Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/992999
{ SOMMjournal.com } 77 T here's something wonderfully unique about Spanish wine, and, in my ex- perience, it's impossible to fall in love with a particular grape or wine: You fall in love with the entire region. My most recent affair is with Garnacha and its home region of Cariñe - na, located in Aragón in northeastern Spain. Though it lacks the notoriety of regions such as Rioja or Ribera del Duero—despite being the country's second oldest DO—its connection to the Garnacha grape makes Cari - ñena a noteworthy experience based on its history, current winemaking, and future prospects. Local historical references to Garnacha in Aragón, the birthplace of the grape, date back to 1513 in Gabriel Alonso de Herrera's Agricultural General. History, coupled with the sheer amount of clonal diversity and mutations of the grape in the region, counter any claims Sardinia has made of being its alternative place of origin. As the third most-planted variety in Spain, Garnacha has never lost its significance in the country. The region of Cariñena is renowned for having the highest density of Garnacha plantings, with the grape representing nearly a third of the entire vineyard acreage. Garnacha reached Sardinia, as well as southern France, likely by way of the Aragón empire. One of Europe's most powerful regimes from the 15th through the 17th centuries, it spread as far north as southern France and as far south as Sicily. Such expansion explains the presence of Garnacha in regions such as Languedoc Roussillon and the Rhône. Zaragoza, Aragón's historic capital, sits halfway between Madrid and Barcelona and is located on El Camino de Santiago. The globally-celebrated road leads to the legendary burial spot of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, and is known as an inspiring pilgrimage for travelers to the region. As you step out of the beauti - ful Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, you immediately notice the path of seashells imprinted in the sidewalk, indicating the way. South of Zaragoza on a large plain in the heart of the Ebro Valley is where you will find the majority of Cariñena vineyards. Rimmed by the Systema Iberico by Bob Bath, MS / photos by Miguel Vincente Local historical references to Garnacha in Aragón, the birthplace of the grape, date back to 1513 in Gabriel Alonso de Herrera's Agricultural General. Bob Bath, MS, tastes through a series of Garnacha samples at Bodegas Paneza.