Sin categorizar

In earlier Wine Dictionary posts, we spoke about different types of wine depending on their ageing: young wine, Crianza, Gran Reserva, etc. However, there’s one term left to define: Reserva wines.

What is a Reserva wine? It’s really quite simple. According to the Rioja Regulatory Board, for a wine to be classed as a Reserva wine, it needs to meet the following requirement: it must have been aged in oak barrel and bottle for 3 years. Of these three years, one of them must have been in the barrel, with an additional 6 months of ageing in the bottle.

For white and rosé Reserva wines, the ageing period is 2 years (24 months) with a minimum of 6 months in the barrel. Did you know our Coto de Imaz Reserva Blanco spends 12 months in an uncharred French oak barrel? That’s how we keep its fruity and complex aroma.

We often mistakenly associate this term with the feeling of dryness or harshness that a wine leaves in the mouth and on the tongue. Our Wine Dictionary is here to set the record straight!

Actually, when we say that a wine is dry, we mean to the lack of sweetness or, in other words, the low level of residual sugar that it contains. But how do we know this? Using the number of grams per litre expressed in fructose or glucose.

There are 4 types of wine depending on the level of residual sugar in them:

• Dry: when the wine contains under 4 g/l of sugar
• Demi-Sec: if the residual level of sugar is between 4 and 12 g/l
• Semi-sweet: when the level of sugar is between 12 and 45 g/l. As is the case with our Coto Semidulce.
• Sweet: when there is over 45 g/l of residual sugar. These are normally known as dessert wines.

Dry wines can be made with a range of grapes. As such, it’s not uncommon to find dry reds, whites or rosés, and, compared to sweet wines, they have distinct sharp notes and a higher level of alcohol.

Even if we’re sure about the theory, how can we tell a dry wine from a sweet one without checking the sugar content? We’ll tell you three ways of working it out.

• By taste: it may seem obvious, but taste is the best thing to rely on when trying to tell if a wine is sweet or dry. But just drinking it is not enough. The secret is in letting the mouthful rest on the tongue for a few seconds and then swallow it. If the notes of the wine linger, it’s a sweet wine. However, if they disappear quickly, it’s a dry wine.
• By its aroma: it’s crucial to smell a wine before you taste it since our sense of smell can give us useful clues. As a rule of thumb, dry wines give of grassy and fresher aromas, while sweet wines have fruity or floral ones. However, don’t let yourself be fooled: you could also find a dry wine with fruity notes too.
• By density: due to the higher concentration of sugar, sweet wines have a thicker and denser consistency, while dry wines are lighter.

Bring these three tips together so that you don’t miss a trick on your wine tastings.

Also known as sulphurous anhydride. This is a chemical compound, sulphur dioxide (SO₂), which is generated naturally when fermenting wine.

Sulphites in wine play different roles, including as preservatives, antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. As such, they play a role in ensuring that the aromas, colour and even flavour of the wine are not affected and help it to last over time.

Even though sulphurous anhydride is generated naturally in wine, a greater quantity is added later to boost its preservative properties in the wine, prevent bacteria from growing and ensure quality.

In line with EU wine labelling regulation, the presence of sulphites should always be listed on the bottle. This is mainly to inform people who are allergic or sensitive to this compound. To see if this is the case, you just need to look for the “contains sulphites” message on the bottle. This is also stated on online wine stores!

If you have any kind of allergy, a good alternative is to go in for natural winemaking, since it is focussed on creating sulphite-free wines. What’s more, not all wines have the same number of sulphites. White wines and rosé wines have the highest level of sulphites. When it comes to red wines, the sweeter they are, the more sulphites they will have.

It should be pointed out that the number of sulphites in a wine is not at all bad for your health, since there are always very low levels in line with the regulations. Did you know that sulphites don’t just occur in wine? We can also find them in any food that goes through a fermentation process. This happens with bread, yoghurt, cider, preserved food, vinegar, beer, etc.

Do you remember when we discussed the feeling of astringency and dryness on the tongue? This is caused by tannins.

This is a naturally occurring substance in a bunch of grapes. Specifically, tannins can be found in the skin, pomace and pips, but they can also be found in wine barrels.

What role do tannins play? They add notes of bitterness, roughness and complexity to the wine. They can be easily recognised in the mouth by the dry feeling they leave on the tongue and gums. The greater the concentration of tannins, the greater the bitterness, dryness or astringency. As such, this shouldn’t be seen as an issue, since this is a crucial component for ageing wine for longer and making it develop. Did you know that this substance can also affect the colouring of the wine?

