Weekend Wine

One of the most common questions I hear at events involves learning to read a wine label. These questions seldom involve American wines (they should because lots of trickery goes on in this arena) – usually, what people get lost in is the old world labels.

Each European country has some of its old laws reflected on the labels. In Spain, the driving factor in quality used to be age. Our weekend wine this day is Faustino’s Crianza, a bright red Rioja from north-central Spain. The Spanish wine industry separates still wines into Crianza (aged two years, at least one in oak), Reserva (aged three years, at least one in oak), and Gran Reserva (aged five years, at least two in oak). These qualifications stem from the days when Rioja’s Tempranillo grapes were usually tannic and tough, and time on oak and in the bottle would tame the tannins. Ergo, the older, the better. In general, Crianzas are less expensive than Reservas and both are less than Gran Reservas.

Faustino’s Crianza ($13) actually goes a bit beyond the legal minimums with 15 months on oak and another two years of bottle aging. The beauty of the Spanish system is the wineries release the wines when they are ready for consumption, instead of the European norm of expecting the purchaser to do the aging in their own cellar. In the U.S., we usually consume wine on the same day we buy it at the market, so few of us get to try a well aged wine. Faustino’s wide distribution and dependable good flavors make it a good choice if you are new to Spanish wines. Try the Faustino Crianza with barbecue brisket, salmon, or a mushroom-rich vegetarian dish.