The good weather means more outdoor fairs and events across Spain such as the Feira do Viño do Ribeiro, the Fira del Vi de Falset or Arrels del Vi, both of these two in Cataluña. Apart from popular tastings, this month we offer our readers a chance to improve their wine education with a WSET Level 1 course at The Wine Studio in Madrid worth over €200. It will be two days of learning about the main producing areas across the world as well as an introduction to professional tasting techniques. Take advantage of this opportunity and enter the draw! 

Additionally, we have summed up plenty of information with some of the most interesting activities for wine lovers across Spain throughout May.

1 May. As a warm-up exercise for Falset’s Wine Fair (Fira del Vi) in the heart of Priorat, Celler de Capçanes holds its 9th Garnatxa Night with a garnatxa tasting from different vineyards paired with the culinary offer of local Michelin-starred restaurants Can Bosch and el Rincón de Diego. Several wineries from the DO Tarragona appellation will also show their wines, such as Adernats Vinícola de Nulles, Mas del Botó, De Muller and Celler Molí de Rué. The arts will also be represented with photographs, paintings, engravings and music. Tickets cost €25 and can be purchased at the winery on the day of the event.

1-3 May. Ribeiro’s Wine Fair (Feira do Viño do Ribeiro) in Ribadavia (Galicia) holds its 52nd edition with a programme including sport, magicians, showcookings, hot-air balloon flights, winery tours and music performances, among other activities. There will be stand for fairgoers to taste wines from producers such as Viña Costeira, Val de Souto, Ramón do Casar, Alter or Pazo do Mar among others as well as tastings led by local sommeliers.

2-3 May. Falset’s Wine Fair (Fira del Vi de Falset) holds its 20th edition in this Catalan village with wine tastings from Montsant and Priorat, cheese tastigns, music concerts, children’s workshops, exhibitions and walks around the region. The dossier with all the activities in the programme can be dowloaded on this link.

2-10 May. The Binissalem appellation holds an event known as Wine Days Majorca in the village Santa Maria del Camí with the presence of 13 local wineries as well as quality products from the island such as Sobrasada de Majorca (local pork sausage), olive oil, salt crystals from es Trenc and guest wines from Pfaltz in Germany. Wines and tapas will be available for tasting all day until 23:00 for €2 each. Glasses must be purchased at the event for €5 but the price includes three wine tastings with €1 donated to Majorca’s Food Bank. As well as the fair, there will be a chance to visit bodegas to taste their wines and travel on a little train to visit the region’s villages.

4 May. Roberto Amillo is a Logroño-based businessman whose love of wine from Jerez led him in 2011 to select his own old soleras and sell the resulting wines under the name Colección Roberto Amillo, which includes four sherries and two brandies marketed in small 50cl bottles. Logroño wine bar La Tavina (Laurel, 2) has organized as tasting of such wines with the very own Roberto Amillo explaining the wines. Time: 20:30 Price: 25 €. Booking is necessary on +34 941 102 300 or at La Tavina's website.

5 May. The Mas de Sella estate is located at 900 metres of altitude on the Aitana mountains in Alicante. Influenced by the altitude and the Mediterranean sea, producer Joaquín Orts makes his organic reds with varieties such as Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and others used on an experimental basis. At this tasting in Madrid’s Enoteca Barolo (Príncipe de Vergara, 211), Orts will present his Mas de Sella Vendimia Seleccionada 2011 and 2012 as well as Mas de Sella Carreró 2010 and 2012 vintages, which will be paired with local products such as homemade sobrasada (pork sausage) from the Alicante village of Tárbena. Time: 20:30 Price: €25 Bookings on +34 91 745 1927

6 May. Valencian restaurant Casa Montaña (José Benlliure, 69) organizes a tasting of Valdesil wines, a Galician producer based in Valdeorras, an appellation with chalk soils where the two dominant varieties Godello and Mencía. Borja Prada Luengo, owner of the winery, will lead the tasting with the following wines: Montenovo 2014, Valdesil 2013, Pezas da Portela 2012 and Valderoa red 2013. Time: 19:30. The tasting is free but booking is necessary on this number: +34 96 367 2314

6 May. Wine retailer Ruta del Vino in Santander organises a dinner with Eulogio Pomares, winemaker at well-know producer Bodegas Zárate (Rías Baixas), whose wines will be paired with the cuisine of Pilar, chef at Bodega Montaña (San Fernando, 28), where the dinner will be served. Four wines will be served with the dishes with some surprises announced. Time: 21:00 Price: €25 Booking is necessary on +34 942 216 503

