Outer Banks Wine Tasting Roundup
Fall in the Outer Banks: When the roads start clearing up, the beach days get cooler, the visitors return home, and the locals emerge out of hiding. It’s the perfect season to visit local restaurants, bottle shops, and wine bars you haven’t been to in a while.
Vin Noir Explorers and Importers took the opportunity this September to host a series of wine tastings on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the Eat Spain, Drink Spain initiative. VNE Importers partnered with local restaurants and wine retailers for these Outer Banks wine tasting and food and wine pairing events.
Here is a look at some of those events, a recap of the Spanish wines tasted, and a look ahead to what is to come this fall and winter in the OBX.
What is Eat Spain, Drink Spain?
Eat Spain, Drink Spain is an international celebration of Spanish food, wine, and gastronomy led by ICEX Spain Trade & Investment through Foods & Wines from Spain and the #SpainFoodNation initiative.
The fall 2026 campaign ran from September 11 through October 6 in the United States. It brought Spanish products straight to consumers through restaurants, retailers, wine shops, tastings, culinary experiences, and other hospitality partners worldwide. Participating businesses across the country created wide-ranging opportunities to discover Spanish wines and foods.
Outer Banks Spanish Wine Events Recap
VNE Importers was proud to take part in the Eat Spain, Drink Spain campaign, and partnered with these fantastic local wine bars, restaurants, and markets for food and wine events:
Each tasting featured a carefully curated selection of Spanish wines from family-owned vineyards, small batch producers, and undiscovered wine regions. VNE Importers’ founders and owners, Chris Richardson and Shunia Burruss, led these exclusive wine tastings. They led attendees through each wine, shared tasting notes, information about the wine producers, and stories from their travels to visit each vineyard and experience the wine for themselves.
Some of the events, like the Spanish wine dinner at TRiO, also had the extra element of being an Outer Banks wine pairing event, with each wine accompanied by a chef-made dinner course.
Spanish Wine Spotlight
While these Outer Banks events featured a range of Spanish wines, here are just a few of the selections that were included.
A fresh and light white wine. This selection from Giulio & Gaia has the classic acidity and freshness of a Penedès wine. It is well-balanced between freshness and body, and gives aromas of sour cherry. This white wine can be paired with just about anything, but some top picks include pasta dishes, fresh cheeses, or salads.
A sparkling wine produced in the meticulous “Traditional Method,” made entirely by hand. This cava is aged for at least two years, and once it is ready it offers pleasant aged aromas and fruity notes. It makes for a great substitute for either white or red wine during a meal, and can accompany “grand roasts” and game dishes.
For those who like more of a sweet wine. This wine is light orange-pink in appearance but intense in taste. It is fresh and lively with notes of red fruits, aromatic herbs and lactic notes and smoky aromas, like vanilla and bitter almond. This Endogen wine pairs well with rice dishes, seafood, ceviches, soft cheeses, and carpaccios.
Upcoming Outer Banks Events with VNE Importers
Eat Spain, Drink Spain may have come to a close, but there are still more great wine events to look forward to.
VNE Importers will be hosting wine dinners at the Sanderling Resort in November and December. These elevated events will feature culinary selections from Executive Chef Sherman Harris, with Vin Noir Explorers and Importers curating the wines.
More events are regularly being added to the calendar, so check the Events Schedule often to see what other wine tastings and pairings are coming up in the OBX.
How to Taste Even More Spanish Wines
If you missed the past events or just enjoyed them so much you’re ready for more, you’re in luck. There are plenty of other ways to continue tasting great wine in North Carolina with VNE Importers.
Outer Banks Wine Events
As described above, VNE Importers will be continuing to host public wine events all winter long in the Outer Banks, providing more opportunities to taste unique wines from various wine regions of the world.
Private Wine Tasting
VNE Importers can also host a private wine tasting for your group in Northeastern North Carolina. Choose from one of our signature events, like The Explorer, or contact us to build a fully personalized wine tasting that is catered specifically to your group and wine preferences.
Online Wine Store
You can also bring VNE Importers wines home with you. Wine enthusiasts can shop our growing wine portfolio online anytime. Our products are each hand-selected by wine experts and include wines from Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and select domestic producers from Virginia. Online wine orders include free delivery in the Outer Banks.
Wine Club
And finally, this one is actually for our nearby neighbors in Virginia. The VNE Importers Virginia-based wine club is a monthly subscription service that will deliver 1-3 expert-selected wines to your door each month. Each wine club bottle has a story, and is chosen with the utmost care for its distinct journey, high quality, and uncompromising taste.
All in all, the Eat Spain, Drink Spain campaign was a huge success. VNE Importers is grateful to all of our local Outer Banks partners who helped put on such great wine tasting events. We look forward to continuing to supply the Outer Banks and Virginia with specialty wines from boutique wineries and vineyards that can’t be found anywhere else.
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