Vino Naranja – not an Orange Wine

Bitter Oranges © Dimitris Vetsikas Pixabay

Vino Naranja comes from Huelva, or rather from the DO (Denominación Origén) Condado de Huelva wine region, which, lying on the Atlantic coast of southern Spain’s Andalusia, has a long history of winegrowing. Given its location between the Portuguese border and the Jerez sherry area, it is no wonder that there still wines like Condado Pálido and Condado Viejo, which are comparable to Fino respectively Oloroso, are produced using the Solera process,

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Matured by the Foehn – Jurançon


© La Cave de Gan Jurançon
© La Cave de Gan Jurançon

Around 1,500 km separate the foothills of the Alps south of Munich and Jurançon in France, but despite this distance, both have a climatic similarity: the Foehn, a dry warm wind from the mountains, always blowing from the south. In wine-growing areas north of the Alps, in the autumn, the grapes intended for the production of a sweet wine can dry and rosinate in the vineyard on the vine, naturally concentrating the sugars. A well-known example of a sweet wine that benefits from the Foehn is a Flétri from Valais.

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Spanish Mistela – Floralis Moscatel


“We would like to introduce you to the Floralis Moscatel Oro sweet wine from the winery from Torres and at the same time arranged the dispatch of a product sample,” was written in the mail of an agency. In addition there was an attachment with informations about region, wine and winery. At that time I was in the process of working out more informations about Spanish sweet wines and therefore this wine was ok for me.. From the enclosed information I could see that the Floralis is probably a Mistela, a type of sweet wine that I had barely tasted before, so the Floralis came just right.

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Styria meets Spain

Kuerbiskernparfait mit Gewuerz-Orangen.. is applicable for the dessert Pumpkin seed parfait with spice-oranges (recipe in sweet wines and food), in which the Styrian pumpkin seed parfait is served with oranges from Spain. The two wines (tasted wines) we tasted are also of Spanish or formerly Spanish origin: a PX (Pedro Ximénez) sherry from Montilla-Moriles and a French Rivesaltes Hors d’Âge from Roussillon, – a state formerly governed by the King of Mallorca.

PX Sherry Alvear

Pedro Ximénez Solera 1927, Bodegas Alvear (16% alcohol by volume)
Dark brown, pronounced scent of raisins, in the mouth with dried dates and figs, rancio and in the background delicate eucalyptus notes. Although very sweet (405 … Read more ...