This weeks Wine Blog Wednesday is hosted by Tim of Winecast.net and his choice of themes was wines under 12.5% alcohol. I decided that since Tim was part of my inspiration to get into podcasting that I would record a short wrap up of my tasting instead of just writing about it. Enjoy the Podcast and check out the links below.

Till soon,

Ryan Opaz

Footnote: I mentioned that the theme was low-alcohol wines, I was wrong. The theme is l ow alcohol reds, only!

The Consejo Regulador for Getariako Txakolina: Getariako Txakolina

A bit about the bodega that makes the wine: Talai Berri

My tasting note for the Red Txakoli: 2005 Talai Berri Getariako Txakolina Txakolin Beltza

The Cheese I talked about: Idiazabal - Sheeps milk cheese, raw, aged 4-5 months - Producer: Aizpaa

Great info on Producing Idiazabal

Search here for other Txacoli tasting notes: Txakoli Tasting Notes

Search for Txakoli’s to buy on wine-searcher: Txakoli wines

Information about the Catavino/Planetavino/Restaurante Memento dinner: Spanish Wine Dinner

2005 Talai Berri Getariako Txakolina Txakolin Beltza - Spain, País Vasco, Getariako Txakolina (6/14/2006)12% Alcohol - Grape Variety: Hondarribi BeltzaDeep maroon in color with a general lightness. The nose is strange and takes some time to open up. Weedy minerals, actually gravel, with raspberry seed woodiness(light) and red currant(sour) notes. In the mouth it’s a bit flabby though there is an underlying acidty that is quite strong along with a tannin presence that is soft and fine, coating the mouth. On the palate this wine is again unusual with mineral notes, cranberry and sour raspberry being the primary fruit flavors. I guess I would call this one weedy with a underbrush like characteristic. Worth trying.

Make sure to look at this survey on the blog FERMENTATIONS. Not only is it informative, but it also really opened my eyes as to the perspective people have about Spanish wines. Of the 216 people who took the survey, you can be sure that every single one probably has enjoyed wine on a somewhat regular basis. I suggest reading the entire article, but I would like to point out a few numbers for you:

2. LEARNING
-Spain walks away with the award for most intriguing wines. Nearly 60% said they definitely want to learn more about this country’s wines. Italy is not far behind.

Not bad! I would have to agree that with 63 DOs (and this number is growing), and almost as many unheard of grapes as Italy, Spain certainly is “intriguing”. My top 3 picks for both “up and coming” regions and “new grapes to look out for” (in no particular order) are:

Regions:

Bierzo- Located in the far western edge of Castile y León, this region is making a name for itself most notably for the grape Mencia (see below). The vineyards are planted along the slopes of the river Sil and its tributaries. This area has really shown me what Spain can do by taking an almost forgotten grape and helping it reach its potential: Bierzo is a name to watch out for.
Txacoli- Granted there are 3 different Txacoli regions, but this area until recently was about to fade into the distance. However, with a resurgence of interest and money, a …