Spain: the other Wine Country

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For most of us here wine is from California plus France and Italy. If we think of Spain at all it is usually Tempranillo or maybe Albariño. Those make great wines but there is more to it than that.

Winemaking came to Spain with Phoenician and Greek traders and was widespread in Roman times. Varieties have had a few thousand years to adapt to local conditions. Winemaking underwent an hiatus with the advent of the emirate of al-Andalus in 719, but vines survived. By the end on that century the Kingdom of Asturias was established in northwest Spain and the Moors pushed back to Barcelona in the east and Zaragoza by 814. Of course, the Reconquista was slow and not complete until 1492 but winemaking came back in the northern half of Spain well before that. As you see from our map most of our wines are from the north in addition to wines from the mountains above Valencia re-conquered by El Cid in 1094.

The story of Spanish wine comes full circle to us with the introduction of vines into California by Spanish Missionaries in the 1700’s  Sean Norton from ¿Por Que No? Spanish wine imports will be on board to educate us on the wine, the land and the history while Chef Cori presents her 6 course tasting menu.