Vino

Was out doing the shopping at the local bulk warehouse (not Sam's - we don't have Sam's here) and bought these 3 bottles of wine. Well, actually I bought 24 bottles of red wine 'cause we keep some in storage for later use. But it was these 3 wines that I bought 24 bottles of.

Pricing (l to r): 3,41 1,82 3,15 (that's CAD 4,87 2,60 4,49 & USD 4,58 2,44 4,23)

These are good wines. Not super duper deluxe wines but they are way above the level of a table wine.

Left: Gran Irache Crianza (harvest) 2001, Region: Navarra, Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Graciano, and Mazuelo , Notes: fermented 20 days, oak barrels for 12 months, fruity

Bodega Irache was founded in in 1891 but they say that their grape vines date back to the 12th century. Suppliers, historically, to the royal house of Navarra (a former kingdom in Spain)

Center: Irache Tinto 2006, Region: Navarra, Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon & Garnacha, Notes: Young, fermented 15 days, 2006 is reported to have been a very good year for the grapes

Right: Paternina Banda Azul (blue ribbon) Crianza 2003, Region: Rioja, Grapes: Tempranillo & Garnacha, Notes: aged 24 months in oak cask

These are day to day wines. For special occasions I spring for really good stuff that might go for as much as €12! On the Canadian vacation this August it's obvious that there is going to be some wine rationing; I've discovered that Banda Azul goes for about $20 (€ 14+) which is four and a half times the price here.

When buying Spanish red wines the words to watch for are: Rioja, Ribera, Duero and Tempranillo. The word Navarra would not be bad either although I don't know if any good Navarrian wines have made it to the export market yet.