On Tap

Latin Love

Relishing the Spanish wine Rioja at Mestizo in Davidson

by Trevor Burton | photography by Trevor Burton Picture this; I’m relaxing in our living room and I get a text message from our niece. She needs some wine information and, oh-by-theway, she’s in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico’s wine country, and enjoying herself. My teeth were immediately gnashed. Valle de Guadalupe is somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit; Bucket List status.

As a result, I had an urgent need for some good Mexican cuisine and a good, Latin wine to go with it—Mexican wine is something you rarely see around the lake, so I would settle for one of my favorite wines from Spain. Some context; toss aside your impression of Mexican cuisine. It’s probably an impression of Americanized, Tex-Mex dishes. I got spoiled in the past by some time spent in Mexico City, indulging in the real thing, authentic Mexican dishes.

Authentic Mexican food dates back to the times of Mayan Indians and the Aztec Empire. Those cultures mingled together, combining foods like corn tortillas, beans, chili peppers, wild game, and fish. Then, when Spain invaded Mexico in the 1500s, foods like pork, dairy, garlic, and other herbs and spices were added and became popular. For my Latin fix, I headed to Davidson and to Mestizo Restaurant. Their dishes are definitely authentic. I quickly grabbed their wine list and that’s when things got good. I found a Reserva category of Rioja. I was onto a winner.

Some background on Spanish wines, particularly Rioja. Most Spanish wines are named for the region where they’re grown, they have a DO, Denominación de Origen. Rioja is of a higher quality than most Spanish wines. It has a DOC designation, Denominación de Origen Calificada. This is the top rung of classifications for Spanish wine regions. gives you the DO of the wine and the name of the “Bodega” that produced it. The back of the bottle tells another story. Controls on the aging process of Spanish wines are strict. The small label on the back of the bottle describes what aging process the wine has undergone. The three top levels of quality are: Vino de Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.

An aside, a factoid. Spain’s Rioja region is a strip of land that surrounds the Ebro River as the river flows down a valley from the northwest to the southeast. A small tributary of the Ebro is a river named “Oja”—in Spanish, Rio Oja, hence the name, Rioja.

As I said, my Rioja at Mestizo was a Reserva. That meant the wine was from a vintage judged to be special. By law, it had to be aged thirty six months in casks and bottles, twelve months of which had to be in oak. I had a special wine that had been specially aged. To add to the fun, the wine had a few years on it. What that did was smooth out the wine. I wasn’t in my, Bucket List, Valle de Guadalupe but I was in a pretty good place. This wine was just what my gnashing teeth needed; each sip made me feel like I needed another.

Thoughts turned to food to pair with my Rioja, Denominación de Origen Calificada and Reserva. Actually, it wasn’t that difficult. I have a favorite Mestizo dish and it really fit the bill, a steak chile relleno. This is a simple dish but it’s downright authentic and just right for my wine. A slow, languid lunch followed. Accompanied by a delightful conversation with Lupita, one of Mestizo’s owners.

I sent a text message back to our niece. I told her to enjoy some Mexican wine on its own territory and not to be overly concerned about me. I was extremely content with my Latin fix in our Lake Norman area. ¡Delicioso!