Rueda Wine: 5 Important Facts to Know

             An inhospitable terroir allows only grapes & grains to grow in the harsh Rueda

The last three blogs have discussed the wines of Spain’s Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Toro wine regions.   Today we move to the final wine district in the quartet of northern Spain wine regions that Wine-Knows travelers will be visiting this autumn, the Rueda.  The first three wine regions are known for their red wines.  The Rueda, however, is all about white wine.  Below are five facts a wine lover visiting the region (or simply drinking these high QPR wines at home) should know.

1.  The Verdejo grape put Rueda on the world’s wine map. 

The Rueda is home to the largest number of Verdejo vines in the world.  98% of Rueda’s wines are white and the majority of them come from the Verdejo grape.   Research has shown that Verdejo arrived in Spain from North Africa in the 11^th century.  It gradually made its way north to the Rueda after adapting in the vineyards of Spain’s south.

Today 4 out of every 10 wine bottles sold in Spain is made from Verdejo and most of it comes from the Rueda. 

          2.  Verdejo wine is a light to medium bodied aromatic wine with the                              following characteristics:

          ~ Citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit)

          ~ Stone fruit (peach, apricot)

          ~ Tropical (pineapple, melon, mango)

          ~ Herbs (licorice, grass)

Well made Verdejo, unlike many white wines, can often age beautifully for 5-10 years developing rich textures and nutty nuances in addition to its fruit-centric tastes. 

             Stones absorb the heat during the day & warm the vines during cold nights 

3.  Rueda’s terroir forces grapevines to work hard.

Like the adjacent Toro wine region, Rueda is located on the same 2,000-3,000 foot plateau where the harsh landscape is wild and the soil is low in nutrients.  On the other hand, this higher altitude means cooler temperatures during the area’s extreme summers.  Plants are forced to work hard to survive so only grains and grape vines grow in Rueda’s inhospitable terroir.   

Rueda’s stony soils provide a great drainage system for winter rain to seep deep into the earth.  In order to live during the hot summers the grape vines must send their roots downward through the earth to seek water and nutrients.  Traversing many layers, the struggling vines bring back to the plant complex nutrients which translate into complex wines.    

The Duero River helps moderate the heat of summer and cold of winter so it’s no surprise the finest wines are made from vineyards located along the Duero’s banks.

           Wine-Knows has a harvest appointment at Menade to taste their high-scoring wines

           4.  Rueda's wine laws effect what's in your wine glass.

Rueda received official status from the Spanish Government (D.O.) as a unique region with noteworthy wines in 1980.  In order for Rueda to appear on a wine label, it must contain a minimum of 50% Verdejo.   Wines labeled “Ruedo Verdejo” have a higher bar in that they must have a minimum of 85% Verdejo grapes.  Many Ruedo Verdejo, however, are made entirely from the Verdejo variety.

The D.O. wine laws also permit blending with Sauvignon Blanc, along with Palomino, Virua, Viognier and Chardonnay.  That being said, Verdejo D.O. must be a minimum of 50% of all Ruedas made.

 

5.  The Rueda also grows some red grapes for red wine.

Up until the end of the 19th century when the vineyard bug phylloxera destroyed most of the vines throughout Europe, the Rueda region was known for its red wines.   It wasn’t until after the phylloxera pandemic that white grape vines were planted.  The Rueda, like its western neighbor Toro and eastern border Ribera del Duero, grows Tempranillo.   Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Garnacha are also permitted by Rueda’s D.O. laws.

Toro is Taking the Bull by the Horns

           The Toro wine district will be the first Spanish wine region Wine-Knows will visit 

Toro means bull in Spanish.  This tiny wine district lies just across the border from Portugal’s grape growing region for Port grapes, but it’s not just a border these two wine areas share.  The famous Douro River in Portugal flows from Portugal’s most famous viticultural region, to the city of Porto where it empties into the Atlantic.   The Douro becomes the Duero River the minute one crosses into Spain.  The Duero/Douro is actually birthed in Spain between the Rioja and the Ribera del Duero wine regions. 

                            The Duero river exerts a tremendous influence on Toro's terroir

Wine-Knows will follow the Douro to the Duero on our trip from Portugal to Spain on this autumn’s itinerary.  Toro, like Napa, is the name both of the area’s main town, as well as the wine district. While it is unclear exactly how the town’s name originated, the “bull” is nonetheless a fitting symbol for its quite robust red wines have been coveted by royalty since the 13^th Century.  

             Toro town, with a population of  8,000 persons, offers a slice of off-the-beaten-path Spain

The Toro region was among the first to be recognized by the Spanish government as having unique and special wines.  In 1933 it was granted important D.O. status which at the time was the highest quality wine in Spain.  Shortly thereafter the Spanish Civil War broke out and Toro wines were one of the many casualties.  It took 50 years for the area’s winemakers to refocus.  In 1987 a handful of local wineries banded together to reapply for a second D.O. status.   It was granted and this began a renaissance in Toro.             

  D.O. guarantees the consumer a level of quality from grapes grown under certain conditions in Toro

Fast forward to today, there are now 60 wineries in Toro.   Many of the owners of these new wineries are from outside of Toro (most notably the Ribera del Duero and the Rioja), however, some of the most illustrious movers-and-shakers in French wine have invested heavily.    Moreover, Toro is winning awards on the world-wide wine stage.  Britain’s Decanter, (their equivalent of Wine Spectator) is giving 97 point scores to Toro’s muscular reds.

          Wine-Knows will be staying in Zamora, a historic Roman city on the Duero while in Toro

If you’re one of the fortunate Wine-Knows coming with us on the Portugal-Spain tour in September, you’ll have the opportunity to taste this upcoming region’s stellar wines and learn first-hand how Toro’s unique terroir is responsible for shaping a different version of the renowned Tempranillo grape.

Ever heard of Spain's Rueda wine region?   The next blog will cover these coveted white wines made from the Verdejo grape.