Spain/Sherry Flashcards
What is the top red grapes of Spain?
Tempranillo
Garnacha
What are the classic top regions of Spain?
Rioja DOCa Jerez DO (Sherry)
What are other important regions in Spain?
Ribera del Duero DOCa
Rias Baixas DO
Priorato DOCa
Cava DO
What is the climate in Spain?
Northern Spain: temperate to warm
Southern Spain: hot
Where does Spain rank in total wine production?
3rd in the world
Related to other countries, how much vineyard acreage does Spain have?
The most in the world
What type of wine law system does Spain use?
DO laws (Denominaciones de Origen)
Based on French AOC
Top-quality wines labeled by region
Strict regulations (method/grape varietals)
Who regulates the Spanish wine laws?
consejo reguladores
These are regional councils who establish, administrate, and regulates the official winemaking laws and regulation in each particular region.
What are the four levels of wine classifications?
vino de mesa "table wine" vino de la tierra "country wine" Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica Denominacion de Origen (DO) Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa)
vino de mesa
lax production standards
grapes can be grown anywhere in Spain
vino de la tierra “country wine”
restrictions are stricter than table wine
grapes must be grown in one of a handful of large recognized areas
Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica
Grapes grown in specific region Stricter regulations (grape varietals, yields, winemaking practices)
Denominacion de Origen (DO)
Select areas
Strict guidelines
Approved grapes
Reduced yields, aging minimums, specific winemaking practices
Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa)
“qualified designations of origen”
only granted to regions that have had DO status for more than a decade along with a track record of historically top-quality wine
vino de pago
DOC and DOCa can earn this designation
means “estate bottled”
Single-estate wines, to-quality reputation
Vino tinto
Red wine
Vino blanco
White wine
Vino rosado
Rose wine
Bodega
Winery or wine estate
Seco
Dry
Dulce
Sweet
Joven
A wine released young, usually with no oak aging
Crianza
Typically a wine aged for at least two years, several months of which must be in oak barrels; regulations differ in various appellations
Reserva
Typically a wine aged for at least three years, one of which must be in oak; regulations differ in various appellations
Gran reserva
Quite often a special wine, typically aged for at least five years, two of which must be in oak, regulations differ in various appellations
What is significant about Albarino from Spain?
NW Spain - Rias Baixas DO Light to Medium Bodied Wines Zesty acidity, bursting with ripe fruit flavors peaches, citrus, melon, kiwi Aged in stainless
What is significant about Garnacha from Spain?
Famously grown in southern Rhone of France
Originated on Spanish soil
Heat loving varietals ripens fully in Spain’s warm climate
Powerful High Alcohol Cooked Red Fruits Spice Usually blended Priorato (NE) - single-varietal wines
What is significant about Tempranillo from Spain?
Most important
Featured widely in the top red wines from Spain
Rioja DOCa and Ribera del Duera DOCa
Med-Full Bodied wines
Powerful tannin tructure
Ripe cherries, strawberries, spice, clay, leather
Oak aging
What are other notable grapes from Spain beside Albarino, Garnacha, and Tempranillo?
Airen (white, table wines)
Monastrell (AKA mourvedre)
Verdejo (white)
Viura (white)
What is the difference between French and American Oak?
French:
-come from 1 of 5 specific forests
-flavors: subtle, spicy, textures of satin or silk
American:
-grown in 18 different states (midwest + Oregon)
-flavors: cream soda, vanilla, coconut, stronger flavors and creamier texture
When did Rioja winemakers start aging their wine in oak?
Late 1700s mimicking French winemakers in Bordeaux
What is the history in Rioja when phylloxera happened?
1850s and 1860s Rioja remained free of the pest Sale of wines skyrocketed 1000s of new acres planted Winemakers from Bordeaux migrated to Rioja Introduced French methods and philosophies Phylloxera spread to Rioja around 1900 Two world wars
What is the climate, top grape and important facts about Rioja?
Climate: dry and continental
Grape: Tempranillo
Important Info:
-Red wines considered Spain’s best
-Most wines are blends but focus on Tempranillo
-Aging is important, extended barrel time common
What geographical elements are important in Rioja?
Cantabrian Mountains to the north protect it
Ebro River calley just south
High elevation keeps it dry and continental
What are the three zones in Rioja?
Rioja Alta (west) Rioka Alavesa (north) Rioja Baja (eastern)
What is the top wine at Vega Sicilia
Unico - Spanish for unique
expensive and highly prized
Which river flows through RIbera Del Duero DOCa?
Duero River flows through middle of region
Heads west to Portugal
Knwon as Douro Riber in Portugal
What are flavor characteristics of wine from Riber Del Duero DOCa?
Red
Leather
Dark Fruit
Powerful Structure
What is Tempranillo called in Ribera Del Duero DOCa?
Tinto del Paias
What is Spain’s most important sparkling wine called?
