Arinto dos Açores is a white grape variety indigenous to the Azores. The Azores are volcanic islands that are territory of Portugal. Visiting these islands and seeing the unique vine trellising methods is on my bucket list but for now, I am making due with drinking their wines and doing workouts filmed in the lushContinue reading “April 23rd-Arinto dos Açores”
Author Archives: Theloosetannin
April 16th-Crâmpoșie Selecţionatӑ
Crâmpoșie Selecţionatӑ is a white grape that was propagated from a hybridizing Crâmpoșie and Gordon. Crâmpoșie is an ancient grape variety from the Drӑgӑșani region of Romania. It is an autosterile variety that relied upon the Gordon grape variety for pollination. These vines were co-planted to maximize yields. Crâmpoșie Selecţionatӑ managed to survive phylloxera butContinue reading “April 16th-Crâmpoșie Selecţionatӑ”
April 9th-Negru de Drăgășani
Negru de Drăgășani is a red grape indigenous to Romania but its parentage and age are not fully known. It was thought that one parent was Saperavi, a red grape from the Republic of Georgia, but recent data shows that evidence may not be consistent with this thought. It was also believed that Negru deContinue reading “April 9th-Negru de Drăgășani”
April 2nd-Busuioacǎ de Bohotin
Busuioacǎ de Bohotin is a rare red grape grown in the Bohotin region of Eastern Romania. Most red grapes have white pulp and the resulting wines get their color from contact with grape skins. Busuioacǎ de Bohotin is a teinturier grape, meaning is one of the few that has colored pulp. This grape gets itsContinue reading “April 2nd-Busuioacǎ de Bohotin”
March 26th-Feteascǎ Regalǎ
Recently, I had the opportunity to taste a variety of wines from Romania. The first of the wines was a blend of white grapes, including Feteascǎ Regalǎ, Feteascǎ Albǎ, Chardonnay, Aligoté, Italian Riesling, and Tǎmâioasǎ Românească (Muscat Blanc). The grape I wanted to focus on was the Feteascǎ Regalǎ. Feteascǎ Regalǎ is the most plantedContinue reading “March 26th-Feteascǎ Regalǎ”
March 19th-Montefalco Sagrantino Passito
Sagrantino is an Italian red grape I previously discussed in January of 2024. This grape is also used in the production of a dessert wine called Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG Passito which is made using the passito method of drying grapes on racks to concentrate the flavors and sugars. After harvesting, the grapes are placed inContinue reading “March 19th-Montefalco Sagrantino Passito”
March 12th-Lebanese wine
It is believed that wine has been made in Lebanon for 5000 to 7000 years. The Phoenicians domesticated the first grapes in the region and spread winemaking throughout the region. In the mid 19th century, Jesuit monks brought Cinsault vines to the Bekaa Valley from Algeria (as a side note, Algeria also produced and importedContinue reading “March 12th-Lebanese wine”
March 5th-Rotgipfler
Rotgipfler is a white grape believed to be indigenous to the Thermenregion in Lower Austria. This area has been making wine since the Golden Ages but had a rebirth in the 1980s following a scandal when it was found that winemakers were adding diethylene glycol (commonly known as antifreeze) to their wines. This adulteration wasContinue reading “March 5th-Rotgipfler”
February 26th-Vranӕc
Vranӕc (also Vranec or Vranac, pronounced VRAH-netz) is a red grape indigenous to the area that is present day Montenegro. It is believed to have been grown all the way back to the middle ages but was replanted after WWII when the Republic of Macedonia had become part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.Continue reading “February 26th-Vranӕc”
February 19th-Vinsanto del Chianti Classico
I discussed a unique version of the sweet wine Vinsanto del Chianti Classico, Occhio di Pernice, on March 6th, 2024. This week, I decided I would discuss the far more common style. This style is made using only white grapes Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia, unlike the Occhio di Pernice that is mostly the red grapeContinue reading “February 19th-Vinsanto del Chianti Classico”
A Trip Around the World of Wine in 52 Weeks 