Eve's Wine 101

The Best Whiskeys in Texas from the Texas Whiskey Festival!

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AUSTIN, TEXAS (PRWEB) – Each year the Texas Whiskey Festival hosts a competition to determine who has the best Texas Bourbon, Rye, and Malt Whiskey. With a panel of judges, we conduct the competition with a method known as blind judging. The brands and specific whiskeys they are tasting are unknown to the judges. “Our panel of judges smell and taste their way through each whiskey, rating the aroma, taste complexity, and finish,” says Co-Founder Jake Clements.

Bourbon: Grain to Glass

  • Still Austin Whiskey Co. – Cask Strength Straight Bourbon
  • Shire Distilling Co. – Cask Strength Percheron Bourbon
  • Ironroot Republic Distilling – Harbinger 115 Straight Bourbon

Bourbon: Aged and Bottled in Texas

  • Iron Wolf Ranch and Distillery – 6 year Single Barrel Bourbon
  • Oak & Eden – Bourbon & Vine
  • Luckenbach Road Whiskey – Straight Bourbon

Rye Whiskey: Grain to Glass

  • Tahwahkaro Distilling – Texas Rye Malt Whiskey
  • Maverick Whiskey – Straight Rye Whiskey
  • Devils River Whiskey – Straight Rye Whiskey

Rye Whiskey: Aged and Bottled in Texas

  • William Price Distilling – Straight Rye finished in bourbon barrels
  • Oak & Eden – Rye & Rumba
  • Old Humble Distilling Company – Double Oak Straight Rye

Malt Whiskey: Grain to Glass

  • Andalusia Whiskey Co. – Stryker Smoked Single Malt
  • Acre Distilling Co. – Texas Single Malt
  • Spirit of Texas Brewing and Distilling – Pfluger Single Malt Whiskey

Other Whiskeys: includes whiskeys aged in used barrels, blended whiskey, and light whiskey.

  • Austin Craft Spirits – Austin 85 Light Whiskey
  • Maverick Whiskey – Straight Triticale Whiskey
  • Dripping Springs Distilling – Republic Whiskey

“These are their winners, but remember the best whiskey is the one you like,” says Co-Founder Jake Clements. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite distillery to decide on the people’s choice award.

You can taste the best Texas whiskeys and many more. It doesn’t matter if you are an avid whiskey drinker or think you might like whiskey this is an opportunity for you to try new whiskeys and meet the people that make them. You will get to choose from 70+ whiskeys made by the 34 distilleries participating.

It is a night of sampling new whiskey, meeting friends, and enjoying food, cigars, and music. Get your tickets HERE!

Thank you to the Crowded Barrel Whiskey Co for hosting us. A big thank you to our talented judges.

  • Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is a whiskey writer and the owner/editor in chief of The Whiskey Wash, an award winning whiskey lifestyle website.
  • Mark Shilling is the CEO at SUSTO Mezcal and Partner at Big Thirst.
  • Big Thirst represents some Texas brands, but Mark does not work on production of any brands in the whiskey category.
  • Lance Kotal, Friend of the Festival, Tejas level and a big fan of whiskey.

About the Texas Whiskey Festival
The festival’s mission is simple: To help promote and enhance the brands of the many great distilleries throughout Texas. We want to promote and educate whiskey lovers about the whiskeys produced in our great state. We’re doing it all while having fun, drinking great whiskey, and building memorable experiences. As an organization, we know that Texas has some of the best distilleries and whiskeys globally. The Texas Whiskey Festival is an opportunity to showcase that. For more information, please visit https://txwhiskeyfest.com.

Tasting Alavida Malbec, a USDA-Certified Organic + Kosher Wine

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Have you ever had a Kosher wine? That’s also organic? And a Malbec from Argentina? I’ve had all of these – but not all in the same wine. So when I was offered this unique wine to try I jumped on it! I will share my tasting notes at the end of this article, but first let me share some of the details on this “dual status” wine with some sections I’ve put in bold I found interesting and want you to take notice of:

The debut 2021 vintage of Alavida Malbec (SRP $19), new from Origins Organic Import, is Argentina’s first USDA-certified organic and kosher wine. Alavida is one of few wines worldwide to achieve this unusual dual status. Alavida is also vegan, gluten-fee, and Ecocert-approved…

 The Alavida name is a riff on “A la vida!” Spanish for “To life!” itself a riff on the traditional Hebrew toast “L’chaim!” Origins Organic is owned by husband-and-wife team Labid al Ameri and Anne Bousquet. “Argentina is a nation rich in diversity, and our own multi-cultural family has been making certified organic wines in Argentina since 1997,” al Ameri observes.

