As we’re
going to find out in our next tasting, Spain has much to offer in wine. There
are delicious (and cheap!) bottles for any night of the week. But you’ll also
be rewarded if you decide to spend a little more and explore the classic wines
of Spain. If you mostly drink wines from the New World like South American,
Californian, or Australian, Spanish wines are a great introduction to the Old
World.
Facing a new
section of your local Fine Wine and Spirits store can be daunting. At our
tasting on May 9, we'll help you get to know some major Spanish wine regions
and grapes so you can confidently choose a few bottles to try.
What
You'll See On the Bottle
One of the
things that make Spanish wine special is that many Spanish wineries age the
wine for you, in oak barrels and in the bottle. This means you get a chance to
taste cellared wines that have aged to the point of tasting their best without
investing in storage space at home. When you look at a Spanish wine and see
the terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva, or Gran Reserva, they're telling you about
how long the aging was. Gran Reservas
have been cellared the longest, and a bottle with 'Joven' on the label didn't
spend nearly as much time resting at the winery.
Because
Spain is part of the European Union, the wine labeling system is similar to
those of France and Italy. The category you’ll most often see at State Store is
Denominación de Origen (DO), which
is the equivalent of an Appellation
d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in France. Each individual DO (for example,
Ribera del Duero or Rías Baixas) has its own rules for the wines, such as which
grapes can be planted. If for some reason you can't find the DO on the bottle,
the "logo" of the DO should be on a sticker on the back or on the
capsule over the cork.
The top of
the Spanish wine quality pyramid is Denominación
de Origen Calificada (it has several abbreviations because of regional
dialects: DOCa, DOC or DOQ). There are
only two DOCs: Rioja and Priorat. Spain also has a unique category, called DO Pago, which is for single estates.
When you're
looking at bottles of Spanish wine, you'll often see the primary grape on the
label. One thing you will notice is that because of regional language
differences, sometimes grapes or areas may look just a little different. Garnacha in Catalonia, for example, will
appear as Garnatxa.
Are you
ready to start drinking?
WEDNESDAY, May 9, 2018
Evergreen Community Center
3430
Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
7:00
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES (or bota).
The cost for members
or guests is $25.
Please reply before May 4, 2018 to:
Mail your check, payable to AWS to:
Dr. Dennis Trumble
1302 Arch St
Pittsburgh PA 15212
Don’t forget to visit the website for directions, useful tips,
and recipes.
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