News from the vine!
The next On-Air Wine Tasting on Bay Radio will be on Sunday 11th September from 12:00 – 13:00 hrs Spanish time. I’ll be suggesting two wines to accompany the Recipe of the Week, supplied by co-presenter Noelle (with hubby, Bob). It’s a fun slot where you can learn a little about Spanish wine and maybe choose one (or both!) of the wines next time you are shopping!
„
Die Trauben für guten Wein hatten
die Alicantiner schon immer“, erklärt
Colin Harkness. Der Brite ist
anerkannter Weinexperte an der
Küste. Er schreibt unter anderem
für die Wochenzeitung „Costa
Blanca News“ eine Wein-Kolumne.
„Nur leider haben die Alicantiner
früher nicht viel mit ihrem Wein
angefangen“, sagt der 58-jährige.
Der gegärte Saft, der bedingt
durch das gute Klima besonders
fruchtig und alkoholhaltig ist, wurde
Weinexperte Colin Harkness
früher nur im Fass angeboten,
nicht in Flaschen. So wurde er vorwiegend
in der Region getrunken.
Außerhalb wurde der Wein nicht
verkauft. Zusätzliches Geld verdienten
sich die Winzer mit dem
Verkauf von Trauben nach Frankreich.
„Um etwas Sonne in den
französischen Wein zu geben“, sagt
Weinexperte Harkness und grinst.
Vor 30 Jahren hätte kein Buch der
Welt Alicantiner Wein erwähnt.
Das bestätigt auch Oller aus
Teulada: „Früher haben wir alles
nur in Fässer gefüllt. Irgendwann
stellte sich aber heraus können, dass
wir den Wein teurer verkaufen,
wenn wir ihn in Flaschen anbieten.
Heute verkaufen wir 95 Prozent unserer
Produktion in Flaschen.“
Der Aufschwung, den der Alicantiner
Wein genommen hat, ist
mit einem Namen verbunden: Erst
Enrique Mendoza habe dem regionalen
Wein zu Ansehen verholfen,
ist Harkness überzeugt. „Er wollte
Qualitätswein herstellen und das ist
ihm gelungen“, sagt der Experte.
Enriques Sohn Pepe Mendoza
In den Edelstahltanks findet die kontrollierte Fermentation statt. erinnert sich: „Als ich klein war, inden 70er Jahren, hat mein Vater mit mir und meinem Bruder Julián an alten Maschinen etwas Wein für die Familie hergestellt. Nur etwa 10.000 Liter haben wir produziert. Dann hat er sich irgendwann die Frage gestellt, ob er es lassen soll oder die Produktion ausbaut.“Pepe Mendoza leitet heute gemeinsam mit seinem Bruder die Bodega in L’Alfàs del Pi. Zugute sei ihrem Vater der technische Fortschritt gekommen, sagt Harkness. So stieg man von Fässern oder Zementtanks auf Edelstahl um und konnte den Fermentationsprozess besser kontrollieren. Das wichtigste, meint auch Harkness, sei die Kontrolle über die Temperatur. „Mendoza hat das verstanden und konnte so qualitativ hochwertige Weine produzieren.“ Die Bodega in L’Alfàs del Pi hat die Herkunftsbezeichnung D.O. Alicante, die es bereits seit 1932 gibt, entscheidend vorangebracht, mittlerweile ist der Ruf des Alicante-Weins auch international gestiegen. Die Bodega Mendoza verkauft ihre Weine längst nicht mehr nur in Spanien, sondern exportiert in 23 Länder. „Ein guter Wein muss aber nicht immer D.O. gekennzeichnet sein. Oft schmecken auch Vinos de la Tierra, und nur weil sie nicht alle erforderlichen D.O.-Regeln erfüllen, dürfen sie die Herkunftsbezeichnung nicht übernehmen“, erklärt Harkness.
Der Weinexperte Colin Harkness bietet Weinproben, Touren oder Bodegabesuche an. In der Erntezeit fährt er zu ausgewählten Alicantiner Bodegas. Infos unter www.colinharknessonwine.com oder per Mail an colin@colinharknessonwine.com .
NOTA DE PRENSA
PAZO DA BOUCIÑA SE HACE CON LA MEDALLA DE ORO DE LA XXIII CATA CONCURSO RÍAS BAIXAS ALBARIÑO DE CAMBADOS
8 de agosto de 2011.- Después de catar 60 marcas de Rías Baixas en dos días, los profesionales que integraron el panel de cata de la XXIII Cata Concurso Rías Baixas Albariño decidieron que los premios de esta edición recayesen la medalla de oro en la marca Pazo de Bouciña, de la adega Arousa de Bebidas; la medalla de plata en el Rías Baixas Albariño de Esencia Divina, Bodegas Gran Vinum y; la medalla de bronce en Bouza de Carril, de la bodega Bodega Bouza de Carril.