7 May. Enocións by Ribeiro aims to link Galicia’s oldest appellation wines with the Pilgrims’ Way to Santiago through various cultural activities throughout the year. The first includes a tour of the exhibition “Camino. El Origen” in Cidade da Cultura de Galicia which includes a selection of 150 works of art featuring a contemporary vision of the route, as well as a photographic show by local artist Xurxo Lobato to the sounds of Guadi Galego and a tasting of four wines from the region. Price: €12 per activity or €30 for a full pack. Tickets can be purchased at www.ataquilla.com and at the Ribeiro’s Regulatory Body offices in Ribadavia. Time: 19:00

7 May. The halls at Hotel Bahía in Santander (Cádiz, 22) will feature the 12th edition of Cantabria Vinos fair with the presence of wineries from Spain and a couple from other countries and the chance to taste reds and whites from Cantabria. Entrance is free but an invitation is required. Time: 12:00-21:00

8 May. Saint-Emilion is located on the right bank of the Gironde river in the Bordeaux wine region. Two main varieties (Merlot and to a lesser extent, Cabernet Franc) and three types of soils are the basis of some of the region’s best reds. El Mostrador de Vila Viniteca in Madrid (General Díaz Porlier, 45) offers a chance to taste some of the leading examples of the classic 2010 vintage and the more mixed 2006: Château La Tour Figeac 2010, La Fleur de Rocheyron 2010, Château Magdelaine 2010, Château Rocheyron 2010, Château Peby Faugeres 2010, La Mondotte 2006 and Tertre Rotebouef 2006. Time: 20:00-22:00 Price: € 80 (€ 70 for members).

9-10 May. The Torres Experience show travels to Valencia’s Colón Market where punters will have a chance to taste over 60 wines and spirits from 10 different Spanish regions  plus Chile and California as well as Torres brandies and Champagne Lanson. As a novelty on this edition, winemakers at Bodegas Torres will lead a tasting with the group’s premium wines and there will be a cocktail masterclass by barman Héctor Talents from Mésquebarmans. An express manicure workshop including a glass of white wine, a creative cocktail counter and ham and cheese wine pairings complete the two-day event. Opening hours: 11.00 - 21:00 on Saturday and 19:00 on Sunday. Tickets start at €8 and can be purchased at the ticket office on the day or on the Torres online shop.

10 May. Madrid’s first Natural Wine Showroom will be attended by around 20 producers, mostly from Spain, such as Nacho González from La Perdida (Valdeorras), Manel Rodríguez from Wiss (Montsant), Fabio Bartolomei from Vinos Ambiz (Madrid) or Manuel and Lorenzo Valenzuela from Barranco Oscuro (Granada), among others. The wines from well-know foreign natural producers such as Domaine Meyer (Alsace) and Frank Cornelissen (Sicily) will also be available for tasting, held at Impact Hub Madrid (Gobernador, 26) Time: 10:00 - 20:00. Tickets €5 and include an Spiegelau glass. Tickets for dinner at Madrid’s Solo de Uva restaurant (former Le Petit Bistrot) can also be booked on +34 914 26 74 05

11 May. A selection of 10 wineries and food products from Navarra travel to  Majorca's Es Baluard Museum of Modern Art for Navarra Wine Experience, showroom organised by the Navarra appellation and Verema. The event is free for Verema users and trade professionals. This is the list of producers who will travel to Majorca: Alex Viñedos de Calidad, Dominio Lasierpe, Bodega de Sada, Bodega Otazu, Viña Aliaga, Bodegas Gran Feudo, Bodegas Marco Real, Bodegas Orvalaiz, Bodegas Príncipe de Viana, Bodega Inurrieta, Conservas Danza and Artajo Olive Oils. Time: 12:30-21:00 

15-17 May. Bodegas Franco-Españolas in Logroño (Cabo Noval, 2) transforms its halls into a multidisciplinary area combining design, art and wine with an interior design market, workshops, talks, concerts, children's activities and a foodie area managed by Logroño wine-bar and restaurant La Tavina. Entrance is free except for the Stone Designs space, which costs €15. For opening times and to book tickets call +34 941 251 290

15-23 May. Sherry’s appellation travels to Barcelona to celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout the week. The Sherry Festival will include various activities throughout the week such as tastings, seminars and workshops for the general public and a professional showroom at the city’s Majestic Hotel. Ckeck details on this link.

