Perfect pairing: FIU and Spanish wine country

A couple with a taste for fine wine and a love of FIU has made possible an interesting new international travel option for students, faculty and alumni.

Raul Chavez ’80 and Angela Martinez wanted to share their passion for Spain’s La Rioja region with a university community they likewise adore. Traveling annually from Miami to their vacation home in Rioja—where Martinez has roots—the two noticed a renovated former palace in a neighboring village that, in their estimation, just wasn’t getting enough use.

Open for FIU: Faculty interested in developing study abroad or continuing ed programs have access to a no-cost educational/residence facility in La Rioja, Spain.

“We hate waste,” Chavez says matter-of-factly. “How many euros did they spend on that thing?” he wondered of the local government’s efforts to turn the property into an educational facility, complete with conference space and sleeping rooms.

So the retired Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department officer–turned consultant and his licensed clinical social worker/community psychologist wife together took action. They met with all the right people – from the mayor of the town and the president of the local university to FIU deans and faculty – and before long the first group of students was headed to study in the remote countryside of northern Spain.

Fittingly, the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management took the lead in capitalizing on insider access to the area. Rich in winemaking history, Rioja province—only 75 square miles in area—boasts 14,000 vineyards and 150 wineries.

“To me the most important thing was to see the vines,” says junior Nicole Linares. The hospitality major/beverage management minor “loved the chemistry” inherent in understanding how the age of vines and the characteristics of the soil in which they are planted affect grape taste.

Linares was one of 15 students who in May spent two weeks learning about the traditions and technology that undergird the region’s success in viniculture. Whereas her FIU courses focus on the other side of the industry—the business and marketing of wine—this was her first chance to learn about its crafting. The field exposure has led the talented winetaster—professors have suggested she prepare for sommelier examinations—to rethink her future.

“It put me more in a direction I know I want to go, to work more directly in production,” she says.

Raul Chavez ’80 and Angela Martinez helped connect FIU with educational opportunities in La Rioja, Spain.

Beyond vino, Martinez stresses that Rioja, once a Roman territory, offers opportunities for educational explorations related to culture, language, architecture, art history and other subjects.

Use of the palace for lodging and classes is free to FIU groups, save for costs associated with housekeeping. Faculty members who would like to develop study abroad programs in Rioja can get information and planning assistance by contacting Magnolia Hernandez, director of the Office of Study Abroad. Those interested in running non-credit courses for the general public should contact Jorge Zumaeta, director of Continuing Education and Dual Enrollment.

The next planned FIU visit to Rioja, space for which is still available, will occur in October for alumni. Regulars themselves on the FIU Alumni Association travel circuit, Chavez and Martinez have further cemented their relationship with FIU through generous support of the planned alumni center at the Modesto A. Maidique campus, a much-anticipated gathering place that will host a variety of events and meetings.