WINE PRODUCTION – PICKING THE RIGHT GRAPES

Most Spanish wines are produced using several varieties of grapes. This process insures that the wines produced achieve the required characteristics of color, alcohol content, aging properties, balance and more. In Spain, there are over 100 grape varieties. I’m only going to list the most common grapes used in Spanish wine production. You’ll see that some grapes are used to complement others. It’s all chemistry!

• Tempranillo: Brought to Spain by pilgrims during the crusades, this grape variety is used in Spain in the Rioja region. Its wines are deep and rich in color, but lower in alcohol content. It’s often blended with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano to complement its low levels of acidity and longevity.

• Garnacha: A red grape that thrives in arid conditions, making it ideal for much of Spain’s soils. It’s used, most commonly, for blending purposes. It’s high in alcohol and has a fruity, sweet flavor – used more often in the production of rose varieties of wine.

• Graciano: Perfect for making a long-lived, soft wine, but the crop is complicated, prone to disease and low-yielding. Graciano is more commonly found in France than Spain.

• Mazuelo: The marzuelo is one of the most common varieties of grapes planted all over the world. Originally from Aragon, in Spain, its popularity has spread everywhere. In Spain, though, it’s not used as often because it’s prone to mildew and fungi. Mazuela, though, produces a high-yield of grapes, is thick-skinned, deep in color and has high tannins and acidity.

• Viura: A white grape that theoretically comes either from the Middle East or Aragon, Spain. Found around the Penedés region of Spain, this grape makes a light, dry white wine. It’s also used in the production of cava. In Northern Spain over 50,000 hectares alone are planted with the viura.

• Malvasia: A white grape variety, not as common as the viura in Spain, but used in many wines. It may have come from Asia Minor. It’s used most often in dessert wines or mixed with high concentrated dry, oak-aged wines.

• Xarello: A white grape variety only produced in Catalonia originally used for the production of Cava. Now, another winery uses this grape for Marques de Alella Clasico – a well-known wine in the region.

• Parellada: A native Catalonian grape found in the Penedés region. This grape is used in cava because of its fruity flavor and high levels of acidity.