Much like sulphites, tannins can also be found in other commonplace foods and drinks. Specifically those that, if you think about it, generate a feeling of roughness in the mouth such as tea or coffee. Another fun fact: tannins also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

This is one of the most common variety of grapes to be found in Spain. Its name in Spanish relates to how it is harvested: Tempranillo comes from the word ‘temprano’ (early) in reference to the fact that the grapes are harvested at an earlier date than usual. This is because they ripen faster than all other varieties.

This grape comes from La Rioja and is perfect for making red wines and rosés. Wines from this grape have a notably ruby red colour and a generally low level of acidity. This variety produces Tempranillo wines with a low level of tannins, making them light, smooth and really aromatic.

The Tempranillo grape is also perfect for doing what we call coupages or assemblages (terms that we went over in earlier posts in our Wine Dictionary). The best example we have of this is our El Coto Rosado Selección Viñedos. This wine brings together the Tempranillo and Grenache grape varieties to create a delicate, fresh and intense wine that is easy on the tongue. Have you tried it yet?

Let’s start with three concepts that are very popular but tend to cause confusion. What is the difference between sustainable, organic and ecological winemaking? Although they may all seem the same, only ecological and organic winemaking are synonyms. These mean the grapes are grown without any synthetic chemical products (with some exceptions). So, they mostly use natural products.

Sustainable winemaking, however, doesn’t only cover the products used, but how the vineyards are managed, too. Specifically, it is defined as seeking out and applying good practices in grape production and processing. They must be eco-friendly and not affect the quality of the crops.

This has three main goals:

1. To protect the environment and conserve natural resources
2. To be as economically sustainable as possible
3. To keep people healthy, both consumers and those involved in producing the wine

Basically, it is a wine production system that complies with the Principle of Sustainability, protecting the final product, natural environment and resources, and people. To do so, winemakers optimise processes and try to keep waste to a minimum.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) adds that sustainable vitiviniculture also values “heritage, historical, cultural, ecological and landscape aspects”. Here is a link to the OIV guidelines for sustainable viticulture.

Let’s jump from innovation and precision to a more abstract and spiritual plane.

Biodynamic winemaking treats the land as a living organism and takes into account the phases of the moon and other astral bodies in growing the grapes and making the wine. Curious, isn’t it?

This type of winemaking is based on the theories of renowned Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophy. In biodynamic winemaking, just as the moon has a huge influence over the sea and its tides, it also affects the land and its fruit. So, it is extremely important to synch up grape growing to astrological configurations. This is believed to bring out the innate properties of the plant, yielding a better wine. These, by the way, are called biodynamic wines.

Another part of this type of winemaking is that no chemical products are used. By completely eschewing pesticides and other derivatives, like herbicides, the risk of losing the harvest is higher, as the plants may develop fertilisation issues or pests.

So, how can you care for the vines sustainably? By using natural biodynamic formulas. For example, horsetail is often used for pest control, as it has properties that protect against parasites and fungi.

Various techniques are also used to prepare the soil, such as burying cow horns full of manure or a combination of minerals. There are also natural fertilisers, made from Steiner’s six ingredients. These are yarrow blossoms, camomile, stinging nettle, dandelion and valerian flowers, which are mixed with other elements like animal hides, viscera and skulls.

Are there natural and artificial wines? Not exactly. All wines are natural, given their origin. But when we talk about ‘natural’ wines, we are referring to a specific type that is mainly known for not containing added sulphites. This means no chemical compounds have been added during the winemaking process.

Natural winemaking aims to bring out the clearest, most faithful expression of the essence of the wine with as little intervention as possible, either from chemical products or human hands.

The basic techniques of natural winemaking are:

• Avoiding chemicals
• Ensuring ecological, sustainable use of land and resources
• Moving away from process mechanisation and towards manual and artisan practices
• Not adding commercial yeast, filtering or clarifying the wine

In this case, avoiding chemical compounds means greater risk in the winemaking process. So, this type of wine is more prone to issues with fermentation and in-bottle stability, among others.

In this article we’re starting off with the term ‘oxidation’. Do you know what it means? Put simply, oxidation just means the process in which oxygen comes into contact with a wine and gets dissolved in it. This sets of a string of reactions with other substances in the wine, such as polyphenols, iron and copper, among others.

In general, oxidation is not exactly desirable, but sometimes it forms part of another process in winemaking and can even be beneficial

There are two types of oxidation:

• Enzymatic or biological oxidation: this is particularly quick and affects both the wort and the grapes when they arrive at the winery. This takes place just before wine fermentation.
• Non-enzymatic or chemical oxidation: this is a slower oxidation process that happens as the wine is ageing after it has fermented. This transformation can give wine a certain stability and even improve some of its characteristics.

