The winery’s location will determine what wine laws it may choose to participate under. Wine laws are meant to strengthen the branding relationship between winery and consumer by informing the customer what level of quality, approved varietal used, and production methods were imposed to produce a bottle of wine.

There are grapes in the world that are planted in a wide range of environments. This is an absolute understatement. Of this vastness is a small number of varieties that have easily traveled from their homelands and have been planted around the world. Why? Because they are proven grapes that can produce high-quality wines and are not too fussy about where they are planted.

Have you ever put a glass of wine up to your nose and noticed prominent aromas of flower, and wondered those notes come from? I can, with good conscience, confirm that floral scents in wine DO NOT come from a winemaker dipping an extra-large tea bag of dried flower petals into their tank or barrel of wine. The answer to the question, “Well, from where then?” is chemistry. I know that your eyes are now glazing over, and you are being flooded with memories of high school lab, and the smell of burning sulfur is filling your nostrils and making you cough. Bear with me, okay?

When we think of certain grapes, we may immediately think of the specific country, region, or specific city, and it is often the place where the grape originated or first attained notoriety. The Albariño grape may lead you to think of Northwest Spain’s Rias Baixas region, and Pinot Noir may bring you to Burgundy, in France. If you shop wine store shelves, often you may see the name of a familiar grape, but from a place far away from the grape’s origins.
This week City Vino’s tasting will feature wines made with the grapes that will perhaps lead you to say (or at least think) “I didn’t know they grew that there.”