We’ve both been to Spain several times but never to the region of Aragon surrounding the beautiful city of Zaragoza. In fact, our first reference to Aragon was Queen Catherine of Aragon, the first of England’s King Henry VIII’s six wives. Though they were married for almost 20 years, Henry annulled the marriage and traded her in for Anne Boleyn after she failed to produce a male heir.
The region of Aragon has long been fruitful, with a wine making history dating back to Roman times. In fact, one wine making area, the region of Cariñena, was the second wine region in Spain to gain D.O. status – in 1932. A very interesting region to be sure, the D.O P. (protected denomiacion de origin) Cariñena blankets a vast valley that surrounds the village of Cariñena just west of the historic city of Zaragoza. Grapes are grown both on the valley floor and up the sides into the surrounding hills, and vineyard site elevations range from 400m to over 800m (1300 – 2600ft). This makes for some pretty varied terrain, and terroir. All of which makes for some very exciting wines that are definitely worth a look.
Though many grape varieties are grown, the main focus is Garnacha, one of Spain’s great red grapes. Another focus is the region’s namesake grape, Cariñena, which is thought to have originated here before being propagated to other regions like France and Italy.
A region gaining renewed recognition both in Spain and internationally, we’ll discuss the wines from D.O.P Cariñena and its food with three experts on our May 25th show:
We enjoy taking our listeners places to learn about culture and cuisine and hope you will join us May 25th, 2pmEST. This show will remain permanently oniHeart.com and the free iHeart App. We will also feature some short podcasts on our new series, The Connected Table SIPS!.
Our mission is to engage and connect our audiences to the diverse world of food, fine beverage and hospitality and the dynamic people who help shape it through our shows, digital media and educational events. Please ask us about our special podcast series and campaigns that spotlight both people and products. Email: melanie@theconnectedtable.com.