Wine oxidation is measured in millivolts (mV). When this is at a rate of 200-300 mV, this is deemed to be a normal level of oxidation. However, this largely depends on the type of wine, how it’s handled in the winery and how it’s stored. When you go beyond this range, the oxidation detracts from the flavour and the quality of the drink.

So, how can we easily tell if a wine is not oxidised at home? Mainly based on changes in the colour and flavour of the wine. White wine oxidises at faster rather than red wine. However, both get darker, shifting towards a brown colour.

To avoid oxidation, you should finish off the bottle in the recommended time after uncorking it and make sure that you keep it in the right conditions at home.

In line with the previous term, we’re now moving onto a interesting concept: “pricked wine”. What does it mean? If someone tells you a wine is pricked, it means that the flavour is off, which means it’s not suitable for drinking.

This issue is caused specifically by oxidation, the presence of oxygen and acetic acid bacteria. The latter are bacteria that metabolise ethanol and also cause other processes that gives wine a slight unpleasant acidity or even turn it completely sour.

How can we tell if a wine is pricked? To avoid drinking a pricked wine, there are some basic key tips to know how to spot one. There are many ways:

1. Knowing the vintage of the wine: if a wine has been stored for too long, too much oxygen might have gotten into the wine. You should be particularly aware of this with young wines or those that haven’t been aged for long, since they should be consumed within a shorter time frame. As such, the best thing to do is to take a look at the label to work it out.
2. Analysing the bottle: this is slightly more complicated; if the cork or the capsule are not in place, some air may have gotten into the bottle.
3. Looking at the wine: some pricked wines have a skin floating on top and some of them are cloudy.
4. Smelling the wine: this is easy to do, since the wine will have a strong vinegary smell.
5. Tasting the wine: don’t worry, it’s no poisonous. Just unpleasant. If the wine is pricked, it will be vinegary with a rough mouthfeel.

Let’s keep moving our way through the wine dictionary! The stalk (also known as the stem) is the structure that holds a bunch of grapes together. In other words, it’s like their skeleton. Its main role is to hold up each of the grape, but it can be used for much more.

It can play a key role in winemaking. Any idea how? Because, whether or not it is included in the winemaking process can affect many aspects of the final product, such as the pH level, the tannins, fermentation, colour, aroma, etc. So, what’s best? Traditionally, it was very common to include it in the wine. However, now it depends on the criteria and choice of each winery.

This is the sensation that wine leaves in the mouth, throat and nose after tasting it. One thing we just love about wine is its lasting power. In fact, when it comes to tasting wine, we should just look out for the aromas we get before and the flavour when we drink or spit it. We should also be looking out for the notes that it leaves behind once we’ve tasted it.

That’s why, when we talk about ‘lingering in the nose’ or ‘lingering on the palate’.. We’re talking about notes of the aftertaste which can tell us about the quality of the wine. If these aspects last for quite some time, then we have a wine that’s ‘long in the mouth/nose/throat’. If it doesn’t linger, then we have a ‘short wine’ (of a lower calibre).

Don’t worry if you can’t make out some of these characteristics. We need to train our senses slowly so that they get sharper over time.

Let’s take a look at the last term in our Wine Dictionary. This is a word that professionals often use, such as sommeliers on wine tastings. But what do we mean when we say a wine is round?

Pamela Vandyke, a famous British wine journalist, gave a very good definition and the reasoning behind it. In fact, her definition is the benchmark today.

She said: “Many people find it helpful to think of wines as having a shape. Some immature wines often seem to be angular, other seem straight up and down in slightly unripe vintages. A round wine has its skeleton (the alcohol) adequately and pleasantly covered with flesh (the fruit) and is enhanced by a good skin (the fragrance). Excess rotundity shows a lack of proportion, but many young wines possess a type of puppy fat which they shed later.”

In more colloquial terms, if we call a wine ‘round’, we generally mean that it is well-balanced. In other words, a wine that is balances out all of its elements, such as acidity, sweetness, tannins, alcohol level, fragrances, body, etc. As such, harmony reigns among them.

To protect your wine bottles in your suitcase, the most common method is wrapping them up in bubble wrap. If you don’t have any to hand, put the bottle in a few plastic bags to separate them from the rest of your things. If you also wrap the bottle up in your clothes (such as towels, jumpers or sweatshirts), this will protect them against any bumps.  

