‘Rioja Wine’ by Lawrence Jones

Rioja is a land of wine.
It’s famous in both fact and fable.
It’s really not okay to dine
Without a bottle of that fine
Rioja beverage on your table!

Now, it is red, full-bodied, sweet,
A wine that’s either old or young.
For young, the price cannot be beat,
But none with old can e’er compete;
Long has its praise been justly sung!

So when you next enjoy a meal
At some lovely outdoor cafe,
No matter if it’s fish or veal,
Just add Rioja’s best. You’ll feel
Whole and complete at end of day!

The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Jones is a retired Presbyterian minister and secondary school teacher.  He served churches in Pennsylvania and on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and was the chaplain of the Mercersburg Academy in south-central Pennsylvania.  He and his wife retired to Vermont two years ago.  This immediate past summer, he and his grad school roommate hiked the 500 miles of El Camino de Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.  This poem is from that experience.