Recently I was at a Grand Spain tasting at one of the great
wine spots in the Tampa, FL area… B-21’s Wine Warehouse. I’ve been patron there
for about 15 years and about every quarter they host an abundant informative
tasting event. It’s one of the
definitive wine stores in the Southeast USA; probably the prototype for Total
Wine.
This tasting got me rethinking the major Spanish grape
varieties and wine laws a bit, because they are imperative to the wine and the
country. So, I am going to go through this a bit right now and break it down
according to the wines we tasted that afternoon.
Spain has a somewhat large number of distinctive wine producing
regions, more than half taking the classification Denominación de Origen (DO)
with the most of the rest being classified as Vinos de la Tierra (VdlT).
There are only two regions nominated as Denominación de
Origen Calificada (DOCa). The Rioja and Priorat regions are the trophy and
flagship regions of Spanish winemaking.
For Instance, familiar wine places such as Jumilla, Ribera
Del Duero, Rias Baixas, Toro, Navarra, Campo de Borja, Calatayud, Costers de
Segre, Yecla, La Mancha and Penedes are all Denominación de Origen (DO).
The Oxford Wine Companion says that there’s an estimate of
over 600 grape varieties are planted throughout Spain but 80% of the country's
wine production is focused on only 20 grape varieties.
Spain grapes have always developed with winemakers reworking
things to the wide-ranging and extreme climate of the region. Yet, the dry
weather in many parts of Spain eases the threat of common viticultural problems
. There is always the other side of things.
In Spain the vineyards are several decades old, with the old
vines producing lower yields of fruit. This is an issue that has being
constantly addressed and is a main reason for the Spanish wine boom these days.
In the 1990s, the use of irrigation became more popular after droughts hurt the
harvests; so the practice of using irrigation in all Spanish wine regions was
legalized with many regions quickly adopting the practice. The widespread use
of irrigation has encouraged higher density of vine plantings and has
contributed to higher yields in some parts of Spain which has led to an abundance
of good wine.
As the Spanish wine industry becomes more modern, there has
been a larger presence of international grape varieties appearing in both
blends and varietal forms, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot
and Sauvignon Blanc. Other Spanish grape varieties that have significant
plantings as well including Cariñena, Godello, Graciano, and Mencia(which is similar
to Cabernet Franc).
The red wine grape Tempranillo is the most widely planted
grape variety(really the top honor goes to Airén the Spanish brandy grape…).
Tempranillo has recently eclipsed Garnacha(Granache) in plantings. Tempranillo
is known throughout Spain under a slew of different names including Cencibel,
Tinto Fino and Ull de Llebre. So be on
the lookout for that.
Both the Tempranillo and Garnacha(Granache) are used to make
the full-bodied red wines linked with the Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Penedès
regions. The Garnacha happens to be the
main grape of the Priorat region. The Garnacha blended along with Cariñena and
some international varieties is creating some of the great age-worthy cellar
wines in the world today in the same way the Super-Tuscan is doing that for
Italy.
Further,In the Levante region(the eastern region of Iberian
Peninsula, the Spanish Mediterranean coast), Monastrell and Bobal have significant
plantings and they are used for both dark red wines and dry rosé.
In the northwest of Spain , the white wines Albariño and
Verdejo are popular plantings in the Rías Baixas and Rueda regions respectively.
In the Cava producing regions of Catalonia(sparkling wines
produced in the Champenoise Traditional Method may be labeled Cava)and elsewhere
in Spain, the principal grapes of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo.
And lastly in the southern Sherry and Malaga(in the Costa
del Sol) producing regions of Andalucia, the principal grapes are Palomino and
Pedro Ximénez.
With all this wine Spain is the most widely planted wine
producing nation according to researchers, but it’s the third largest producer
of wine in the world behind France and Italy and this is due, in part, to the
very low yields of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in
many of the Spanish wine regions.
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