Wines of Northern Spain

Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman hosted the first-ever Drink Ribera Denver Workshop at Zengo yesterday afternoon; it included an in-depth seminar and walk-around tasting of more than sixty wines from the Ribera del Duero region.

 

 

The region in northern Spain has been growing grapes since the Middle Ages

Forgotten for decades, ancient Spanish varieties are attracting attention at home and abroad.

Our search was rewarded with reds from Ribera del Duero, Spain, where supple, spicy pours made from the tempranillo grape — and full of intense ripe fruit — play well with everything that sizzles. They hail from a relatively undiscovered region.

 

 

Rioja, the birthplace of Spanish winemaking...Ribera, home to one of the most famous Spanish wines...Rueda is known for its delicious Verdejo-based white wines.

The best of them (and really, that’s all of them) are bright, with confident elegant tannins that dissolve into sweet juice at the end palate. There is a spectrum of fruit, from the sweet quince of Ygay to the spicy plum of Luis Cañas. Wonderful Rioja.

wonderfully crisp and refreshing with a delicious tangy minerality. Unoaked, it is quite aromatic (think delicate flowers, citrus and peach) and packed with bright, juicy flavors, which are intense and persistent across the palate. It also has a very attractive spiciness, almost laurel-leaf-like kick on the finish.

 

 

So you want aged wine, direct from a winery’s cellar, without paying an arm and a leg? The answer is easy--it’s Rioja. Don’t get me wrong; some of this depends on your idea of relative value, but I assure you that buying a bottle of 20 year-old Rioja for $75 - $100 is one of the best values in the world of wine.

One of the few Spanish wines labeled as a varietal, albarino accounts for 90 percent of all vineyard plantings of the Rias Baixas in the northwest wine region of Galicia. Albarino was once mistakenly thought to be a clone of the riesling grape brought by German pilgrims.

 

There are certain moments in a wine lovers life that they never forget.   For me, tasting my first really aged wine was among the most memorable. The wine

wine makers pay the price - spanish vineyards facing the climate change consequences

aimed to bring together the eight winemakers which make up the Codorníu Raventós portfolio. Representing ten wine regions in three countries these winemakers presented a vast selection of incredible wines from their individual wineries.

A look at the wine regions of Spain and Portugal

 The region of Aragon is blessed with lush landscapes supporting vast pastures of livestock, forests with a healthy population of game; where truffle mushrooms grow. Several rivers snake through the landscape watering the grasses and trees; the river Ebro in fact, Spain’s largest river in volume, cuts through the province from west to east. In this province, lying in the northeastern region of Spain, in the province of Huesca, is the region of Somontano. It lies nestled at the foothills of the majestic Pyrenees and stretches to the valley of Ebro. Just as it’s name would suggest (latin in origin) Somontano – at the foot of the mountain - is protected by the Pyrenees mountain range from the north.

Bodegas Palacios Remondo is based in Alfaro in the Rioja Baja. This old family firm has been revitalized by the arrival of winemaker Alvaro Palacios from Priorat. The wines are made from their own vineyards, a rarity in the Rioja region.

 

 

Wines from Rioja can run the gamut of everyday fruity easy drinking wines, to earthy, complex, outstanding, and age worthy wines.  It’s useful to know a little background on the wines before you hit the market so you can find one that fits your preferences.