One little tip: we recommend placing the bottles in the middle of your suitcase, or even inside your socks and shoes to give them better protection, but don’t put them near any hard objects you have in your suitcase. 

You could also use neoprene bags specifically designed for transporting bottles. If you buy more than 6 bottles, it might be better to buy a specific suitcase for them. 

Remember that if you’re going by plane, it’s best to avoid bringing sparkling wines since the pressure and the gas inside them can make them explode. 

Before buying wine on your way back from your trip, you need to be sure of how you’re going to carry it, bearing in mind the restrictions that airports have for taking this wine in your suitcase.  

The best thing you can do is to buy your wine in the airport Duty Free. That way you won’t have to put them into your carry-on luggage, and you can choose where you put them once in the cabin. However, this only works for a couple of bottles, of course. If you’re going to buy more, it’s best to do so beforehand and protect them in your suitcase.  

Another thing you should bear in mind are the restrictions that airlines and countries have for travelling with alcoholic beverages in your suitcase. As a rule of thumb, in the European Union you won’t have to pay any extra taxes on alcoholic beverages that you bring with you if they’re for personal use; in other words, if you’re not going to sell them on. However, the customs officers may want to make sure that your bottles are for personal use and ask you a few questions.  

The EU member states decide the maximum number of alcoholic beverages you can take into their countries, but there are minimum amounts. When it comes to wine, this is 20 litres of fortified wine. If you come from outside the European Union, you can only bring in 4 litres of wine. 

One thing to remember! Some airlines require you to use extruded polystyrene padded packaging to put bottles in your suitcase. 

One last tip: make sure your airline doesn’t have a maximum number of bottles that they let you take in your suitcase.  

Ingredients

• 1kg ripe tomatoes 
• 1 Italian green pepper 
• 1 cucumber 
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 40g stale bread 
• 3 tablespoons of vinegar 
• 1 glass of water 
• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 
• Salt to taste 
• Toppings: cucumber, tomato, onion, etc. 

Steps 

1. Wash andcleanthe vegetables.
2. Chop the vegetables and put them into a blender or food processor. Add the oil, vinegar, salt, bread and a little water. Blend at full power.
3. If it ends up a little thick, add a little more water.
4. Optional: you can strain it if you end up with lumps.
5. Store it in the fridge and enjoy it nice andcool, topped with diced cucumber, tomato and onion.

Ingredients 

• 320g dry fusilli  
• 100g sun-dried tomatoes in oil 
• 150g feta cheese or farmer cheese 
• 20g cashew nuts 
• Rocket or lettuce to taste 
• Extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste 

Steps 

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.
2. Rinse it off with cold water and store it in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the salad. 
3. Chop the cashew nuts, dice the cheese and slice the sun-dried tomatoes. Of course, you can add other ingredients such as onion.
4. Create a base of rocket or lettuce in a bowl.
5. Add the cold pasta and the rest of the sliced ingredients.
6. Add salt to taste and a generous dash of extra virgin olive oil. Toss the salad… And it’s ready to eat!

Ingredients 

• 1kg diced roe venison  
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 2 onions 
• 200g button mushrooms 
• 3 potatoes  
• 1 glass of brandy 
• 1 glass of red cooking wine 
• Olive oil  
• 2 bay leaves 
• Parsley, pepper, garlic powder, salt and flour. 

Steps 

1. Mix the chopped garlic cloves, bay leaves, wine and brandy into a large dish, submerge thedicedroe venison and leave it to marinate in the fridge for approximately 12 hours. 
2. Remove the meat and drain, keepingthe marinate.
3. Season the meat, coat in flour and brown the chunks in a large pot.
4. Remove the meat and, using the same oil, add the onion, the marinade with the garlic and a little parsley.
5. Add the meat and leave it to stew on a low heat. If it needs more water, add stock or water.
6. While the meat is cooking, dice the potatoes and fry, and sauté the mushrooms.
7. When they’re ready, add them to the pot with the meat and leave them to cook for a further 5 minutes. It’s just delicious!

