Harris Teeter Fine Wines Club - April 2010 Newsletter

Featured Wine
Spanish Vines Cinco Joses

“A friendly flavorable Garnacha”
Cinco Joses has violet and flashly purple hues. Explosive aromas of plums, blackberries and dark chocolate are friendly on the palate with soft tannins and a fruit forward character.

Spanish Vines Story
Josh Hackler is the founder and owner of Spanish Vines. Josh studied abroad in Oviedo, Asturias, a beautiful city in Northern Spain. Each Wednesday, he would gather with fellow students for lunch at a small restaurant called La Cata del Milan. After many weeks of making visits to this restaurant, Josh met the owner and they soon realized their comparable passion for Spanish wines. The owner of La Cata del Milan helped Josh develop his vision of Spanish Vines. The result is a unique approach that keeps him (and his father) traveling the diverse regions of Spain, in search of the finest wines Spain has to offer.




Josh explained his vision for Spanish Vines with the following: 
I love Spain. Loved it the first time my plane touched down; Love it each time I go back. To me, the remarkably nuanced wines of Spain are the true embodiment of its rich, brilliant culture. By personally selecting them, one vintage at a time, I get to extend a few of the country's most authentic experiences to my customers, and to do so at an unbelievably accessible price. Success for me is you falling in love with Spain, just as I did.




Cinco Joses: 100% Garnacha
Garnacha is the predominant varietal grown (some vineyards being 100 years old) in Campo de Borja, that produces more than 13,000 tons of grapes annually. Harvest takes place on the 4th week of September and first week of October. The production of this Garnacha utilizes the traditional method of fermentation at less than 80ºF in steel tanks, remaining for 8 days in stainless steel deposits in a large wine cellar with capacity for 1.5 million litres a year. Garnacha is then aged in American oak casks, with a capacity for producing nearly 400,000 gallons, or 7 to 8 million bottles a year, 60% of the production of the entire Denomination of Origin.


Bodegas Aragonesas
Bodegas Aragonesas is the producer of Cinco Joses for Spanish Vines. Bodegas Aragonesas has close control of growth, health and the harvest calenders to guarantee the quality of the grape and its collection in the exact moment of maturity. Hundreds of people work every day rigorously to employ the special care that is required in order to extract the very best from the soil of their vineyards.

Bodegas Aragonesas vineyards occupy an area of 3,500 hectares, with a height of between 450 and 500 metres and with a formation of small hills facing southeast. This area, cultivated by wine growers from Magallon and Fuendejalon, produces 12 million kilograms of grapes, with a predominance of the “garnacha” variety.

Campo de Borja
The Spanish wine producer Bodegas Aragonesas can be found in Campo de Borja Denomination of Origin. Campo de Borja has vineyards located in the foothills of the Iberian Mountain Range, in the northern part of the province of Zaragoza. All this area, which includes the foot of the Iberian Mountain Range and the high valley of the Ebro river, also shared by Navarra and La Rioja, is a privileged area for growing vineyards, both for the quality of the soil and its climate.

The soils are mainly dark lime-bearing soils, of average rockiness, good drainage, average level of organic matter and rich in nutrients. Closer to the Moncayo the clay and iron content increases, as does the general rockiness.

The climate is continental, with Atlantic influences during the winter, notably a cold, dry wind from the northeast. In summer, there is a Mediterranean influence. The temperature varies a great deal, both on a daily and on a seasonal basis. Annual rainfall is very low, only about 350 mm in the low-lying areas and 450 mm in higher areas. The vineyards are planted on a series of high plateaus at heights ranging between 350 m and 750 m above sea level.

Campo de Borja has been called the Empire of Garnacha. This is due to their vineyards and zones:

1. In the low area, between 350 and 450 metres above sea level, we find brownish-grey limestone soils and “garnachas” both in the traditional goblet formation and on trellises.
2. The middle area is characterised for having the vineyards with the largest concentration and density. It includes the vineyards situated between 450 and 550 metres above sea level. Here there are soils from the terraces of the “La Huecha” river, a tributary of the Ebro River and all the soils are stony and ferrous-clay.
3. The high area of the D.O, whose vineyards spread out from 550 to 700 metres above sea level, corresponds to the foothills of the Moncayo mountain.

Spanish Vines Cinco Joses
Cinco Joses should be served at 60-65ºF. It is ideal with pork tenderloin, braised ribs, duck, salmon, lamb and tomato based pasta dishes, and soft cheeses.

Technical Information:

Recipe - Southwestern Grilled Beef Tenderloin

Prep time: 24 hrs
Cook time: 1 1/2 hr
Serves: 10-12

Ingredients: