Yesterday I went to the Guia Penin tasting to work at the table of a winery I represent, Eccoci Wines. I didn’t taste too many wines but I did get to try one made from an indigenous variety from Spain called Vijiriega that sparked my interest. It also had 10% Chardonnay I read in their brochure but the overwhelming taste profile was not of Chardonnay. Apparently Vijiriega is only grown in Andalucia, specifically around the city of Granada. The wine actually had pretty high alcohol which I didn’t get on the palate, 13.8%.

The winery, Dominio Buenavista is located in Ugijar at some 2000 meters above sea level. They told me that in October they can go to the beach and drive back from the sea to their winery and go skiing. Sound pretty good to me. The town is on the south side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thanks to their location, the winery has good diurnal temperature excursions.

This particular wine was both fruity and floral with the toasty, nutty notes that you get from batonnage. It also had a slightly almond note on the finish.

I don’t have any digital photos of Andalucia but I spent some time there a number of years ago. Granada with the Alhambra was an amazing, exciting place that I will never forgot. I suggest everyone see it once in their lifetime.