Not too long ago, there was a region to the south west of
the Ribera del Duero that produced a wine very similar to that of Jerez. Just
like their colleagues down south they grew palomino, a very fast ripening high
yielding variety that they harvested early with plenty of acidity, and then
made wine in the flor based solera system in the sun. That was until the Rioja
winery Marques de Riscal came in search of a region to produce white wine, and
found some very old indigenous verdejo vines. Seeing the potential for the
wines here, they cultivated vines and began to produce crisp fresh white wines
that captured the imagination and the palates of Spanish wine drinkers,
particularly in warmer weather when full bodied reds can be a little
unforgiving. Soon the region flourished as more producers began producing wine
in the region, particularly important people like Telmo Rodriguez, and suddenly
Spain had found its new white wine region. The second wave occurred towards the
end of the 1990s as some vintners began fermenting and ageing verdejo wines in
barrels, and a new style was created.
