Attention wine enthusiasts: a little exercise for you. Think of a country. Next, think of a wine region in that country. Now think of a grape from which wine is produced in that country.
What is your answer?
Perhaps your answer was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley right here in the USA. Maybe you are a bit more wine savvy and thought of a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France. Perhaps you are wildly in love with viniculture and thought of a Sauvignon Blanc from Auckland, New Zealand, or thought of a Riesling from Pfalz, Germany, or even a Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina- and maybe you even thought of a tempranillo from Rioja in Spain. Whatever your answer, it shows that you know your wine, and that ultimately is most important.
When I participated in this exercise, my first response was a ‘tinto fino’ or tempranillo from Ribera del Duero. The truth is, I am obsessed with everything Spanish. Those who know me best can testify to that. Most probably know the story well by now, but I was fortunate to have lived in the capital city of Asturias, Spain, a few years ago for a study abroad program. I now look back to nights where I would drink an awesome ‘tinto’ from Ribera del Duero, indulge in a mixed plate of jamon iberico, chorizo, and manchego cheese served with freshly baked artisan bread and not spend more than ten euros. How could you not fall in love with that? After living in Spain, I came to realize that no specific topic of Spain or Spanish wine culture can be analyzed or even discussed without first taking a look at the history of Spain.
So let us retreat back to the 8th century when the Moors occupied virtually all of Spain. The Moorish occupation is of incredible interest to me because its influence is seen so easily in Spain’s architecture. If you go to southern Spain, you can detect the extreme Islamic influence, compared to the Romanic influence in the north. Moorish occupation lasted until the latter part of the 15th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and even today, there exists the camino Frances, or French road, a route through Rioja named for French pilgrims who, with millions of other devout Europeans, walked across Spain to the shrine of the apostle James in Santiago de Compostella (located in the far west autonomy of Galicia).
Needless to say, these French pilgrims did not just walk right through Rioja — they stopped to drink wine. After all, these French Europeans were not Islamic Moors, so they could and did drink. An important note for Spanish wine history: in 1780, a Rioja wine-maker by the name of Manuel Quintano adopted a Bordelaise method of aging wine and began successfully aging his wine in oak wood. Unlike the French, Quintano used large barrels, which would later be considered a Spanish signature (aging wine in large oak barrels for long periods of time). For example, Marques de Murrieta, a famous Spanish vineyard, released its 1942 Gran Reserva in 1983.
Karen MacNeil in The Wine Bible writes, “The 1850s and 1860s were difficult times for French vinters, and the wine-makers throughout northern Spain profited from the distress of their French counterparts.”
During these times, a parasitic fungus attacked French vineyards, which naturally drove the demand for Spanish wine to unseen levels. During this period, the Rioja wine region grew by 40,000 acres. Even some French wine-makers migrated permanently to Rioja to begin producing French-style Boudreaux. Just imagine: if the demand for Spanish wine continued, today we would probably be talking about how under-appreciated French wines are today rather than Spanish wines. Unfortunately, Phylloxera overtook Rioja in 1901 and wiped out more than 70 percent of the vineyards.
Many French wine vinters living in Spain moved back to France, which initiated a downward spiral in the popularity of the Spanish wine market. A combination of World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II and communism led to the serious demise of many Spanish vineyards.
One of the things that I find so interesting about the history of Spanish wine is that Spain’s vinters almost anticipated the boom that would take place nearly 100 years later. Franco’s dictatorship discouraged commerce with some countries, but Francisco Franco finally died on November 20, 1975 which caused the repressive walls to crumble. Spaniards know and have always known that this red grape juice was like liquid gold, so they kept growing it even through hard times. Democracy and capitalism have slowly taken route in this very traditional culture, and both wine quality and wine sales have never been better.
But Rioja is not the only region worth admiring. Karen MacNeil notes in The Wine Bible, “that in fact, two of Ribera del Duero wines – Unico from Vega Sicilia and Pesquera- are among the most outstanding red wines anywhere in the world.” Another interesting fact is that according to the European Economic Community statistics, Spain has more land planted with grapes than any other country in the world- some 2.9 million acres.
I’ll leave you with this quote taken from an article entitled “Spain, The Next Italy” by Jerry Adler: “[Spanish wines] are among the most under-appreciated wine values on the planet.”
For now, that is. Have fun, and enjoy some incredible Spanish wine … I will!
Entender es disfrutar,
Josh
