¡Mucho Vino!

Like Rodney Dangerfield, we went Back To School, but this wasn’t Grand Lakes University; rather it was Wine School… Spanish wine school that is. Thanks to our winning blog post in the CataVino contest we recently headed down to San Diego to attend the 3 day course, put on by the Wine Academy of Spain, and our palates would never be the same.   Or should I say, “Nuestro paladar no sería la misma”?

We trekked down Interstate 5, and as they say ‘have cameras, will travel’… (yes, webisodes will be coming soon), and those cameras would be busy in the days to come as we multi-tasked like never before, to point, shoot, taste, and absorb a plethora of Spanish wine knowledge simultaneously.

Professor Esteban Cabezas

Spanish Wine Master/Professor Esteban Cabezas delivered the course with an urgency and my pen was flying across my notebook as I furiously took notes. It became apparent pretty quickly that he had a reason to speak so fast…. there are A LOT of Spanish wine regions, wine grapes, wineries etc. and he could have kept talking for a week, let alone 3 days. It was nearly overwhelming, and at one point I wondered to myself, “…do they do anything else in Spain besides make wine?”

In 2.5 days (the test was the last half of day 3), we tasted 83 wines. That’s right, you read correctly, 83 WINES!!!!

The class was a blast: it reinforced my fancy for Spanish wines. Needless to say, I added a ton of new information to the ‘Spanish wine drawer’ in the file cabinet in my head.

Some highlights:

-Spanish Cava is pretty damn good. Whether you love sparkling wine or not, you’ve got to tip your hat to Cava. It’s no joke. The 2004 Juvé & Camps Reserva de la Familia was a standout.

-Sherry baby…! I’ve didn’t think I was a sherry fan, but I was converted in San Diego. Esteban poured some Sherrys that were insane; a couple of great Olorosos and the Gonzales Byass ‘Apostoles’ Palo Cortado was ridiculous.

-Speaking of Sherry, while everyone knows about Sherry, I bet a lot of folks aren’t aware of the other wines Andalusia has to offer. We tasted some amazing still wines from the DO Sierras de Málaga, Vino de la Tierra Cádiz and Vino de la Tierra Contraviesa-Alpujarra. I particularly enjoyed the 2008 Jorge Ordoñez & Co, Botani Moscatel Seco from Sierras de Málaga, the Gonzales Byass Moncloa Cabernet Sauvignon from Vino de la Tierra Cádiz and the 2005 Bodega Dominio Buenavista ‘Nolados’ blend from Vino de la Tierra Contraviesa-Alpujarra.

-Some tasty whites from Rueda (loved the Analivia Verdejo from Felix Solis) and Rías Baixas (equally loved the Fillaboa Albariño).

-Some excellent reds from Priorat (the Scala Dei Prior was a good one), Navarra (dug the 2004 Viña Magaña ‘Baron de Magaña’) and the DO Montsant (I’m a big fan of the Can Blau).

-I could go on and on. We tasted some great wines from Rioja, like the ‘05 Dinastía Vivanco Colección Vivanco 4 Varietales. There were also several wines from Ribera del Duero, like the 2007 Bodegas Conde “El Arte de Vivir”.

At the end of it all, we tasted a lot of wine, and really broke down the long list of Spanish wine regions. the various wine-growing climates and the countless grape varieties grown there. I enjoyed learning about the rich history and wine making traditions that each of the regions had.   It was remarkable to note the difference in the way a Tempranillo drank from area to area, and depending on which area we were talking about, the Grenache grape had several different names. It was a wealth of information and I soaked it all in.

My workspace.

By the way, after lunch on Day 3, we were given a hefty test. I felt good about the blind-tasting portion, and I think I did well on the written part as well, though I did spill some Grenache from Priorat on page three…  I’m eagerly awaiting my results. In the mean time, I’m on the hunt for some more Spanish wines.

Hasta luego.