You Say Tinto; I Say Tinta

As many drinkers of Ribera del Duero wines know, the main grape variety, tempranillo, is, somewhat confusingly, called both tinta del país and tinto fino. Why? Historically, locals referred to these simple wines (and the grapes they were made from) as tinta del país – “red [wine] of the land.” As time went on and higher-quality wines were made in Ribera del Duero, the term tinto fino – “fine red” – was increasingly used to describe both the wines and the grapes.