a crossroads of three gastronomic powerhouse regions” -La Rioja, the Basque Country and Castilla y León-, will travel to Haro with his market place cuisine which showcases local produce. In this case Morucha beef from Castilla y León in an empanada with smoked cherry chutney, accompanied by a salad of citrus fruits and avocado to harmonise with the wines of La Rioja Alta, S.A. ‘Viña Ardanza 2017’ and ‘Viña Arana Gran Reserva 2016’.
Miguel Caño, head of the team at Nublo (Haro), meeting place of the Riojan larder, Rioja wine and fire and the grill as a creative tool, will be “paying homage to the fiestas, before the summer solstice, when the the pigs were slaughtered”. To do this, he will present a tosta of marinated sow’s breast, with very long, slow cooking and finished off on the grill, accompanied by a mayonnaise of peppers, lime and herbs to pair with the wines of Bodegas Bilbaínas – Viña Pomal ‘La Vicalanda Blanco 2022’ and ‘Viña Pomal Gran Reserva 2015’.
Miguel Cobo will share the tradition and evolution which reflect his Cobo Estratos project (Burgos) and the anthropological journey that his cuisine offers between the cultures and stages in human evolution, applying his endless creativity in a story which begins with local produce from Cantabria, his place of origin, and Castile, his adopted home. He will be making a cold brioche of creamy rice with sweet and sour beef and fresh Thai herbs to accompany Muga Torre Muga 2019 and Flor de Muga Rosado 2022 wines.
Mariana Sánchez and Gonzalo Baquedano, heart and soul of Ajonegro (Logroño) and a couple both in life and in the kitchen, offer a fusion of the gastronomy of Mexico and La Rioja, the cultures of their roots, bringing their own distinctive identity to a taco of a Riojan stew which is “very nefarious and of the street”, with a nod to both the Mexican and Riojan cuisine which defines their restaurant. It is a potato puré with chorizo and pulled leg of lamb and the essential touch of spiciness to harmonise with the ‘RODA 2020’ and ‘RODA I 2019’ wines from Bodegas Roda.
These will be joined by the cuisine of Alberto Toribio from the Delicious Gastronomía caterers, with one of his specialities, paella of beef and fresh vegetables from the market gardens of La Rioja, as a tribute to the region’s larder, and a celebratory dish, rooted in Spanish gastronomy.
The sweet creativity of the Cata del Barrio de la Estación bears the signature of the master baker and chocolateer, Juan Ángel Rodrigálvarez, winner of the National Gastronomy Award for the Best Dessert Chef, who from his current project, Kankel Bean to Bar will revisit one of his most iconic desserts from his career in the Pastelería Viena, with an updated version of his Mozart gateau which will stand alongside his handmade chocolates from Kankel Bean to Bar.
Musical wine tasting with the wine critic Luis Gutiérrez as a prelude
On 14 June, the day before the grand wine and food event, the writer and wine critic for the Robert Parker journal, ‘The Wine Advocate’ (Grupo Michelin), Luis Gutiérrez, will lead a tasting session with a musical theme as the “Train Driver of the Year” for the Cata del Barrio de la Estación event and historic wines from the bodegas based in this Quarter, travelling through the decades and going back as far as the sixties. The experience, with limited capacity, can be enjoyed by purchasing an exclusive admission ticket from the Barrio de La Estación website web del Barrio de la Estación.
The Haro Station Wine Experience is supported by Gobierno de La Rioja and Ayuntamiento de Haro and is sponsored by Cartonajes Santorromán, Argraf, Ramondín, Berthomieu – Ermitage Tonnellerie, Víctor y Amorim, Irundin, Agua 22, Ecotelia – Sorigué, AUDI – Rioja Motor and RIEDEL Euroselecció. Also partnering are Fusión Vínica, Bucher Vaslin – Enolviz, Estuchería Vargas, Hideco, EMESA, Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra AUBOCASSA, Embutidos G. Sobrón Martínez, Celebona 1960, Queso Los Cameros and Consejo de la Producción Agraria Ecológica de La Rioja (CPAER).
