Category: Tempranillo

A nice reward

After a great workout on the ice and nicely centered scratch spin, I decided to reward myself. I went to the Summerhill Tasting Tower to see what was on the menu tonight. To my delight they had some new wines to taste!

Milton Vineyard Te Arai Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2007 (new zealand) $21.95
A wonderful expression of this grape variety. I just love the Chenin Blanc grape. You see many wines coming out of South Africa but New Zlealand has some great wines made from this variety also. This is one of them. It was delicious. I was introduced to this wine producer at the New Zealand Wine Fair last year. They make some fantastic wines from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay to Viognier.  On the website, it says that this wine is certified organic. This means that the everything from the growing, processing and bottling of the wine was made using non-toxic/chemical methods. A white wine with great vibrant fruit and good acidity, it’ll be a hit at your next spring soirée.

Finca Sobreno Crianza 2006 (spain) $17.95
I really enjoyed this wine this evening. It was much better than I expected only because a product consultant at my local LCBO had me try this wine last week from a bottle that had something horribly with it. Bleh. It was awful. It was a good exercise to try a corked wine. When I tried this wine tonight, I loved it. There was nothing corked about it.  It was smooth with an enjoyable finish. I loved the aroma. Having been aged in older casks of American oak for seven months, it had a really fragrant nose of black fruit and cedar. This wine comes from the Toro region of Spain. It’s made with the grape variety Tinta do Toro, which is another way of saying Tempranillo.

More spring sippers…

Going through this release of Vintages featuring Spain, I was so happy to see one of my favourite whites to come through again. When you think of Spanish wines, you’d probably think of only red wine but Spain has some amazing white wines to offer as well. The first two wines below were one of the first ones posted on the yummygrape.com when the blog was first created. I’m going to post them here again because they’re just that yummy! 
This is one of my favourite whites at this price point. It’s just fabulous! Always a crowd pleaser.  It’s crisp, dry with lots of pear and floral notes. What I love most about this wine is the texture. It’s very smooth and almost creamy. It leaves your mouth feeling alive and fresh! Ok, maybe I went to far with the “alive” part. I will definitely stock up on this wine for the up-coming summer months. The Albarino grape variety thrives in Northwestern Spain in the region called Rias Baixas. The Albarino grape likes the cooler, wetter conditions.  Being that Rias Baixas is influenced by the Atlantic ocean, the location seems ideal for this grape.

This is always a wine that I enjoy. I’m happy to see it back at Vintages! I always enjoy the Tempranillo-dominant wines from the Rioja region. Made 80% from the Tempranillo grape variety (other varieties are Mouvedre and Grenache), this wine has lots of black plum, licorice and smoke (from aging for 1 year in both American and French oak). Reserva means that this wine has seen some extra aging. It has spent an additional time aging in the bottle before being released. The website says an additional 24 months! In total, this wine was already 3 years old by the time it hit the store shelves. It’s a wonderful Spanish wine for just under $20. Be careful, it’s just too easy drink.

Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte (Portugal) $7.95
This white wine is from Portugal. It was being sampled at the Summerhill LCBO along with roasted halibut fish with artichokes and lemon (are you salivating yet?). Made from the Portuguese grape variety Vinho Verde, this wine was fresh and very fruity. You can’t go wrong with this wine for this price. Enjoy it with seafood or as an aperitif.