Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Carpe Vinum Friday Flights announcement! This week we’re heading to Spain again, as it has quickly become my favorite region in the world for the wines they produce. There are so many new and exciting wines produced here, that I could present wines from Spain every Friday, and never get bored, and never run out wines to try. If only Spain had a yearly bike race that I could follow around the regions. . .hm. . .Tour D’Espagna! Well, as a mini tour, without the bikes, I always like to have representatives from some of the better regions around Spain.

This time I’ve added a few interesting things into the mix, as well as touching on a few favorites. We’ve got a really good white wine from Rueda made from the Verdejo grape. Up until recently (in the grand scheme of things. . .within the last few dozen years) Verdejo was used to make “rancio” wines. That is to say, directly translated, “rancid” wines. Verdejo is such a delicate grape that spoils so quickly, it only made oxidized wines. With modern refrigeration and inert gasses, the grapes are chilled and kept from oxygen from the time they leave the vine to the time you open the bottle, all to protect the delicate flavors.

Also, we have a wine from the Utiel-Requena that has undergone “carbonic maceration”. Besides sounding really cool, and the fact that it’s a lot of fun to say, carbonic maceration is like the immaculate conception for wine. Whereas the grapes are normally crushed and fermentation through wild or added yeasts occurs, in carbonic maceration the grapes are left whole in sealed vats. The grape juice ferments while still inside the skins, and eventually the gasses produced within the grapes make the grapes explode. The regular fermentation occurs while under the gasses produced by the first fermentation. And did I mention it’s fun to say? But not as fun to say as “carbonic semi-maceration”, considering the extra 2 syllables. I guess it’s just me.

From there we have a Cava, which, of course, is the Spanish answer for Champagne. I think we’re all pretty familiar with sparkling wine, so there’s not much need for explanation there. . .Except if I get to use the word “disgorgement” in a sentence. That word is also fun to say. (It’s the process where the yeast sediment in a bottle of sparkling wine is removed from the bottle by freezing the necks where the sediment has settled, and removing the caps that have sealed the bottle. The pressure from inside the bottle is enough to eject the sediment without losing much wine. At that point the traditional sparkling wine cork is inserted.)

So now we’ve all learned something today: That as well as a wine geek, I’m also a word geek. The rest of the wines featured in this tasting might not have these extended stories or methods to go with them, but they’re among my favorites: Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Priorat!

So Friday, September 23rd, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Spain!
Dona Beatriz 2003 Verdejo, Rueda
Bohigas NV Gran Reserva Brut, Cava
Bodegas Iranzo 2003 Mi Nina, Utiel Requena
Bodegas Altanza 2002 Lealtanza Capitoso, Rioja
Scala Dei 2003 Priorat Negre, Priorat

More Spain!! The Exquisite Ribera del Duero!!
Corona de Castilla 2001 Prestigo, Ribera del Duero
Alejandro Fernandez 2002 Condado de Haza, Ribera del Duero

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Zinfandel!

M