The Wine Century Club
So computer problems again have got me down! Anyone have a spare? Actually, it was the internet that was down, but now it’s up and I’m back again. While I finish up a couple of articles, one hopefully on the Spanish DO system, I wanted to point out this great site:
The Wine Century Club. What this site sets out to do is to get more people to try grapes outside of the Cab/Merlot/Chard – and thanks to [Sideways->http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/] Pinot, paradigm! By offering “certification”, verifying that you have tried 100 different varietals (grapes), they hope people will seek out those grapes that we don’t always think of when we ponder wine.
The reason I mention this here is that Spain and Portugal are great places to start if your interested in getting yourself a certificate. All you need to do to recieve membership in [the Wine Century Club->http://www.winecentury.com/index.html] is to try 100 different varietals. They can be single varietal wines or wines that are blended from various different grapes. In Spain and Portugal there are tons of varietals that you may never have known exisisted and thus is a good place to look for “unknown” grapes. For example:
[Mencia->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=185&select=m] – A grape grown in the Bierzo region of North Western Spain. Can produce big wines with intense fruit flavors and nice spice charecteristics.
[Godello->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=194&select=g] – A white grape that is grown throughout Spain though particullary in Galicia and at it’s best gives a fresh high acid wine with green apple flavors.
[Graciano->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=173&select=g] – A red grape used throughout Rioja and Navarra to give the wines of those regions more tannin and body. Though recently I’ve tried some interesting single varietal versions. It tends to be very tannic when young and has a nose and flavor profile that is rich and prolonged. [Check out my tasting note on Graciano.->http://www.catavino.net/archives/18/2005/06/10/]
[Tinta Negramole->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=154&select=t] – Unique to the Island of Madiera in Portugal is is the grape that makes Madiera what it is today. High yeilds and a penchant for early oxidization it helped the Madeira producers recover after phylloxera hit the island. In Spain it produces interesting table wine on the Canary Islands.
[Touriga Nacional->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=140&select=t] and [Touriga Francesa->http://twis.info/grape.php?ID=143&select=t] – Two grapes that play very important roles in the production of Port wine. In fact the best part of going for this certificate is the fact that blends count!(though it would be fun to try without using blends) So when you drink a Port wine, most likely you at the very least are adding 5 new varietals to your list.
There’s a small start to what you have to look forward to when exploring Spanish and Portuguese wines. I mean very small. It seems that every region here in Spain and over in Portugal has at least one native variety that I have rarely heard of. The best part too is the fact that you can always have a chance to try something new. Sometimes they are different but delicious and sometimes downright had to get used to, but in the end it’s fun to see what else is out there.
So I encourage you all to [download the PDF file->http://www.winecentury.com/Application.pdf] they have over at The Wine Century club, and dive in. See if you can become a member!
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[...] Grapes have continually been a theme as we explore the unique varietals that make Spain and Portugal what they are. For those of you looking to try more Spanish wines and Portuguese wines, The 100 Grape Club is a fantastic incentive. This is a wonderful chance for you to both expand your wine knowledge, while picking up on some great obscure Trivia answers. [...]
[...] By now everyone knows that I’m a sucker for an unknown varietal. Give me a wine with a grape whose name I’ve never heard of and I’m a happy man. Be it a Schiopettino from Italy or a Nergamoll from the Canaries, until I’ve tried it I won’t be satisfied! It may not always be the best new grape or most interesting flavor but nonetheless it’s something intriguing, new and out of my realm of knowledge. Maybe it’s the thrill of the hunt or maybe it’s to make up for my inability to collect anything worthwhile – I sold all my baseball cards when I was 17, which are probably worth a small fortune by now – but I finally get to join the ranks of a privileged class. The Wine Century Club which I wrote about earlier on this blog was founded by Deborah and Steve De Long in hopes to help promote the less obvious varietals in order to preserve some of the nuance found in the wine world. Today, I proudly announce my membership into this small group. Granted it’s membership is based on your word of honor – and technically, anyone can join – but I hope that those of you who do think of signing up would take the time to thoughtfully consider if you have the 100+ varietals needed to become a member. To celebrate my membership, I want to add a new previously unknown, to me, grape to my list. During my recent visit to Alimentaria, I found a grape that peaked my interest called Eva de los Santos. I was at the Bodega Dolores Morenas booth from Extremadura, a Spanish wine region with close links to the Alentejo in Portugal. This Bodega was recommended by a close friend, but in no way was I expecting to come across this special little grape. From what I was told by the owner of the bodega, Eva is generally used as a table grape with small amounts occasionally making their way into the local regional wines. He also mentioned that maybe five producers were using it in any capacity; however, they were unclear as to whether this number was growing in any significant way. Here is what I took away from their tasty little wine called, Zagalón Blanco Joven 2005 made from 100% Eva: [...]