 Of necessity, fruit for Alavida must be of exceptional quality, with good concentration, and balance of acidity (a natural preservative). Why? Because USDA regulations prohibit the addition of sulfites (SO2) in winemaking. Sulfites are commonly used as a form of preservative or to help conceal natural flaws. 

 The new wine hails from high-altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley, an area identified with a growing number of the Mendoza region’s finest quality wines. Grapes grow at 4,000+ feet in the Andes foothills, where daily temperature swings of up to 60° F deliver more sugar (hot days) and more acid (cold nights). By omitting SO2, characteristics associated with the Uco Valley’s high-altitude, cool-climate terroir are heightened and enhanced. Purity of fruit, aroma, flavors, and freshness become even more apparent.

 The winemaking process for Alavida is almost identical to that used in making a non-kosher wine, with two exceptions. Ingredients such as yeast must be kosher, and the wine physically made by a Sabbath-observant Jewish team under the supervision of a rabbi. For Alavida that means double the number of people involved: a Jewish team member to handle grapes and wine, paired with a home team member standing alongside and directing. For Alavida, that entailed five duos! Winemaker Rodrigo Serrano gave the work orders; his Jewish counterparts executed them.

 Once the truck filled with grapes arrived at the winery, the Jewish team took the grapes from the truck, used the forklift, pressed the on/off button at the sorting table, and so on. Though the visiting team members were experienced winemakers, they had never worked at this quality level. At the end of each day, everything was locked by the rabbi. If winemaker Serrano wanted to take a sample, he could not do so. Indeed, if a non-Jewish person were to stumble and accidentally touch a tank, the wine is no longer kosher – representing a potential loss of 4,700 liters of wine! At the end of the process, the rabbi pronounced Alavida the best kosher wine he had ever tasted!

Alavida Kosher Malbec 2021 — Technical Data

100% Malbec

Alcohol: 14.5%

Acidity/pH: 5.77/3.68

Residual Sugar: 1.52

Alavida Kosher Malbec from Origins Organic Imports / SRP $19

Now available DC, DE, CA, CT, FL, IL, MD, ME, NJ, VT, and WA

Plus NY and OR, effective April 1.

Eve’s Tasting Notes

Starting off with a deep burgundy to purple in color, completely opaque, with just a slightly lighter edge that sparkles, inviting. On the nose I experienced aromas of plum, raspberry, dark chocolate, grilled mushroom, green peppercorn, earth, ash and coffee. The taste reminded me of dried red fruit, as well as ripe strawberry and red currant, bright and lively, with gripping tannins, no annoying acidity, a long finish and well balanced. Very interesting indeed. If I saw this in a shop I would buy it, a steal for $19.

 About Origins Organic Imports: Miami-based Origins Organic Imports is owned and run by husband-and-wife team Labid Ameri and Anne Bousquet, also the owners of Argentina’s leading producer and exporter of certified-organic wines. With Origins Organic, Ameri and Bousquet are dedicated to introducing U.S. consumers to a growing roster of well-priced, high-quality certified-organic offerings from around the world, in addition to those from their own estate.

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Discover Italy and Spain’s Greatest Wine Regions Through “Taste the Difference: Quality Wines from the Heart of Europe”

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NEW YORK (PRWEB) – After a successful 2021, “Taste the Difference: Quality Wines From the Heart of Europe”, a campaign co-financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) and the Spanish state-owned company PRODECA, will continue its mission of increasing the awareness of European PDOs (Protected Denomination of Origin) and PGIs (Protected Geographical Indication), shining the spotlight on some of the best wine producing territories of Italy and Spain.

To be classified as PDO, a wine must be made in a specific region and all the production, processing, and preparation process must occur within the same limited territory. Therefore, products registered as PDOs are those that have the strongest links to the place where they come from. For wines, this means that the grapes must come exclusively from the geographical area where the wine is produced.

To be registered as PGI, a product must have at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation taking place in a specific region. PGIs emphasize the relationship between a specific territory and the name of the product, where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. In the case of wine, this means that at least 85% of the grapes used must come exclusively from the geographical area where the wine is made.

