Tempranillo Takes the Stage

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the 2^nd Annual International Tempranillo Day on November 8, 2012, Vibrant Rioja is hosting tastings across the nation and launching a full-scale social media campaign that will run throughout the month of November. From a fun tweet chat to a "Win a Trip to Rioja" Facebook sweepstakes, Vibrant Rioja hopes to build awareness around the versatile grape that made Rioja Spain's most famous wine region.

At 8 pm EST on November 8, Vibrant Rioja will kick off the month-long celebration with the #TempranilloDay tweet chat, cohosting the virtual event with TAPAS (Tempranillo Advocates, Producers, and Amigos Society) and Nannette Eaton of the acclaimed blog, Wine Harlots. Widely regarded as a leading wine personality in the social media sphere, Nannette's social media presence earned her the number two spot on Cision's annual Top 10 List of influential bloggers on Twitter. Nannette will lead participants through a virtual discussion and tasting of Rioja and US Tempranillo wines.

The tweet chat will introduce a month-long Vibrant Rioja Facebook sweepstakes giving consumers an opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip to Rioja, the world's most famous Tempranillo-producing wine region. Vibrant Rioja will award a second prize of a Rioja Wine Dinner, including a $250 gift certificate, as well as over a dozen runner-up prizes of Rioja gift packs throughout the month. The Sweepstakes begins on November 8, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. ET and ends on November 30, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

In addition, Vibrant Rioja is hosting events across the country that will celebrate International Tempranillo Day by giving consumers a chance to taste the wines of Rioja, Tempranillo's most famous region. For more information on all of the Vibrant Rioja Tempranillo Day events, check out our Facebook Event Calendar at http://www.facebook.com/RiojaWines/events.

Established in 2011 by TAPAS, International Tempranillo Day is a celebration of both the traditional wines made with Tempranillo, such as those from Rioja, as well as those produced by winemakers in newer regions around the world, from the U.S. and Mexico to Australia and South Africa.  Besides its vast acreage within Rioja, Tempranillo is planted in over 500,000 acres of the world's vineyards, making it the 4^th most widely planted grape in the world. Native to Rioja, Tempranillo is the region's most widely-planted grape, where it manifests in one of the world's great wines.

About Rioja
Located in north central Spain, Rioja is considered one of the greatest red wine regions of the world. Rioja reds are blended predominantly with the indigenous Tempranillo grape from one of the region's three subzones -- Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa. The DOCa of Rioja administers highly sophisticated and stringent quality control in the winemaking process, from viniculture to bottling. More than 200 brands from Rioja are available for purchase in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.vibrantrioja.com.

Cassandra Bianco
Vibrant Rioja
[email protected]
212-229-0500

SOURCE Rioja