The vineyards are aware of demands of younger customer - newer wine drinkers who prefer more fruit driven wines with less oak anf higher levels of alcohol.

The other main competition to Rioja wines are from vineyards in other parts of Spain itself. Areas such as La Mancha, Toro and Jumilla are fast making reputations for themselves for wines in Rioja style but without price tag.

La Mancha however has a little bit of an image problem to address due to in past churning out high volumes of lower quality wine which spoiled its reputation.

Nowadays however you can pick up some excellent Rioja quality wines from region for under $13 and even blind taste tests cannot pick out true Rioja from some of newer Spanish vineyards.

One of best qualities of Rioja wines is that they tend to taste just as good at home as they do when drunk in Spain in summertime with tapas on a terrace, so drinking often leads to pleasurable associations and memories.

Indeed Rioja goes brilliantly with all types of food, while also tasting just as good on its own as a treat in early evening.

If you like your wine smooth and fruity with creamy vanilla oak flavours then Rioja could be wine you are looking for. Give it a try instead of your usual wine this month – you will not be disappointed.

So by all means experiment but don’t ignore tried, tested and recommended combinations as they have stood test of time very well indeed.

As with everything in life, only way to learn is to test.So you’ll have to move out of your comfort zone and risk odd bad choice in order to move up to next level of wine enjoyment.

Yes you may love Californian Pinot Noir but it’s important that you stop buying it every week simply because you know that you like it and that it’s a safe choice. You need to branch out, as this is only way you will find something even better than your current favourite.

And believe me, I’m sure it exists among many thousands of wines available worldwide. The best way of branching out is to start buying mixed cases of wine, typically a dozen bottles of red and white wines and simply try each one out.

And it’s particularly useful to make some tasting notes as you open each one so that you can keep a note of exactly what it was, where it was from and which variety of grape it was and so on.

And don’t forget to note precisely why you liked or disliked it. Was it citrus fruit flavours on tongue, or was it creamy vanilla oakiness that really made it for you?

Did light fresh aroma contribute to enjoyment? Get it down on paper before you open next bottle, as tomorrow your recollection might be a little hazy!

So you must experiment a bit, but don’t go for a complete extreme to what you normally drink right away.

Go for similar varieties at first and you are less likely to put yourself off progressing and expanding your taste in wine.

And remember, only one who can tell you what wines you like best is you yourself so, whatever combination, be sure to enjoy it.