The Taste the Difference campaign aims to expose US consumers, media and trade professionals to the most celebrated and historical Spanish wine regions of Catalonia such as Allella DO, Cava DO, Conca de Barbera DO, Costers del Segre DO, Empordà DO, Montsant DO, Penedès DO, Pla de Bages DO, Priorat DOQ and Terra Alta DO, and will elevate the tradition of Italian wines along with their ancient native grapes and historical appellations such as Prosecco DOC, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, Chiaretto di Bardolino DOC, Custoza DOC, Trento DOC, Franciacorta DOCG, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Vermentino di Sardegna DOC , Terre Siciliane IGT and many more.

This year, numerous will be the occasions, in person and online, to dive in and explore these European wine jewels with planned activities such as educational seminars, road shows, participation in industry events such as TEXSOM, press and trade trips and a media relations campaign, all supported by an informative website and social media content amplification.

First on the activities calendar are masterclasses in New York and San Francisco in March and a study trip to Barcelona in April. Wine professionals willing to deepen their knowledge of a great selection of Spanish quality wines from the region of Catalunya are invited to apply and be considered for exclusive wine tasting experiences and visits to the most evocative villages and wineries in Catalonia.

For more information about the campaign visit tastethedifference.wine or email info@tastethedifference.wine. Pages dedicated to the Taste the Difference project can be found on Facebook and Instagram

About TASTE THE DIFFERENCE PROGRAM:

The program: European quality wines: taste the difference is a project financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini and PRODECA for the promotion of PDO and PGI European wines abroad in China and US. In order to achieve this objective, the TTD.EU program will organize wine seminars, workshops and b2b meetings both in these countries and in Spain and Italy, inviting wine professionals to join study trips to Europe. The program, realized in the span of three years (2021-2023) aims at creating awareness about European quality wines, in particular Italian and Spanish, which share a long tradition and a high standard of quality.

The beneficiaries: Unione Italiana Vini is the oldest and most commissioned Association of the Italian wine market. It represents cooperative, private and agricultural wine-companies, bottlers, consortia, associations and wine-making machines or wine cellars / laboratory manufacturers, located throughout the Italian territory.

Promotora d’Exportacions Catalanes (PRODECA) is a public company established in 1986 and part of the “Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Government of Catalonia”. It supports the agri-food sector and its companies with the knowledge, tools and experience to increase their products in Catalunya and worldwide.

Day Chaser® Cocktails and Hendrick Motorsports Launch New Partnership With No. 48 Team

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CONCORD, N.C. (PRWEB) – Canned cocktail brand Day Chaser has joined Hendrick Motorsports as an official partner of Alex Bowman and the driver’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team in the NASCAR Cup Series.

With a three-year agreement through 2024, Day Chaser will be featured on the fire suits of Bowman and his No. 48 crew members. The brand will also receive prominent placement on the team’s transporter and other equipment used throughout race weekends.

In addition to Bowman and his No. 48 Chevy, Day Chaser will have rights to use the full Hendrick Motorsports stable of race cars and stylized car numbers in its advertising and promotion.

“It’s thrilling to align Day Chaser with Hendrick Motorsports, the most successful team in NASCAR history,” said David Mandler of Northeast Drinks Group, parent company of Day Chaser. “The multi-year partnership allows us to build the Day Chaser brand alongside the best in the sport. We look forward to utilizing all the touchpoints Hendrick Motorsports has to offer via its deep relationships in the auto and racing worlds, including live events, advertising, and social media.

“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Alex and the No. 48 team and look forward to a successful first season in 2022. We expect to see Day Chaser in victory lane a lot this year.”

Bowman, 28, is coming off a banner 2021 season in which he delivered a career-best four points-paying race wins and secured his fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series playoff appearance. The Tucson, Arizona, native opened the year with his second DAYTONA 500 pole position and went on to achieve personal bests in top-five finishes (eight) and top-10s (16).

“The opportunity to introduce a cool new brand like Day Chaser to Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR is awesome for me,” Bowman said. “The product tastes great and really fits my personality and lifestyle. Our team has a lot we want to accomplish this year, so the goal is to have plenty of post-race celebrations featuring Day Chaser.”

Part of the Vermont Cider Company’s portfolio of award-winning brands, Day Chaser is a refreshing spirit-based canned cocktail made with real fruit juice and sparkling water. The easy drinking beverage is perfect for those living an active lifestyle full of adventure. All Day Chasers are 100 calories and certified gluten free with only 2 grams of carbs, 1 gram of sugar and no artificial ingredients.

