La Rioja-Logrono has been announced this morning as Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2012, chosen from a list of 10 applicants, which also included Sevilla, Gijon, Valladolid, Ciudad Real, Oviedo, Segovia, Lugo, Granada and Santiago de Compostela.
This is a new thing set up by the Spanish Hospitality Federation (FEHR) and the Spanish Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers (FEPET) with the aim of promoting Spanish tourism through its food and wine.
As this is the first year, we’ll have to wait and see exactly what it will involve, but expect lots of opportunities to find out more about the local specialities – and eat them, obviously. Sounds like a pretty good excuse to me.
You can find out more about it all on their website which presumably will have an English version when things get properly underway. The site is already a good source for information on Spanish food and wine tourism and gastronomic events.
Mooching around Spain 
thanks for the tip! Rioja deserves some action and attention for sure!
Gives us all a good excuse to go back there now!
Thanks for the info. I need to visit now!
I guess it will be a while until the programme is up and running – but we’ll all have to go!
Cool, looking forward to hearing what dishes this place offers which makes them the gastronomy capital!