18 May. Telmo Rodríguez is one of the most dynamic producers in Spain. After studying in France, he started to work at Remelluri, his family’s winery in Rioja Alavesa, until 1996 when he set up Compañía de Vinos with highly successful projects across the country. He now combines his own company with Remelluri, where he has implemented some important changes. The vertical tasting at Vinacoteca (Valencia, 595) will be a good occasion to see those changes and differences in style given that the tasting will include Remelluri Reserva 1976, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2000, 2003 (Magnum), La Granja Remelluri Gran Reserva 1999, 2005 and Remelluri Blanco 2009 (Magnum). Price: €49 Time: 20:30

19 de May. Bodega Urbana (Gran Vía, 66) in Bilbao proposes a txakoli tasting with wines from the three Basque regions where it is produced  (Vizcaya, Getaria and Alava) paired with Idiazabal cheese, an appellation that encompasses the three Basque provinces. The tasting will be led by Marisol Vicente, official taster at the DO Queso Idiazabal, and by winemaker and Bodega Urbana co-owner, Ana Martín. Bizkaia cheese (smoked and unsmoked) will be matched with Bizkaiko Txakolina 2014 and Gorrondona Beltza 2014; the inland province of Álava will provide a young and a mature cheese) which will be paired with Astobiza 2014 and Beldui 2014 and the Gipuzkoa sample will be tasted along with Hiruzta Berezi 2012. Time: 20:00 Price: €30. Bookings on +34 94 441 61 81

20 May. Madrid retailer Lavinia (Ortega y Gasset, 16) has organised a four-part series featuring Grandes Pagos de España, an association of producers which promote single vineyard wines. Today’s tasting features the theme singular grapes with wines from producers such as Mustiguillo, Palacio Quemado, Cortijo Los Aguilares, Finca Moncloa, Enrique Mendoza, Secastilla and Pagos de Familia. The tastings will be led by some of the producers who make these wines including Toni Sarrión, Bibi García and Julio Mourelle. Booking is required. Time: 18:30  Price: €30

20 May. Historically used as one third of the traditional Cava blend,  the Xarel.lo variety is gradually becoming more important among innovative producers in Catalunya as one of the most promising grapes in the rather narrow range of white varieties in Mediterranean vineyards. Projects such as Albet i Noya, At Roca, Ca n’Estella, Sumarroca, Raventós i Blanc, Gramona,  Vilarnau or sparkling wines such as 1 ´1 = 3, Codorníu or Juve y Camps among others, will be talked about in a tasting at the Spanish Tasters Union (UEC) in Madrid (Lope de Vega, 27). Time: 19:00 Price: €35 (€20 for members). Further information on +34 914 293 477

20 May. Alberto Nanclares used to be an economist until he decided to leave behind his comfortable existence in exchange for an uncertain future making Albariño wines in two hectares in the Salnés valley (Rias Baixas). Wine bar Velo de Flor in Zalla (Artebizkarra, 17, Zalla, Vizcaya, Basque Country) organizes a dinner paired with the wines of Alberto Nanclares, which will be presented by the man himself. The wines that will be tasted are: Dandelión 2014, Alberto Nanclares 2013, Paraje Mina 2012, Soverribas 2013, Coccinella 2013 and Crisopa 2013. Bookings before 18 May on +34 946 391 495. Price €60.

22-23 May. Wine aficionados looking to delve deeper into the world of wine can sign up for WSET Level 1, an eight-hour course in Spanish spread over two days and taught at The Wine Studio in Madrid (San Lorenzo, 11).  WSET is the world’s largest provider of wine and spirits education and arguably the most prestigious too. The deadline to register is May 15 and the cost of the course is €225 but readers have a chance to get the course for free by taking part in Spanish Wine Lover's draw before May 10.

22-23 May. Barcelona store Álava de la Cruz (Còrsega, 544) holds a free tasting of Prieto Picudo and Albarín wines produced by Bodegas Leyenda del Páramo (DO Tierra de León) and Bodegas Alfredo Maestro. The wine from this producer is El Rey del Glam, a natural carbonic maceration Garnacha. Coinciding with Barcelona's Sherry Festival there will be a chance to taste Fino Tradición, a 3,000 bottle limited edition and 15 years of age. Hours: 18:00-21:00 on Friday and between 12:00-14:00 and 18:00-21:00 on Saturday. 

