{"id":6949,"date":"2020-01-10T16:04:53","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T22:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/?p=6949"},"modified":"2020-01-13T20:46:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T02:46:40","slug":"tasting-tannat-godforsaken-grapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/2020\/01\/tasting-tannat-godforsaken-grapes\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasting & Pairing Tannat – #WinePW Exploration of Godforsaken Grapes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So many grapes, so little time. There are over ten thousand grape varieties in the world, with about 1,500 that are commercial, yet a mere thirteen of them encompass \u2153 of the world\u2019s planted vines. So that means all the rest of the thousands of grapes are vying for the remaining \u2154 of the vines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

*Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, you will not pay more but I may earn a small commission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes we love and enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay, but there is so much more to wine.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> As an aside, are you team \u201ccapital\u201d or \u201cno capital\u201d when it comes to grape varieties? I know a couple of people that lose their shit when they see grape varieties capitalized. I, as you can see, capitalize. While there is a bit of a split on whether you should capitalIze, there seems to be more of us that are on team \u201ccapital.\u201d The New York Times doesn\u2019t capitalize but Jancis Robinson, Robert Parker, Hugh Johnson, Maynard Amerine and Emile Peynaud all do and that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, OK, back to the real purpose of this post. I still remember when I first started studying wine and was absolutely terrified of Italy and all of its indigenous varieties. I mean, how could one place have so many damn grape varieties? But what was once something that drove me crazy about Italy is one of the things that I love most about it now. I\u2019ve always enjoyed discovering new varieties (I even made it into the Wine Century Club for tasting 100 different varieties) and love introducing them to others. I almost always try to introduce something unconventional in the tastings that I host. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wine Century Club Certificate<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by Jason Wilson’s book \u201cGodforsaken Grapes: A Slightly Tipsy Journey Through the World of Strange, Obscure, and Underappreciated Wine<\/em><\/a>,\u201d the #WinePW crew is kicking off 2020, by exploring \u2018godforsaken grapes’. I was quite excited to see this topic because there are so many different wines out there worth exploring. My issue was trying to figure out which to write about. With wine trips to Hungary<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, Austria<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, and Croatia<\/span><\/strong><\/a> to name a few, I had no shortage of obscure wines from which to choose. But I also wanted to choose something that people could actually find if they were so inclined. And so I settled upon Tannat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was first exposed to Tannat on a trip to Uruguay<\/span><\/strong><\/a> many years ago. I think this was one of my earliest travel posts so it may be a little rough around the edges, but you get the point. Years later when I studied wine more formally, I learned more about France’s Madiran region and Tannat\u2019s origins there. But while it originated it France, it is practically synonymous with Uruguay and it the country\u2019s national grape.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Tannat also shows up in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, South Africa and Italy\u2019s Apulia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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