About Team Rioja

by Mark Middlebrook

Who are we? Team Rioja is a select group of aficionados of Spanish wine, travel, and medieval music. The team was formed in August 1997 during a medieval Spanish music workshop in northern Spain.

p1999-nf-kit_and_mark_santiago-s.jpg
p1999-kt-el_conde-s.jpg What do we do? First and foremost, we drink Spanish wine -- mostly Rioja, but also Priorat, Ribera del Duero, Albariño, Ribeira, Cava, and several styles of sherry (notably Manzanilla, Montilla, and Oloroso). We also travel to Spain, eat tapas, and study and perform Spanish early music.

How does one become a member? There is no formal application process. New members are inducted into the team at the discretion of existing members after the former have demonstrated their fealty to the ideals of the team. These ideals include bibulousness, afición, stamina, and the willingness to skip seeing another medieval church in favor of drinking another bottle of Rioja. 005-02-sevilla_manzanilla_bar-s.jpg

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Last updated 17-Nov-2003 by
mark@teamrioja.org