Wine of the Week - Campo Viejo - Rioja Tempranillo - 2013

Wine of the Week

Rioja Tempranillo - CAMPO VIEJO - 2013 - Rioja, Spain

Today I'm bringing you a nice value buy from Spain that can even be found in PEI. I promised my mother-in-law to do a wine she could find there so we could compare notes! This wine is made with 100% Tempranillo grapes from Spain's most famous wine region Rioja; which is centered around the town of Logrono.

Rioja lies in the northern part of Spain along the Ebro river. Red dominates the region with 75% of the production; with some nice roses and whites making up the rest. The wines are usually dominated by Tempranillo with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano also being allowed to be blended in. The wines can be light and fresh as well as big and complex that may have been matured for years before it's released, and can continue to age for decades.

There are 4 categories of aging for Rioja wines; the ages for red wines are:

Joven -                 Bottled the year following the vintage and released.
Crianza -               Total ageing = 2 years; with min 1 year in oak cask
Reserva -              Total ageing = 3 years; with min 1 year in oak cask
Gran Reserva * -  Total ageing = 5 years; with min 2 years in oak cask
                              *These wines are only made in exceptional years.

This Rioja Tempranillo is Campo Viejo's entry level Rioja wine and this one spent only 4 months in American oak. This makes it lighter and fruitier than it's bigger oakier brother, their Reserva. That one will still have some nice ripe fruit and well balanced oak. Their Gran Reserva will give you complex notes of ripe dark fruits like blue and blackberries with smokey charred wood and a spicy nutty tobacco flavour with dark mocha goodness...., (smack), (smack), (smack), oh jeez drooling on the keyboard again.

Anyways back to this wine, it is vibrant with a medium ruby colour. On the nose  there's red fruits like cherries and cranberries; with some clove and leather in there as well. On the palate it is dry, high acidity, with medium tannin and medium body. On the palate we have red fruits again with vanilla, sweet spice, and maybe a hint of that old stale back-of-the-cupboard powdered cocoa you haven't used in years, or something like that.

If you are looking for a new red to try, or want to explore the different styles and ages of Rioja wines. Start with this one at $14.95 for good value. It is a good entry point to entice the palate, but do trust me they can get a lot more interesting. If you want to treat yourself look for a Gran Reserva wine; entry level usually starts at $35+.

                              

         

               

Wine of the Week - Greece

Wine of the Week

Take me to the Greek

Wandering around the liquor store aimlessly trying to find something you haven't tried before? Why not try a Greek wine! It has been a major part of their history for thousands of years, and now more than ever they could probably use a few sales. There are over 200 grape varieties native to Greece and most of them rarely grow anywhere else. It is also home to the infamous Retsina. I hadn't heard about it until I tried one in my wine class and my first response was, "Pine-Sol? They served us some kind of fermented funky Pine-Sol?"

Retsina is an ancient white wine from Greece where they've purposely added some pine sap to it while it's a young wine. The sap is then removed at the first racking; by then the wine has taken on the distinct pine characteristics. It is usually made from Roditis and Savatiano grapes. This tradition comes from the old practice of sealing the bung of the barrel with pine sap to keep the air and bugs out. Some of the excess sap would drip down into the wine giving it it's unique flavour. It is definitely worth a try and supposedly it is a great drink when in Greece, by the sea, eating calamari, sipping what the local's call the good stuff.


Greece also makes some nice table wines both red and white. They are usually labeled by region, but sometimes the grape appears on the label as well. There are 2 main red grapes that tend to dominate. First there is Xinomavro from Naoussa. It is most similar to Nebbiolo from Italy or maybe a Pinot Noir. It is light in colour and high in acid and tannin. They can gain some complexity with age, but can sometimes lack fresh fruit and tend to be a bit more savory, spicy and earthy in nature.

The other main red grape is Agiogitiko from Nemea. Agiogitiko translates into "St. Georges grape" and was supposedly served during the Trojan war and even drank by Hercules himself in legends!  Hence have been given the nickname "Blood of Hercules". The wines come in a wide range of styles depending on how high the vines were planted on the slopes. Planted up high, there's a crisp high acidity and most of the grapes are destined for rose's. Down low in the valley where it's hot they get jammy. In the middle of the slope is usually where the money is. The wines are dark ruby in colour with red fruit, some spice, and in the one I'm drinking right now a bit of juniper berry with some toasty oak notes. Some examples are even reminiscent of a Beaujolais.

One of the main white grapes is Assyrtiko native to the island Santorini. The wines are dry high in acid with rich perfumed notes, and could be similar to say a Riesling. They also can make a nice sweet wine called Vinsanto from grapes that have been dehydrated on the vine, and then sun-dried up to 2 weeks. At this point your are almost left with raisins and the wine made from those shriveled grapes is then further aged in oak for up to more 2 years. This produces a succulent sweet wine that can taste like warm caramelized nuts.

One of the coolest things about the Santorini vines on the island is that they are trained into a basket formation. This is to protect the vine from the high winds that rip across the islands. The other notable white grape would be Moschofilero from Mantinia; which can be aromatic like a Gewurztraminer. 


Lately the wineries have been worried about the upcoming harvest. Due to the money and import restrictions on accounts and goods they are unable to get some supplies like bottles and screw tops. So hopefully we will still be getting some of their wine over here in the next few vintages. That being said you may have to go out and look for them a little; as you may not find Greek wine in every liquor store.

