13th Wine Festival at Konventa Sēta

However informative and brief I am about this annual event in Old Riga, it is without a doubt, for me (not being any kind of connoisseur of fine wine), an occasion for the joy of life. Traditionally, two days in June, in the picturesque inner courtyard of Konventa Sēta, there is an opportunity to taste many different wines and listen to lovely music.

Represented at the festival were almost all of Latvia's major wine vendors. Since this is our second year visiting the festival, I can say that the vendors' spots with their tables are unchanged. To the left, in the small inner courtyard, Hanzas Wines had set up with various German wines. Here, Ēriks's favourite - wine "Nr.4". Interestingly - at this stand, for the first time, we also saw wine bottles with metal screw caps, though they didn't let you try those. :(

For me, as before, the most enjoyable were the full-bodied Spanish and Californian wines, positioned along the sides of the main walkway. On the Mobil Plus table, in a visually pleasing angular bottle, there was also the almond-flavoured amaretto liqueur DISARONNO, which rather won my heart.

To the right, in the passages, were several tables with dry French wines. At one such table you could look through a Wine Language Dictionary and take home a wine and food pairing guide. I now know that Bordeaux Eleve En Futs De Chene White pairs well with fish and seafood dishes, as well as with cheese. I shall have to carry it in my handbag when I go to a fine restaurant. :)

In the end, over the course of two hours we strolled and tasted many wines (overdid the tasting a bit), danced on the cobblestones to songs by Laimis Rācenājs, and concluded - heavy reds and dry acidic French wines are not our favourites; everything else - pure joy of life!

P.S. Sorry about the photo quality - everything was photographed with a mobile phone and "completely sober". ;)