Five Wines, a Surf Shop, and a Side of Málaga You Don't Expect

There’s a surf and skate shop in Rincón de la Victoria, a few steps from the beach, that on a warm Saturday evening last week had twenty people standing around with wine glasses, discussing the merits of lesser-known Spanish grape varieties. If that sounds like an unlikely combination, it felt like a perfectly natural one.

The event was organised by Todos Santos — the surf shop — but run by Pablo, a former sommelier from Nobu who now works for a wine importer and runs wine tasting events as a side project under the name Desde La Viña. The format was relaxed: five wines, two bottles each, with Pablo walking the group through the history of the regions and producers rather than leading a formal tasting. Questions were encouraged. Discussions followed naturally.

The kind of evening that reminds you wine is more interesting when it’s shared with people who are curious rather than knowledgeable.

The crowd was mixed — mostly women, with a few couples and some older regulars who clearly knew their way around a wine glass. My friend Kris, who brought me along, ended up winning the raffle at the end of the evening and took home a bottle that was the envy of the room. The selection itself was the most interesting part: five wines, all from smaller, less-travelled Spanish regions, the kind of bottles you rarely see on a restaurant list.

The wines

• Terraprima Blanc 2023 — Can Ràfols dels Caus, DO Penedès (white)
• Ecléctico 2023 — Hato y Garabato, DO Arribes (white)
• Arraiano Tinto 2022 — Cume do Avia, DO Ribeiro (red)
• Camino Real 2023 — Guímaro, DO Ribeira Sacra (red)
• L’Enclos de Peralba Pet Nat 2025 — Vino de España, Penedès (pét nat)

The welcome glass was a white from Rueda, poured from a magnum while people arrived — a thoughtful touch that set the tone without rushing anyone in. After the formal tasting, the remaining bottles were opened for everyone to help themselves, and Pablo added a few bonus French wines to round out the evening. Nobody left in a hurry.

What struck me most was less about the individual wines — though the Ribeira Sacra red from Guímaro was a standout — and more about what the evening represented. A surf shop hosting a wine tasting in a coastal town east of Málaga, with a former sommelier pouring carefully chosen bottles for a curious and engaged crowd. There’s a wine culture growing here that doesn’t announce itself very loudly, but it’s real, and it’s worth paying attention to.

Desde La Viña runs regular events. If you’re based along the Costa del Sol and want to find them, they’re worth tracking down.