23-24 May. The eighth edition of Arrels del Vi fair is held at Sant Martí d’Empúries, a small town in the Empordà region, on the northeast of Catalunya, with the presence of local wineries. Tickets cost €20 € and include a Riedel glass, a guided visit to the ruins of the ancient town of Empúries, a tasting of “Mulsum” (Roman wine), children’s activities, paired tapas and a €5 voucher to spend on wine at the fair. Opening hours: 12:00-15:00 and 17:00 to 21:30

25 de May. After recently passing through Málaga and Majorca, the Verema Experience travels to Westin Palace Hotel in Madrid (Cervantes, 42) where over 70 wineries will gather in a showroom that will be open between 12:00-21:00. Winelovers wanting to attend will need to be registered as Verema users (free) or be trade professionals. As well as the showroom, there will be two interesting tastings: one with the wines of  Bodegas Toro Albalá (DO Montilla-Moriles) and another one with wines made by Bodegas Baigorri (DOCa Rioja). Tickets must be booked in advance, both for the showroom and tastings.

26 May. A new wave of vignerons are reinvigorating the winemaking scene in Catalonia. Two good examples are Eduard Pié of Sicus (Baix Penedés) and Francesc Ferrer of Celler Frisach (Terra Alta), two young producers who will be at Monvinic Barcelona (Diputació, 249) to explain their ways of working the land and their philosophy. They will also share wines from other producers who have played a part in their work. These is the line-up of wines at the tasting: Agricola Sant Josep Terra Alta Llàgrimes de tardor blanc 2014; Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Blanc Fumé 2013; Les Enfants Sauvages VDP Côtes Catalanes 2013; Celler Frisach Terra Alta Selecció blanc 2014; Celler Frisach Terra Alta Vernatxa 2014; Celler Frisach Terra Alta La Foradada 2014; Sicus Baix Penedés Cru Marí 2009; Sicus Baix Penedés Sons Monestrell 2013;  Sicus Baix Penedés Meliterrani 2011; Jane Ventura Baix Penedés Sumoll 2012; Castell d’Encus Costers del Segre Quest 2013; Elisabetta Foradori Vigneti delle Dolomite Teroldego Morei  2011. Time: 20:00 Price: €50 Booking is necessary on +34 932 726 187

29 May. Wine store Tiza y Flor (César Elguezábal, 31) in Alicante has programmed a tasting of Bierzo wines, an up and coming area thanks to its fresh Mencia wines. The tasting will feature the following wines: Roc 2012 de Verónica Ortega; Valtuille Cepas Centenarias 2010 de Raúl Pérez; O viño do Pepiño 2010 y 2011 de Pepiño Pereiro; K2014, Akilia Lombano y Akilia Villa de San Martín de Mario Rovira. Price: €30 Time: 20:00.

29-31 May. Pamplona holds the second edition of La Calle en Rosa to promote rosé wines from DO Navarra, a style with a great tradition in the region. Over 30 bars will serve a rosé wine plus a pintxo for €2.80. San Nicolás and Comedias streets will hold an outdoor party with live music and circus performances. Time: from 19:30 onwards

30-31 May. The Toro appellation holds the region's Wine Fair at the bullring in the town of Toro, in the province of Zamora. Around 30 wineries will have stands at the event with a chance to try some the region's typical products. The programme also includes barrel-painting and photography competitions. Opening hours: 11:30-15:00 and 18:30-20:00. Price: €5.

31 May. Barcelona’s Maritime Museum (Av. de les Drassanes s/n) will house Vinum Nature Fair where organic wines will be available for tasting along with tapas. Tickets cost between €15 and €35 with free entrance for children under 16 accompanied by an adult. Organic must will be available for them to drink. Opening hours: 12:00 - 20:00

31 May. DO Txakoli de Álava holds its Txakoli Day in the town of Amurrio with tastings of wine and local Euskolabel products. Artisan products will also be on sale and there will be a slush competition made with txakoli and locally known as garrafa. Each competitor gets three bottles of txakoli and ice to make four liters of garrafa which will be later given away for free among partygoers. Hours: 12:00 - 18:00

Do you know of any interesting wine events which are not on this list? Are you a restaurateur or retailer who organises tastings or wine events for the general public? Send us your calendar to info@spanishwinelover.com