What went down at A Night at the Riojan Market, an evening of Spanish wine and small plates, presented by U-Feast

According to an old proverb, age, lovers and glasses of wine should never be counted. For guests at A Night at the Riojan Market on May 14, inside Assembly Chef’s Hall, sipping 24 wines—but who’s counting?— from eight different wineries was just one part of the experience. The other was sampling the small-plate pairings prepared by eight of the city’s top chefs, including Ivana Raca (Resto Boemo), Lawrence LaPianta (Cherry Street Bar-B-Que), Chantana Srisomphan (Khao San Road) and Ariel Coplan (Bar Reyna).

Dispelling the myth that Spanish grapes only go with Spanish cuisine, the event was an opportunity to see how well the versatile wines pair with all kinds of dishes. It was also a chance for curious oenophiles to have brand ambassador and Rioja wine expert Ana Fabiano guide them on a tasting journey. Made predominantly from Tempranillo grapes, many Rioja wines require barrel and bottle aging. Each wine is bottled at origin and stamped with a seal that designates it a Cosecha, Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva Rioja.

“U-Feasters are always looking for new and different food and drink experiences,” says Howard Thomas, chief marketing officer of U-Feast. “Most of our events are sit-down dinners, and we don’t typically get so many wineries involved, so it’s great to be able to expose a whole region.” Here, a selection of photos from the wine-fuelled evening.