Herbal

When used to describe a wine with flavors or AROMAS slightly reminiscent of herbs, herbal is positive. Good sauvignon blanc, for example, is considered slightly herbal. When herbal flavors become extreme, they are often described as herbaceous, a quality some wine drinkers like and others don’t. Herbal is different than VEGETAL, a term used negatively to describe a wine with a dank green OFF ODOR.

What is the signature aging technique used for traditional Rioja wines?

A. Short aging in American and French oak

B. Long aging in large concrete tanks

C. The traditional solera method

D. Long aging in American oak

The signature of Rioja wines is long aging in oak barrels, usually American oak. The story starts in 1780 when a Rioja winemaker named Manuel Quintano adopted the Bordelaise method of aging wine and began maturing his wine in large French oak casks. Oak casks transformed his wines in a way Quintano had never anticipated. Over time, it became apparent that the new “technology” of small oak barrels would prove more economical if oak trees from North America were shipped overseas and the wood was coopered into small barrels in Spain. Today, there are two philosophies about oak when making Rioja wines. The traditionalists tend to use American oak and to cooper that oak in Spain. Modernists do the opposite: they tend to use brand-new French oak that was coopered in France.

Less Isn’t Always More

So, you’ve heard the idea: the lower the yield of grapes, the higher the quality of the wine. The rationale goes like this–the fewer grapes you grow on any one acre of land, the more… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed