Editor’s Note: If you remember, a little while back, Ryan reviewed the book “Valencia, Land of Wine“, written by Joan C. Martin and translated and edited by John Maher. While, in Valencia, we asked John how he felt about writing the occasional piece for us on Valancian wine, being our resident expert and all. And to our great surprise, he agreed. You’ll see from his elegant prose and witty humor that our choice was a good one! We are very happy to have him join us and suggest you check out his profile on our “About” page for more information.

That said, his piece today is a request on my part to have him share his knowledge on the native Valencian grape, Vernil, as a reaction to a rather blah experience we had while in Valencia. Although Vernil had a nice aromatic nose, we found the palate to be a touch empty, lacking in both body and acidity. So I tried to do a little research on the grape to see if others were having the same experience, when I came across John’s description of Verdil on his website, Wines of Valencia. The proverbial light bulb went off, and it suddenly occurred to me that there would be no better person to tackle this subject than John.

John, thanks and welcome aboard!

The wine reference books I have to hand don’t have much to say about the Verdil grape. The “Oxford Companion to Wine” says it makes “rather neutral wine” in Yecla and the southernmost part of Valencia, while my much-thumbed “Dictionary of Drink” says incorrectly that it is grown in the Alicante region. …

Today, we have an announcement. This Thursday, if the planets align and Twitter stays live for more then 10 minutes,  we’ll be tasting wines with the prestigious wine importer, Eric Solomon of European Cellars and the new online wine retailer Binendswine.com. When I started in wine, 10 years ago, Eric’s wines were some of the first inspirations that brushed my young immature palate. Wines like Hecula from Yecla, motivated me to learn about unknown regions and wines. Hence, I was super excited when Craig Drollet of Bin Ends Wine invited Gabriella and I to help host a tasting with Eric on the micro blogging platform of Twitter. On the 17th of July, around 7pm eastern, you can sign into Twitter and taste with us, as we discuss the following wines:

For those of you unfamiliar with D.O. Yecla, I can assure you that it’s not something you’d say when tasting a glass of old milk, well past its suggested date of consumption. “D.O Yuck-la?!” Instead, this tiny D.O, with only 4,300 hectares under vine, is increasingly gaining in popularity abroad, as traditional winemaking is crafting high-quality wines made from the Monastrell variety.

Located in the northern eastern corner of the political region of Murcia (Spain), DO Yecla is surrounded by three other DO’s: Jumilla to the southwest, Almansa to the north and Alicante to the east. Having driven through this area only once in route to Bodegas Castano, I can tell you that the area is absolutely gorgeous, with rolling hills and sandy lime soils. Yecla is also enjoys both the temperate Mediterranean climate coming from the east and the continental climate from the central upland plateau known as La Mancha. Therefore, summers are generally long, hot and dry with mild, cool winters, and very little rainfall throughout the year.

DO Yecla is not primarily known for its whites or roses, however, although I have read that they produce some lovely examples made from Merseguera, Macabeo and Malvasia. Instead, what I am familiar with is their dark violet reds commonly made from Monastrell, showing lovely dark fruits and spices and fine silky tannins. These are typically fruity dense wines that tend to marry well with rich foods.

Today, we popped open a bottle of 2004 Cueva de los Secos from Bodegas y Vinedos del Mediterraneo. Interestingly, unbeknown to us until today, this winery is actually located in Jumilla and under the control of Bodegas Castaño, but named Bodegas y Vinedos del Mediterraneo in order to avoid confusion …

Last week, we sent out an email to both Portuguese and Spanish wineries asking for a brief quote in English about their region. Interestingly, we’ve received several quotes from Quintas around Portugal, but very few from Bodegas in Spain.

However, considering the harvest has commenced as early as August in some regions, and as late as November in others, we felt an ongoing commentary might be worthwhile. Therefore, every Friday, we will post all the updates we’ve received throughout the week, and if we haven’t covered a specific region that sparks your interest, please don’t hesitate to ask.

PORTUGAL

Ribatejo
José Monteiro de Matos - Quinta Monteiro de Matos
“Harvest is delayed around 1 week, but the treatments were made at the correct time, and we will have a slightly increase in production this year. The grapes are in a good sanitary condition, and we are expecting great wines.”

Douro
Sebastião Mesquita - Quinta de Ventozelo
“This year’s harvest has been delayed two weeks. It’s been a very humid year with high temperatures during the maturation stage, a very positive situation for the phenolic maturation and tannins levels. The current situation is promising: the acid-sugar balance is very good and we have high levels of polyphenols. If weather conditions remain the same for the next 2 or 3 weeks, we foresee an excellent harvest”

José Moreira - Sociedade Agrícola Quinta Seara d’Ordens, Lda
“In accordance with the 3 finish weeks of good time, perspective a good year of quality. The beginning of vindima will be in day 12 of September, starting with the White wines and followed with the Reds. All the grapes are with a very good state of maturation, even so the level of amount wait a lesser harvest in relation to the …