I've explored a little and enjoyed a few I have found; they are worth a visit. So don't wait for your trip to the Greek islands or Mediterranean coast, pick one up for a Thursday dinner at home with the cats!

Thanks for reading, and happy sippin'

Basket Trained Assyrtiko

Oregon's Willamette Valley Trip

August Wine Trip

Willamette Valley, Oregon

After a wonderful wine trip last year through Washington and Oregon; where I visited the Yakima, Rattle Snake Hills, Walla Walla, and the Columbia River Valley AVA's. I was tempted to go back and explore some more of their wonderful wines, but the thought of world class Pinot Noir's just a little more South was too great to miss.

The Willamette Valley, which I used stammer out Will-a-met-tee or the Will-a-met Valley until I saw a T-shirt in the region that just said "It's Willamette Damn-it" , got it,  Willamette rhymes with Damn it. The valley runs north south roughly from Portland to Salem and West to just past Mcminnville which is about an hour from the Coast. Here the climate is just right for the finicky Pinot Noir and they are producing some of the best, and most expensive Pinots in the world. They tend to be a bit riper than those other great Pinots, you know the ones from Burgundy. All I know is we tried a a bunch and that bunch were good and the good were a bunch of money.

We started our trip in Portland and headed east on the 99W towards Newburg. I had done some research before we left as to which wineries we might be able to afford, and what ones would be open mid-week. We hit Newburg and trying to follow google to winery I wanted to hit we landed in the parking lot of Chehalam wines, and lucky for us they were open on our pre-noon arrival. They specialize as most do, in single vineyard Pinots Noirs. They had a good range open of their Pinots as well as several of their whites. I was quite fond of their Gruner Veltliner, a delicious Austrian variety. This is a white wine that is very aromatic and crisp with jasmine sage and lemon notes. Great for road tripping and camping out of the back of your truck. The other neat thing they were doing here was wine by the growler just like a craft brewery. You buy their 1 liter bottle for $5, and they charge you the 750ml bottle price to fill it. Supposedly other wineries in the area are doing it as well, and some are using the proper 2 liter size growlers.

The next place we hit was the combined tasting room of Purple Cow and Fox Farms located downtown. Purple Cow was the one I was originally trying to find because the have a large selection of different grapes. They have a Tempranillo, Petite Syrah, Teroldego, Muscat and of course some Pinots. Some of their wines are from Californian grapes, but who cares they were well worth the taste. The service was great and we tasted more then our 5 picks; having been poured multiple vintages for some of the wines, and as well as some not on the tasting sheet. We ended up buying their Tempranillo, a dry Muscat for that afternoon, and a red blend called "Soren - Thunder of God". This big bold wine is made up of Teroldego (50%), Durif (Petite Syrah)(31%), and Petit Verdot (19%). A beautiful blend that offers many levels of complexity and keeps your lips smacking for more.

We then turned around, walked 5 steps, and settled at the tasting bar for Fox Farms. We were lucky enough to have the co-owner, David Fish pouring for us. It was one of the most informative and complete tastings I had ever had. He asked for our level of geekiness we wanted to dive into, and we went full overboard; it was great. I was even tasting the different soil samples they had from each of their trio of single vineyard Pinots. He compares them to music styles, there's a Classical, Jazz, and Rock style. We ended up buying the 2012 "Jazz" Pinot from Ribbon Ridge, as well as their blended Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. David's passion for his wines and the attention to detail during the wine-making process shows across the full range, and I could of walked out of there with all of them. Fox Farms also have a wonderful Syrah, and a Pinot Gris to round out their line up.

The last stop of the day was at the Owen Roe winery; which was bustling with activity as they were rushing to get everything bottled. Harvest is coming early this year with all the nice hot weather we had all summer. Their wines were again really delicious but mostly out of our price range. We ended up picking up their Red Table wine, Abbot's Table, and their Riesling which had some nice petrol notes like a nice Clare Valley or German Riesling. Nice nuances of green apple, crisp lime, and dried apricot on the palate and it made for a wonderful sipper on that 100 degree day.

The next day we headed south to the Dundee Hills and McMinnville areas. Our first stop was Lange, and it was well worth the twisty dirt road that climbs up into the Dundee Hills. There is a great view from their patio over looking the whole AVA. Another Pinot Noir specialist, with some nice Chardonnay's to match. I bought their entry level Pinot; as most were out of my range but we were definitely glad to taste them. Next up was Eola Hills tasting room in McMinnville. Another great find with a impressive range of wines. Great knowledgeable staff with Devon friendly pours. We ended up buying their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Syrah; both from the Columbia Valley, and their newly released 2013 Malbec. I would of loved to been able to buy any of their wines buy the case!

With wine budgets more or less depleted we headed for the coast to cool off and slowly meander our way back up North. Oregon is beautiful wine country and the lack of sales tax is a plus. Do research before you go as tasting fees and minimum purchase levels can be high; that being said I would definitely go back again. Only the next time with a thicker wad of cash. I also wish we could bring more wine back across the border; two bottles a person is a joke. Especially when you are also finding great bargains shopping with your Safeway card!

Thanks for reading, and happy sippin'!