Hello my friends! World Verdejo Day is celebrated on the second Friday of June. So let's commemorate the D.O. Rueda this June 10th. Verdejo grape, typical of Rueda, produces wines known as fresh, acidic, aromatic and fruity. Next Friday will be the perfect occasion to taste a glass of white wine made with this native grape, without a doubt the most important white grape variety in the community of Castilla y León! The region has earned a reputation for the sustained quality of its wine productions and its limitless gastronomic potential.
Although today Rueda's Verdejo seems to have unstoppable popularity, the native grape was not always so well appreciated. In the past, Rueda was planted primarily with palomino grapes and produced heavy sherry wines. Things began to change when, in the 1970s, wine producers started to experiment and discovered Verdejo's potential. So they began to recover the varietal, investing in modern and innovative techniques at the same time. This sort of "revolution" led, among other results, to the founding of the Rueda Denomination of Origin itself. The name Verdejo comes from the Spanish word “verde” which translates to green in English. Verdejo wines generally exhibit predominant flavors of fennel, white peach, grapefruit, honeydew melon, and lime, with hints of grass and citrus.
My recommendation?! Easy... Circe by Avelino Vegas, a unique wine from the D.O. Rueda, a different Verdejo that surprises when the glass is brought to the nose and fascinates on the palate, made with grapes from old vines, from the Segovian towns of Moraleja, Aldeanueva, Codorniz and Santiuste, harvested by hand, at their optimum maturation point. A light cold maceration causes the flower must to permeate all the varietal aromas. On the nose it displays aromas of exotic fruits. It is fresh and sweet, with a soft, silky mid palate and a perfumed long aftertaste.
We also would like to recommend Nicte Verdejo Ecológico, by Avelino Vegas as well! This is an organic wine produced in the northwest of the province of Segovia, at 870 meters of altitude, within the D.O. Rueda. Nicte shows an intense greenish yellow color, clean and bright. On the nose is fresh with the typical aromas of the variety such as anise, fennel, thyme and rosemary. It feels intense on the palate, full of flavor, with a balanced acidity that leaves lengthy fresh aftertaste. Nicte is persistent, with a very mineral character which makes it gentle and complex at the same time.
Rosé wine also has its day, and it is celebrated worldwide every June 11.
Versatile, refreshing and absolutely delicious, there is so much to love about rosé! A style of wine rather than a variety rosé, has come a long way since those sickly-sweet wines of yesterday to emerge as an anytime, anywhere, food-friendly treat.
Rosé these days is decidedly dry, savory and textural and its easy-drinking nature makes it a perfect match to our laidback lifestyle. Have you ever wondered how this wine is made? First is first: rosé wine is either made only with red grapes or with a mix of red and white grapes. The most common method of production is the maceration one which involves using red grapes to make rosé. A winemaker harvests fully-ripe red wine grapes, takes them to the winery, and squeezes out the juice from the grapes. The wine is made by crushing the grapes and keeping the maceration process going within the must for certain time which is directly correlated to the amount of color and structure that we want to provide the wine with. Once the maceration time has passed, the container is bled and the now colored must is transferred to a tank to ferment the wine as if it were a white wine. Fermentation is carried out at a controlled temperature and always trying to ensure that the temperature does not exceed 25 or 26 degrees centigrade, in order to maintain all the primary aromas of the grape and making the wine very fruity.
Other methods...
Direct press is another common method which uses red grapes to produce rosé wine. The grapes are harvested, brought to the winery, and pressed to extract the juices from the skins. Unlike the maceration technique, the juice is drained off the skins almost immediately. This quick separation of skin and juice results in just enough color to make pink wine.
Saignée means “to bleed,” it is one of the most common ways to make rosé. Like the direct press method, a winemaker starts with ripe red wine grapes, but in this case the grapes are harvested for making a red wine. Saignée method rosés are often darker in color than direct press rosés and sometimes have more dark fruit notes of dark cherry, blackberry, blueberry, and herbal notes like eucalyptus or bay laurel. This method is very popular in Spain where they produce very dark red wines such as Tempranillo and Garnacha.
Similar to how the ancients diluted their still red wines with water to produce rosé, winemakers today also make rosé by blending multiple liquids. However, instead of diluting with water, they dilute with white wine. Popular in the Champagne region of France to make rosé Champagne, winemakers will produce a white wine from the grape of their choice, often times Chardonnay, and add a small percentage of still red wine made of either Pinot Noir or the more red and tannic, Pinot Meunier. This method is truly relevant when it comes to producing rosé Champagne, or sparkling rosé in general. Wine grapes such as Chardonnay have a higher amount of lipids which help to create smaller bubbles in the wine, known as the "mousse", and retain a larger concentration of bubbles for a longer period of time so that the wine doesn’t go flat.
We would like to recommend you some of our favorite rosé wines! Flor de Unx, Le Champ Des Grillons and of course, Vegas! Save the photos here below and look for them on the shelves of Milam's Markets, Grove Liquors and Jensen's Liquors. You can also find them in wine boutiques such as Clementine's Wine Gourmet, at Isla Bella Resort or Montecatini Restaurant!
And that's a wrap for today!
Have a happy week and... let's meet here next Wednesday again! Until then, Santé!
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