Cava
How is Cava produced?
metodo tradicional (same as Champagne)
Cava is Catalan for “cava”
Reference to the extended aging period for these wines
Very different than Champagne because of soil and grapes used
What is unique about Cava from Spain?
Warm conditions
Allows grapes to ripen
Results in more body, less acidity, ripe fruit, citrus flavors
Which wines are used in Cava?
Macabeo
Parellada
Xarel-lo
(Chardonnay now allowed)
What is Rias Baixas DO known for?
Whites
Albarino
All wines from Rias Baixas that list Albarino on the label means it’s 100% Albarino
Where is Priorato DOCa and what is it known for?
NE Spain
Red wines from old vine Garanacha/Carinena (Carignan in France) using modern winemaking techniques (aged in small French barrels)
Now grows Syrah, Merlot, Cab Sauv too
What is the climate in Jerez?
Located along the Atlantic coastline/southern Spain
Fiercely hot
Tempered by ocean influences
What is the top white grape in Jerez?
Palomino
What are important Fino styles of Sherry?
Fino Sherry
Manzanilla Sherry
Amontillado Sherry
What are important Oloroso-Style Sherries
Oloroso Sherry
Cream Sherry
Pedro Ximenez (PX) Sherry
What is the solera system and why is it important?
Many sherries rely heavily for their flavor prodile ont he solera system
The solera system is a system of fractional blending in which wines from many different vintages are slowly mixed and aged for extended periods of time. IT leads to heavy oxidation and unique caramel and dried fruit rich flavors.
What’s a theory to why Sherry is fortified?
The fortification of Jerez’s wines helped to preserve them and they were commonly stocked aboard ships bound for long voyages.
Christopher Columbus set sail on his legendary voyae to the New World in 1492 from Jerez with fortified wines from the region.
What is the soil in Jerez?
Albariza - bright white clay
Has significant amounts of chalk
Ideally suited to the grapes in the region
What are the three grapes that can legally be grown in Jerez?
Palomino
Pedro Ximenez
Moscatel
Which grape is used for 90% of Jerez’s plantings?
Palomino
Produces bland wines
Provides a clean slate
Sherry does not derive it’s flavor profile from the grapes used in its production but rather the production itself
What is the purpose of Pedro Ximenez grapes?
Used as sweeteners
Ultra ripe grapes are dried to raisin, crushed, pressed to result in an extremely sweet juice
What is the process of drying Pedro Ximenez grapes to produce a sweet juice called?
Vino Dulce
What is a solera?
An aging system used with sherry.
4-14 American Barrels called butts
Usually stacked
1) 30% of wine on bottom layer is pulled off, bottled, and sold
2) Creates a head space that is topped up from the layer above it.
3) This topping up continues through the solera as wine is removed from each layer and used to fill the head space in the layer below.
4) Wine from the new vintage is placed in the top layer of the solera, called a criadera (nursery), to fill the headspace and begin its long journey of fractional blending through the solera.
Goal?
Consistent flavor profile
Each new vintage becomes absorbed by the solera
What are the two main types of Sherry?
Fino and Oloroso
How are fino style Sherries produced?
1) After fermentation they are tasted, graded, and classified into fino or oloroso. Usually the pale, aromatic, and lightest wines are fino-style Sherries.
2) Minimally fortified (15%ABV)
3) Placed in used barrels 75% full
4) The hope is that a flor will form
5) Flor = special kind of yeast
6) Result after aging is a light, dry sherry reminiscent of bread dough and toasted nuts
What is a flor?
A special type of yeast that forms naturally on fino-style Sherries. It forms a thick blanket which protects the wine from oxidation and slowly consumes the acid in the wine.
Describe unique elements of a Fino Sherry
Light, crisp and dry
Some of the least acidic wines (because of flor)
Delicate
Toasted almonds, should be consumed within a day or two after opening or will lose their freshness
Describe the unique elements of a Manzanilla Sherry
Produced only in Sanlucar de Barrameda
Palest, lightest, most delicate fino-style sherry
Ocean breeze gives it a salty/briny character
Light and dry
Consume fresh
Describe the unique elements of Amontillado Sherry
Receives significantly more aging that fino or manzanilla
Much of it without the presence of flor yeast
Additional aging and exposure to oxidation produces a rich, dry, dark, nutty-flavored style of Sherry
Describe Oloroso Sherry
Dark, rich, and full-bodied Exposed to significant amounts of oxidation Sweetened by addition of sweeteners Heavily fortified 18% ABV or more Stay flavorful for weeks
Describe Cream Sherry
First designed for English market
Heavily fortified
Intensely sweetened with concentrated Pedro Ximenez grape juice
Describe Pedro Ximenez (PX) Sherry
Ultrarich, almost black sherries, rich with dried fruit and burnt sugar characteristics
These sherries are produced from Pedro Ximenez
