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THE MESSAGE 16 / the tasting panel / april 2015 THE MESSAGE Our Publisher and Editorial Director Meridith May, who sat on the Advisory Board of the Women of the Vine Global Symposium, with Leslie Sbrocco, author, wine consultant and television host, who gave a talk during the weekend about how she turned her passion into a career. Deborah Brenner, founder of the Women of the Vine, noted in her closing remarks that since 71% of all wine retail purchases are made by women, it's common sense to have women helping run the industry because "women know what they want and that's our best kept secret." PHOTO: ALEX RUBIN PHOTO: ALEX RUBIN Red and White Together W hen we attended a wine dinner with Ribera del Duero and Rueda wines from Spain, we ended up talking about everything from sherry cocktails to Boston's Union Square Donuts. We also managed to absorb the story of how a red wine region and a white wine region in Spain became linked—and are now taking on the rest of the world together. All of this while happily consuming several delectable courses at Brookline's eminent Taberna de Haro restaurant. Ribera del Duero has grown Tempranillo for centuries, and today the region produces carefully crafted, well-balanced red wines from this grape. The neighboring region of Rueda is well-known for lively, aromatic white wines, especially those made with the Verdejo grape. But it wasn't until a few decades ago that winemakers in these areas began bottling their wines for export to the rest of Spain, and then the rest of the world. The two regions are now banding together for promotion while maintain- ing their separate wine identities: red from Ribera del Duero and white from Rueda. In fact, campaign director Felipe Gonzalez Gordon told us that 15 of the areas' major wine producers now have wineries in both regions. One-stop shopping, as the Spanish do it: a Rueda white for your aperitif or first course and a Ribera del Duero red for the main meal. A typical Ribera del Duero (Tempranillo) can be found for $15–$20, while Rueda's Verdejo whites are mainly in the $12–$18 range, retail. And they've got a cute slogan: "Sí What's Next: Ribera y Rueda." —Becky Sue Epstein Planting the Seeds L ast month, our Publisher and Editorial Director Meridith May, along with a couple of our editors and writers, made the journey to Napa for the first Women of the Vine Global Symposium, held at The Meritage Resort and Spa. Organized by Deborah Brenner—the author of the book Women of the Vine—the event, attended by almost 500 women and men (no exclusions here!), sold out a month before the event and included panels and speakers with some of the most powerful women in the wine industry, as well as interactive sessions, net- working luncheons and meet and greets. For full coverage of the entire weekend, check out the May issue of THE TASTING PANEL. Our Publisher and Editorial Director PHOTO: ALEX RUBIN Deborah Brenner, founder of the Women