“We’re pleased to welcome Day Chaser to our team,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s a young and exciting brand that we’re able to pair with a young and exciting driver. Alex is a rising star in our sport and will be an excellent ambassador for Day Chaser. We look forward to growing this new relationship and developing a successful program together.”

ABOUT DAY CHASER® COCKTAILS:

Day Chaser is a ready-to-drink spirit-based canned cocktail made with real fruit juice and sparkling water. This easy drinking beverage is perfect for those living an active lifestyle full of adventure. All Day Chasers are 100 calories, certified gluten free, with only 2 grams of carbs, 1 gram of sugar and no artificial ingredients. Day Chaser features the perfect balance of spirit, fruit flavors and carbonation. Day Chaser launched first with two vodka and sparkling water styles, with two more vodka and four tequila styles available in Spring 2022. For additional information, to purchase online and find Day Chaser near you, please visit DayChaser.com. Be sure to follow @DayChaser on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Day Chaser is part of the Vermont Cider Company’s portfolio of award-winning brands, based in Middlebury, Vermont, owned by Northeast Drinks Group.

ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:

Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history. At the sport’s premier level, the organization holds the all-time records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race victories (280) and laps led (nearly 75,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 37 different seasons, including an active streak of 36 in a row (1986-2021). The team fields four full-time Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entries in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Headquartered on more than 100 acres in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs approximately 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tastry Launches “Tastry Uncorked,” A Personalized AI Recommender for E-Commerce

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif./CNW/ – Tastry, a leading sensory sciences company, has announced that it has officially launched Tastry Uncorked, an artificial intelligence recommender tool that will now enable online retailers and wineries to provide personalized wine recommendations from their respective catalogues, directly to their consumers.

 

“In retail, where Tastry began, a staggering 80 percent of shoppers intent on a wine purchase don’t know what to buy when they reach the wine aisle. Not only are shoppers overwhelmed with choice, most lack the knowledge to actually make a good one,” explains Katerina Axelsson, CEO and Founder of Tastry. “Because of this, most consumers are guided into buying a bottle based on a cool label, a familiar name brand, or a critic’s score that really has nothing to do with their taste preference.”

Tastry, which first introduced their wine aisle recommenders in mid-2019, saw immediate results ranging from five percent to as high as an 18 percent increase in wine category sales. Because everyone experiences wine and perceives taste differently (due to the unique aromas and flavors that appeal to our palates) understanding this level of information at the point of purchase in order to pair shoppers with the best wines is a utopia that until now has been out of reach for wineries and retailers of all sizes.

With Tastry Uncorked, shoppers are prompted to take a short sensory quiz. Then, quiz answers are fed through the TastryAI platform which yields incredibly accurate recommendations in seconds, such as: Best match from assortment, best bundle of wines (for instance, package of best 3 wines) and lastly, best food pairings.

“The customer journey is undoubtedly a complex one. Through Tastry Uncorked, we enable wineries and retailers to go beyond the first recommendation and continue to engage the shopper by soliciting feedback on the recommendations it makes,” explains Jeff Campbell, Head of Growth at Tastry. “Our platform continues to improve future recommendations, and it further personalizes ongoing experiences. From the time the shopper’s palate data is collected through Tastry Uncorked’s sensory quiz, wineries and retailers are able to use their taste profile to power follow up, personalized offers from existing and new wines in their inventory.”

Tastry’s AI platform not only understands how to capture each individual shopper’s specific taste preferences, it also identifies and differentiates the unique flavor and aroma profile (unique sensory fingerprint) of each wine in your portfolio. From there, it ranks wines in real time to provide the best possible purchase recommendations. What’s more, TastryAI saves shoppers’ palate preferences and ensures every future interaction is personalized, and optimized as your available assortments change, creating memorable and lasting shopper impressions.

Tasty Uncorked leverages the power of the company’s retail recommender, and focuses it as an easy and simple to deploy, cost effective investment for wineries and online retail destinations to personalize interactions with visitors and members.

Tastry Uncorked is now available for wine retailers worldwide. To learn more, contact hello@tastry.com for a personalized demonstration and a 10% discount off your first year subscription through January 31, 2022.