I was honoured to be one of the above 25 panelists (in fact the only foreign wine critic invited!) in this major wine tasting event where the best three Albariño wines of the 2010 vintage were determined!
Sitting on the panel as an equal with such luminaries as: Antonio Palacios (master wine maker, President of the Federacion Española de Asocianes de Enologos, and a member of the Palacios family, the most famous winemaking dynasty in Spain);
His young daughter Barbara, a fine winemaker in her own right, whose fledgling Barbarot Bodega, with its excellent Vino de Autor Rioja wine, would surely be voted Best Newcomer, if there was such a title in La Rioja;
Jesús Flores, doyen of Spanish wine writers and tasters, author of several acknowledged wine books and guides, in fact the Spanish equivalent of Hugh Johnson;
Pablo Amate, renowned national wine and food critic on radio and in various newspapers and magazines;
Cristino Álvarez, famed wine critic and writer who has attended over 20 of these catas over the last decades;
Plus many more, was of course a memorable experience, to say the least!
Thus, as a panelist, I played a part in deciding which Albariño wines were the best three of the 2010 vintage:
1st Place – Pazo de Bouciña, Gold Medal
2nd Place – Esencia Divina, Silver Medal
3rd Place – Bouza de Carril
The owners of the bodegas making these wines were delighted when the announcement was made in front of TV Cameras and hundreds of invitees including dignitries, politicians, celebrities and of course the judging panel!
My congratulations to the winners of course but also to all the others who make the excellent Albariño wines of Denominación de Origen Rias Baixas, Galicia.
CELLER CAPÇANES
DENOMINACIÓN DE ORIGEN MONTSANT
I first tasted a Celler Capçanes wine fourteen years ago. It was a fine welcome for one who was intent on enjoying and learning more about the wines of my adoptive country. It helped confirm that I had made the right decision to emigrate! Some years later when my wine writer colleague, Tim Atkin, who, with others, was asked to declare the wine he had enjoyed most that year, he named Capçanes’ Cabrida as his favourite, to the surprise of his fellow commentators.
The Co-operative winery Celler Capçanes, though delighted of course, was also somewhat surprised! To be singled out for producing the wine that such a famous luminary preferred, in a year when he had no doubt been tasting wines from all of the ‘best’ wine producing areas of the world, was quite a feat. In some ways though, it didn’t surprise me.
Mas Collet, the Capçanes wine that I first tried, was clearly a memorable delight all that time ago, so it’s no wonder that their flagship wine, several years later, should receive such an accolade. Readers can therefore imagine how keen I was to take up their invitation to visit the tiny village of Capçanes, in the province of Tarragona, and see for myself how this remarkable winery operates.
With some of the vineyards being under 200 metres above sea level, and indeed not many kilometres from the tourist beaches of this southern-most Province of Cataluña, one might doubt the possibility that top quality wine can be made here. However the exceptional terroir, which boasts three different soil types; the advantageous microclimate (it was typically misty and cool in the vineyards on the morning we visited, having left glorious sunshine on the coast); the beneficial vineyard aspects to the sun; and the dramatic difference between day and night time temperatures, mean that any lack of altitude is insignificant.
Practically all of the villagers (pop. 400) agreed to group together and form a co-operative during the 60’s to redefine their identity from cottage industry to that of a corporate entity, thus empowering the growers, with a view to improving profit. All for one and one for all.
En Granel (bulk) wine was the name of the game as there were still not that many wine producing areas in those days which had foreseen the necessity to bottle wine. Whilst not exactly becoming a force in the wine world the co-operative survived, just about satisfying its members.
There was a change in the 90`s. Some of the heavyweight wine producers of the larger area, Torres for example, came searching for good quality grapes to help expand their wine portfolios, and of course their profit! Indeed in 1995 Torres was buying 80% of Capçanes’ grape production. The phrase ‘all eggs in the same basket’ comes to mind, and fortunately the co-operative’s management saw the possible outcome, as it noticed that Torres and others were also starting to buy land in the area. Would this mean that their main customer would soon forsake their grapes, preferring their own?
It’s a long story but the grape growers of this unique area of Cataluña decided to act to protect their interests. They lobbied the powers that be to have the area declared a Denominación de Origen and were successful in creating DO Priorat and DO Tarragona.
It was noted that wines coming from the area around Falset made under the auspices of DO Tarragona had a unique character. Falset was therefore made into a special sub-zone, with wines bearing this information on the label being the most sought after.
Celler Capçanes is in the middle of this sub-zone and whilst enjoying the extra impetus and renown they were also conscious that they were nevertheless still a part of DO Tarragona, which was very much in the shadow of the more illustrious DO Priorat. Back to the lobbying drawing board! They needed a third DO creating, recognising the individual character of their area!
The 2000 vintage, two millennia after the Romans had first planted vines in these rolling hills of Tarragona, was the first for DO Montsant – the new, distinctive DO of Cataluña!
More wines from Celler Capçanes next week – including the Jewish Connection!