Wine of the Canary Islands
Without a doubt, the Canary Islands re one of the most singular and unique wine growing zones I have had the pleasure of visiting. Climbing quickly from the sea up into the mountains, looking out over a volcanic landscape, one's imagination is jolted by an odd marriage of sensory data. For instance, seeing banana groves and vineyards within eyesight of one another. Or feeling the cool ocean air suddenly dispersed by a brutally hot wind that has blown over the Sahara, as I am standing there in a vineyard, with black ash at my feet.
Today we are featuring two wineries, Bodegas Bermejos & Envinate.
--Bodegas Bermejos--
On the island of Lanzarote, the eastern most island of the Canaries, we find Ignacio Valdera, owner and winemaker of Bodegas Bermejos. Bermejos take its name from the local name of the color seen off in the volcanic hills, which in English we would call Vermillion, but this color changes with the weather and tie of day. Located just 125 kilometers off the coast of Africa, Lanzarote has some of the warmest weather in the Canaries due to the Calima, a wind that blows over the Sahara, carrying heat and dust to the Canaries. A volcanic explosion in the 18th century left over 5 meters of black volcanic ash on the island. In order to grow vines, holes, called 'hoyos', were dug down in the soil. This serves a two-fold purpose, it allows the vines the chance to struggle for nutrients, but it also provides very important protection from the winds, which can be quite strong, and quite warm.
Today on offer we have a delicious white wine from Los Bermejos, their Malvasia Volcanica, a unique grape of the island, which is a hybrid of Malvasia Aromatica and Marmajuelo, an indigenous grape with a peach-colored skin. This wine is clean and steely, exploding with citrus and mineral flavors. An amazing pairing for seafood, vegetable dishes and salads.
--Envinate--
Envínate (which translates as "wine yourself") is the project of four friends, winemakers Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez. Formed in 2005 while studying winemaking in Alicante at the University of Miguel Hernandez, upon graduation, the four friends formed a wine consulting agency, and this evolved quickly into Envinate, a project which seamlessly melds the traditional with the natural.
Envinate focuses on 'Vinos Atlanticos', or wines that are coastal and show the influence of the ocean. Predominantly, this gang of four focuses on the Canary Islands and the Ribeira Sacra in Galicia. Their collective goal is to make very pure wines that express the place and parcel the grapes come from. With this in mind, they use no chemicals in the vineyards, all parcels are picked by hand, the grapes are crushed by foot and the wines are fermented solely with native yeasts. Sulphur is kept to an absolute minimum, if used at all. And the wines are aged in concrete or older neutral oak barrels.
These are some of the most progressive and delicious wines coming out of Spain today, and not particularly easy to come by.
We are happy to offer today the Benje Tinto 2019, from the Santiago del Teide district of Tenerife, located at about 1,000 meters above sea-level. High elevation LIstan Prieto (aka the Mission grape) with some Tintilla, another native grape to the region. This is a very pure expression of high altitude volcanic wine. Red fruits, peppercorns, fig leaf all show beautifully in the glass, and this wine pairs well with red meats and quarantine, for those who wouldn't mind that jolt of imagination right about now!
We also have on offer this week two other Spanish and Portuguese wines as well. Here's pricing--
Bodegas Bermejos | Malvasia Volcanica 2019
Normally $18.00
Email Discount. $15.00
Envinate | Benje Tinto 2019
Normally $33.00
Email Discount. $29.00
Vale da Capucha | Clima 2015 (natural red wine from Portugal)
Normally $18.00
Email Discount $15.00
Fedellos do Couto | Conasbrancas 2016 (delicious white wine from Galicia)
Normally $23.00
Email Discount. $19.00
To order, please email us at info@homespunfoods.com , and we will do our best to accommodate each order.
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We look forward to seeing you again soon!