About Tastry

Tastry was founded in 2016 with the understanding that each individual palate is as complex as a fingerprint. Powered by a proprietary chemistry methodology and revolutionary AI technology, Tastry is able to track and predict consumer preferences for products even before they hit the shelves. Through online and retail technology solutions, Tastry is rapidly democratizing the process of purchasing and selling wine with the goal to help wineries grow, streamline shopping experiences and provide consumers with their favourite wines, every time.

Tastry’s patented computational blending process predicts consumer product scores with over 92% accuracy, connecting businesses to the data that powers human senses. Since its inception, Tastry technology has been implemented by over 150 wineries and retail clients to transform the way they bring products to market. Learn more at tastry.com.

D.O. Rías Baixas Reports Record U.S. Sales by Value and Volume, Led by 13% Surge in Growth of Albariño Wines

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PONTEVEDRA, SPAIN (PRWEB) – The Spanish wine region of D.O. Rías Baixas has reported record annualized sales of their renowned Albariño white wines in the U.S. market. Exports to the U.S. grew 13% by volume to reach 2.6 million liters, and 16.8% by value to $17.3 million in total sales. The U.S. continues to be the leading global export market for the Albariño wines of Rías Baixas, representing 27.5% of total share by volume. Just released by the Consejo Regulador of D.O. Rías Baixas, the region’s official governing body, this all-time high in U.S. sales was accomplished from August 31, 2020 to September 1, 2021.

The growth in U.S. exports reflects continued consumer appreciation of the Albariño white wines of D.O. Rías Baixas. The results are particularly noteworthy given the lasting impact of U.S. tariffs over the past year, as well as challenges in the hospitality sector related to COVID and supply chain delays.

Analysts in the D.O. Rías Baixas region credit U.S. sales growth to consistent quality recognition and demand for Albariño wines. Consumers are willing to spend more for the ever-popular Albariño, a native grape variety which traces its origins to the Galician region on the Atlantic Coast of northwest Spain. Crisp and refreshing to taste with pronounced citrus, stone fruit and floral aromas, the Albariño wines of Rías Baixas are favorite selections with sommeliers and retail wine buyers. For the past ten years, D.O. Rías Baixas has consistently outperformed the Spanish wine category (as measured by volume and value growth), supported by a successful U.S. marketing and trade education campaign to position Rías Baixas as world-class white wines in the same league as France, New Zealand and other regions.

The U.S. results reflect an overall positive global trend for D.O. Rías Baixas. 107 of the region’s 179 wineries export wine to over 70 countries worldwide. Many of the wineries are small, family-owned ventures and exports represent a dynamic contribution to economic impact throughout Galicia. Over the period 8/31/20 to 9/1/21, worldwide exports of Rías Baixas grew 12% in volume to 9.3 million liters (or 12.4 million/750-ml bottles) and 14% in value to reach $59 million, an outstanding global sales result for the region. Perceptions of quality (as measured by increased value) are also very favorable as wineries reported an increase of 3% in the average price per liter as compared to the previous year of reporting (2019/20).

About D.O. Rías Baixas
Denomination of Origin (D.O.) Rías Baixas is renowned for the Albariño grape, an indigenous variety that produces some of the world’s foremost white wines. Located in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain, the D.O. was formally established in 1988. Albariño has always been the flagship of this coastal region. In Rías Baixas’ unique climate, Albariño shares the same mineral-rich soils and cool climate as the world’s leading white wine regions, including Loire Valley, New Zealand and the Rhine. The USA is Rias Baixas’ most important export market and demand continues to grow. Click here for more information about Albariño wines from Rías Baixas. @RiasBaixasWines

Texas Crown Club Whisky Receives Perfect Score At 2021 Pr%f Awards In Las Vegas

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HOUSTON (PRWEB) – Winning in Vegas is always fun. Texas Crown Club Whisky left the city victorious, receiving the highest recognition possible and a perfect score at the recent 2021 PR%F Awards. The competition is open to all spirits, wine and beverage brands – domestic or international, emerging and even established favorites.

Photo from: Arabghani Me

Judges are sequestered for a two-day private tasting experience. This showdown is comprised of judges who are all buyers from across the country and in different facets of the industry: distributors, retail, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, resorts, airlines, liquor stores, box chains, and online distributors. Each spirit is judged individually and generally either wins Double Gold, Gold, Bronze, or nothing. 100 Points is the highest rating/perfect score.

