Wine Region Comparison

We´ve just finished a visit to La Rioja, the main wine producing region in northern Spain. Given that we spent the past four years living less than an hour from the most well known wine region in the US, I think it´s time for a tale of the tape:

Natural Beauty - La Rioja has mountains, 1,000 year old buildings and at least a couple areas that aren´t overwhelmed by tourism. Napa seems less industrial and slightly more picturesque. No clear cut winner here.

Sustainability - Unfortunately, this will be based solely on the renewable energy capability from very limited observation of one guy on a bus. However, we have a clear winner. La Rioja has solar panels everywhere, and wind turbines are prevalent. Napa - lagging far behind at this point.

Affordability - We had a three course meal for two, complete with a bottle of wine, for $35. And it was quite tasty. I´ve never had one of those in Napa, because I can´t even get the wine for $35.

Information - La Rioja has a comprehensive museum devoted to all things wine. If Napa has one of these, they need to immediately fire everyone in the marketing department, because I´ve never heard of it. In fact, this is now how I plan to make my millions after grad school. I´ll come back here, copy everything this museum is doing, build one in California, and charge people an arm and a leg to visit. Perhaps I shouldn´t put this on the internet, but I´m pretty sure this has LIMITED readership.

Wine - Um, this is a guy who thinks anything not in a box or jug (sorry Carlo Rossi) is fine, so perhaps I´ll leave that to more knowledgeable people.

So at the end of this less than comprehensive comparison, La Rioja wins 3-0-1. How´s that taste, Napa?