Tag Archives: spain

Off the Beaten Wine Trail: Verdejo

Albarino may be Spain’s most famous white wine, but there is an often overlooked varietal that may just deserve the title of Spain’s best white wine. Verdejo is not many people’s first choice of Spanish wine, and its homeland of Rueda is not a place that tourists tend to visit. Yet it should be on everyone’s “wines to try” list.

Style

Verdejo is a dry white wine that is sometimes compared to Sauvignon Blanc due to its herbaceous character (more similar to Sancerre than New Zealand’s more tropical style), but I think has more depth and complexity. Verdejo has flavors of peach and citrus, aromas of white flowers and honeysuckle, and is balanced by a slightly bitter note of grapefruit, raw almond and fennel. When its aged on lees, it develops a fuller texture.

Wines labeled Rueda must contain at least 50% Verdejo. It is typically blended with Sauvignon Blanc or Macabeo. Wines designated Rueda Verdejo must contain at least 85% Verdejo, but are often 100% Verdejo.

Terroir

The Verdejo grape originated in North Africa and is now most widely planted in Rueda, Spain within Castilla y Leon. This is a landlocked area in the northern central part of the country that sits high on the flats of the Maseta Plateau. In fact, Rueda has some of the highest altitude plantings in the world (some up to 3,000 feet).

This extremely high altitude means Rueda has huge day-night temperature swings of up to 50 degrees. The hot days encourage ripening for sugar and flavor accumulation, then the cool nights allow the grapes to rest and retain refreshing acidity.

Rueda has a very dry climate with deep, sandy soils. This does two things – the lack of humidity reduces fungal disease, allowing widespread organic farming. Also, the sandy soils are inhospitable to the vine-killing louse, phylloxera, so there are many ungrafted old vines here that never had to be replanted.

History

Historically, Verdejo was used to make oxidized, Sherry-like bulk wine that was of low quality. Then in the 1970s, the Rioja-based winemaking company Marqués de Riscal saw the potential in Verdejo and brought in a French winemaker to help them produce a high quality, fresher style of unoaked wine. They then encouraged growers in Rueda to keep their Verdejo vines rather than replant them to higher yielding grapes or other more profitable crops. This was the start of Verdejo’s revival.

Recommendations

  • Protos Verdejo ($13)
  • Garciarévalo Rueda ‘Finca Tresolmos’ ($20)
  • Bodegas Vatan Nisia Las Suertes Old Vines Verdejo ($25)
  • Shaya Habis Old Vines Verdejo 2018 ($30)

Off the Beaten Wine Trail: Txakolina

Although Txakolina looks like a terribly difficult name to pronounce, it is actually quite easy, and kind of fun to say – “chah-kuh-leena.” But what the heck is it?!

Txakolina is a low alcohol, lively, dry white wine that can sometimes have a little spritz in it from quick bottling before tank fermentation has completed, so fermentation finishes in the bottle.

These wines originate in Basque Country, a coastal mountain region in northern Spain. Basque Country is an autonomous community that is viewed as a separate nationality of Basque people on Spanish soil, with their own Parliament and Prime Minister. They even have their own Basque language.

Basque Country is also esteemed as the capital of gastronomy in Spain. It has the greatest concentration of Michelin starred restaurants than any other region in the country. It is known for its seafood as well as bar finger food, called pintxos. It is also known for its most famous local wine, Txakolina (also called Txakoli).

In recent history, it has been a wine that hasn’t been taken very seriously and was mainly a homemade wine. In fact, Spanish wine law in the 1970s described it as a wine made with grapes “that cannot normally reach full ripeness” because of the cooler, coastal mountain climate in Basque Country. There was a risk it could not be classified as actual wine because it often didn’t meet minimal required alcohol levels.

Fast forward a couple of decades and with new technology, a better understanding of viticulture, and enterprising new winemakers, these grapes consistently reach ripeness and alcohol levels between 10.5-13% ABV.

Txakolina is mainly produced with the white Hondurrabi Zuri grape, although some producers will blend it with a small amount of other varieties. There is also a red version made with Hondurrabi Beltza grapes, which are similar to Cabernet Franc. You can also find Txakolina in a rose style. In their native Spain, these wines are poured with a special flourish with the bottle held high and poured in a long stream into the glass, said to help aerate the wine and encourage the fizz.

These wines are very often meant to be drunk young, with low to moderate alcohol, delicate citrus and apples flavors and vibrant acidity with light effervescence. It’s an excellent food pairing wine, especially as an aperitif, with tapas, antipasto or charcuterie. It also makes for a perfect summer porch-pounder on a blazing hot day. You should be able to find a few labels at your local wine shop, generally priced from $15-$20.

Recommendations:

  • Zudugarai Antxiola Txakolina ($15)
  • Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina ($20)
  • Rezabal Txakoli ($20)