With its bold but refined notes of vanilla, oak, and caramel, Texas-born Texas Crown Club Whisky embodies a taste as big and unique as the state itself. This whisky is truly unique because of the ultra-premium ingredients added during the distilling process. They select only the finest corn and rye, then slow age the whisky in American-oak Bourbon barrels. Crafting Texas Crown Club this way is what gives it a distinguished, smooth, mellow, and creamy taste. Texas Crown Club Whisky can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks. Texas Crown Club Whisky is proud to create an exceptional award-winning whisky.

“We competed against world-class brands I have known and admired for decades, and WON! Our passion is crafting the best whisky at a price everyone can afford to enjoy.

I’m proud of this recognition, our team, and I look forward to our exciting future,” shared CEO and founder Eduardo Morales.

Why Empordà should be on your European quality wine list

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NEW YORK (PRWEB) – It’s high time Empordà wines gained the recognition they deserve, The last wine journalist to have acknowledged their quality has been critic Jancis Robinson who has praised Empordà wines in the Financial Times. “Cool Catalans” reads the title of her article where she reports about her most recent visit to the Spanish region and how it has become an example of serious wine production.

From: With Husband in Tow.

Wine culture reached Catalonia around the 6th century BC. The area was then the most important Greek colony in Spain, and Emporiae was the Greek city that later gave its name to the Empordà region. In the Middle Ages, when vines were grown near abbeys and monasteries, the terraced vineyards cultivated by the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes covered the slopes of the Rodes Mountain range. It is here that the winemaking monk Ramon Pere de Noves learned to master the winemaking art and wrote a treatise on the subject.

The region’s growers have chosen to forget international varieties, and are now focusing on native varieties. The most important are the red grapes Garnacha and Carignan, which more and more wineries vinify in single-vineyard expressions, thus offering interpretations of terroir subtleties. Juicy and vibrant, these red wines show the long-forgotten potential of the region. Most recently, Empordà producers have been increasingly investing time and energy white varieties, especially native ones, such as Lledoner Blanc (Grenache Blanc), Lledoner Roig (Grenache Gris) and Carinyena Blanc (Carignan Blanc). Grenache Gris in particular has been at the core of a Renaissance movement, casting new light on this aromatic variety that gives life to crispy whites. Both family wineries and coops have embraced a quality approach and the results are visible and are starting to be appreciated outside the region as much as within. “Empordà is very definitely on the move” wraps up Jancis Robinson.

About TASTE THE DIFFERENCE PROGRAM
The program: European quality wines: taste the difference is a project financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini and PRODECA for the promotion of PDO and PGI European wines abroad in China and US. In order to achieve this objective, the TTD.EU program will organize wine seminars, workshops and b2b meetings both in these countries and in Spain and Italy, inviting wine professionals to join study trips to Europe. The program, realized in the span of three years (2021-2023) aims at creating awareness about European quality wines, in particular Italian and Spanish, which share a long tradition and a high standard of quality.

The beneficiaries: Unione Italiana Vini is the oldest and most commissioned Association of the Italian wine market. It represents cooperative, private and agricultural wine-companies, bottlers, consortia, associations and wine-making machines or wine cellars / laboratory manufacturers, located throughout the Italian territory.

Promotora de Exportaciones Catalanas (PRODECA) is a public company established in 1986 and part of the “Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Government of Catalonia”. It supports the agri-food sector and its companies with the knowledge, tools and experience to increase their products in Catalunya and worldwide.

Get to know Spanish PDO Montsant through “European quality Wines: taste the difference” project

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NEW YORK (PRWEB) – Located in northeastern Spain, Montsant was long considered a sub-zone of Tarragona wine region, In fact, its high-altitude steep vineyards, located between 164 and 2,296 feet above sea level, have casted it away from the rest of Tarragona, providing the area with some distinctive features, which finally allowed Montsant to be recognized as a Protected Designation of Origin on its own merits in 2001.

Shaped like a ‘C’ surrounding the prestigious Priorat district, the region gets its name from the Montsant massif (‘holy mountain’) that dominates the landscape. The first evidence of wine production dates back to Roman time but it was during the Middle Ages that production was fully established. Catholic monks continued the viticultural tradition during that epoch and by the 19th Century, wines from Montsant were receiving praise at universal exhibitions.

Red wines are most common in the region – up to 90% of total production – and are made mainly from indigenous varieties such as Garnatxa, Carignan; Macabeo, but more importantly, Garnatxa Blanca are used for the fewer white wine bottlings. All these grapes have adapted to the conditions of this PDO and have developed their own identity. The resulting wines are full-bodied reds, suitable for aging. Garnatxa Negra has a very sensual aromatic profile, of great complexity and allows for well-structured wines, whereas Carignan has very intense aromas and produces light wines with very good acidity. White wines made exclusively with Garnatxa Blanca, allow for body and structure, and finer wines.

Since 2008, the region has been carrying out a zoning study which has allowed for a better understanding of the PDO. Six different areas have been identified from analysis of parameters such as climate, landscape, soils, and the phenolic cycle. The study has resulted in the LIFE PRIORAT + MONTSANT project. Funded by the European Commission, the project aims at developing and demonstrating a model of sustainable large-scale wine production in the Priorat region, through the application of a set of methodologies for the efficient use of natural resources throughout the value chain, which can later be reproduced in other wine regions of the European Union. This fall, Montsant will be represented by Taste The Difference project enhancing European PDOs, including this promising region.

About TASTE THE DIFFERENCE PROGRAM
The program: European quality wines: taste the difference is a project financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini and PRODECA for the promotion of PDO and PGI European wines abroad in China and US. In order to achieve this objective, the TTD.EU program will organize wine seminars, workshops and b2b meetings both in these countries and in Spain and Italy, inviting wine professionals to join study trips to Europe. The program, realized in the span of three years (2021-2023) aims at creating awareness about European quality wines, in particular Italian and Spanish, which share a long tradition and a high standard of quality.

The beneficiaries: Unione Italiana Vini is the oldest and most commissioned Association of the Italian wine market. It represents cooperative, private and agricultural wine-companies, bottlers, consortia, associations and wine-making machines or wine cellars / laboratory manufacturers, located throughout the Italian territory. Promotora de Exportaciones Catalanas (PRODECA) is a public company established in 1986 and part of the “Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Government of Catalonia”. It supports the agri-food sector and its companies with the knowledge, tools and experience to increase their products in Catalunya and worldwide

TASTE THE DIFFERENCE campaign kicks off

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NEW YORK (PRWEB) – From October to December 2021, TASTE THE DIFFERENCE programme will be casting a new light on European PDOs – Protected Denomination of Origin – and PGIs – Protected Geographical Indication – thanks to an intense activity calendar. Aimed at increasing the perceived value of wines with protected origin and national cultural heritage, while ensuring an image of European excellence and tradition, the campaign addresses both press and trade professionals and will be focusing on quality wines made in Spain and Italy.

The campaign is the result of the joint efforts of Prodeca, a Spanish state-owned company supporting agri-food and forestry products from the north-east of the country, and UIV, Italy’s most important wine association representing 660 companies and a total of 150.000 growers.

The lively series of activities, to be run both in person and online, includes active participation in events such as TEXSOM – where TASTE THE DIFFERENCE will support the Volunteer Dinner – the arrangement of dedicated masterclasses in October and November with GuildSomm in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin, alongside with an open-to-all virtual seminar series that will remain available online. In addition to this, a Grand Tasting will be run in New York featuring upwards of 40 producers from Italy and Spain and seminars showcasing the peculiarities of the many appellations involved.

The wide series of activities will strengthen the awareness of PDO and PGI symbols and broaden the knowledge of related appellations among journalists and bloggers, wine influencers, key opinion leaders, as well as sommeliers, beverage directors and retailers, thanks also to a social campaign.

About TASTE THE DIFFERENCE PROGRAM
The program: European quality wines: taste the difference is a project financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini and PRODECA for the promotion of PDO and PGI European wines abroad in China and US. In order to achieve this objective, the TTD.EU program will organize wine seminars, workshops and b2b meetings both in these countries and in Spain and Italy, inviting wine professionals to join study trips to Europe. The program, realized in the span of three years (2021-2023) aims at creating awareness about European quality wines, in particular Italian and Spanish, which share a long tradition and a high standard of quality.

The beneficiaries: Unione Italiana Vini is the oldest and most commissioned Association of the Italian wine market. It represents cooperative, private and agricultural wine-companies, bottlers, consortia, associations and wine-making machines or wine cellars / laboratory manufacturers, located throughout the Italian territory.

Promotora de Exportaciones Catalanas (PRODECA) is a public company established in 1986 and added to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of the “Generalitat de Catalunya.