Ingredients 

• 2 tomatoes 
• 2 boiled eggs 
• 2 cans of tuna, drained 
• Mayonnaise 

Steps 

1. Slice the top off the tomatoes and seed, leaving the skin on. Add salt
2. In a bowl, add the drained tuna, the boiled eggs and the mayonnaise. You can add other ingredients to taste, such as capers, olives or prawns. 
3. Sutff the tomatoes with the mixture.
4. Leave to chill in the fridge for one hour and it’s done! It couldn’t be easier

Ingredients  

• 180g bomba rice 
• Fish or seafood stock 
• 2 tomatoes 
• 1 green pepper 
• 5 cloves of garlic  
• 200g mussels 
• 200g clams 
• 200g king prawns 
• 200g squid 

Steps 

1. Cook the mussels and clams (to open them) in one pot, and the heads and tails of the king prawns in another pot, then combine the broths.
2. Sauté the garlic, the finely chopped pepper and the tomatoes.
3. In a saucepan or a paella pan, add olive oil, squid and the sautéed vegetables. Stir well and add the rice and stock. Measure out one part rice to four parts stock.
4. Cook on a medium heat, and 15 minutes later, add the king prawns, clams and mussels.
5. After five minutes, or whenever it’s as creamy as you want it to be, turn off the heat and leave it to rest.

Ingredients

• 500g monkfish 
• 200g king prawns 
• 300ml fish stock 
• 1 onion 
• 1 egg 
• 1 glass of white wine 
• Flour 
• Salt  
• Parsley 
• Oil 
• Breadcrumbs 

Steps 

1. Finely chop the following ingredients and mix in a bowl: monkfish, king prawns, half and onion and parsley. Once, mixed, beat an egg and add it to the bowl along withbreadcrumbsand salt. Mix again. 
2. Shape the mix into balls and roll them in flour. Fry them in a good amount of oil. You can eat them as they are, without any sauce, or even shape them into mini burger patties. 
3. To create a sauce, sweat off the other half of the onion, diced, and once it’s cooked through, add the glass of white wine. 
4. Once the alcohol has cooked off, add the fish stock and the meatballs. 
5. Leave it took cook until the sauce thickens, and it’s ready to serve.

Ingredients 

• 200g biscuits  
• 80g butter 
• 100ml single cream 
• 500g cream cheese 
• 300ml milk 
• 170g  sugar 
• 2 sachets of gelatine mix 
• Fruit jam to taste 

Steps

1. Crush the biscuits into very small pieces, almost into a powder.
2. Add the melted butter and mix well.
3. Add the mixture the cake tin you are going to use and press it down firmly. Leave to chill in the fridge.
4. While it is cooling down, boil the cream, milk, sugar and cheese. Stir constantly, and when it has all come together, add the sachets of gelatinemix. 
5. Take the biscuit base out of the fridge and carefully pour the mixture over it. Leave it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
6. Take out of the cake tin and add the jam on top, or any red berries that you like.

To ensure our wines are top-quality, whether red or white, our first strategy was to own as many vineyards as possible. This way, we can always ensure an exceptional product, year after year

Today, we have no less than 730 hectares, all located in the various sub zones of DOCa Rioja.

Finca Carbonera is the highest altitude vineyard in DOCa Rioja (875 m), and the heart of a unique project to make Rioja white wines. After years of searching, we found this estate that, with its special climate and soil conditions, is perfect for making white wine.

It was on this estate, in fact, that our white wine project was born, including 875m Chardonnay, among many other specialities.

White and rosé wines use much more technology in the winemaking process. It is essential to have the latest advances in refrigeration and fermentation. So, El Coto de Rioja has invested in building a specialised winery with the latest technology to make white wines.

And this winery isn’t the only one with this type of specialisation. Within the winemaking process, we have 11 other specialised spaces so that each step, from ageing to bottling, is done independently under optimal conditions.

All this hard work would be meaningless if you couldn’t experience and enjoy the wine like we do. We want to be there for you, any time! So, we can’t end this list of reasons why El Coto de Rioja is a benchmark without mentioning the accessibility of all our wines.

Through our online shop or your nearest supermarket or restaurant, we make it easy for you to find your favourite wine, regardless of the category.

Apart from being easy to find, we also want to be as affordable as possible without sacrificing quality. That’s why we do everything we can to make excellent quality at affordable prices. This way, you can always enjoy an exceptional white wine, whether for a normal day or special occasion.

If you’re not sure which El Coto de Rioja wine to choose, don’t miss this special article on how to choose the perfect wine for any occasion.

And if you want to learn more about the world of white wine, take a look at these articles:

Let’s start with one of the most widespread myths: the ideal serving temperature for white wine. It’s not uncommon to believe that white wine should always be served cold, but nothing could be further from the truth. It depends on the type of white wine you’re drinking. Very young white wines that have been barrel aged should be served at a temperature between 7°C and 9°C, for example our El Coto Verdejo.

However, for aged white wines, the serving temperature is quite a bit higher: between 10°C and 13°C, because serving them colder would mean we lose certain aromas. A good example of a white wine served at a warmer temperature is 875m Chardonnay.

If you want to know more about the right serving temperature for each type of wine, don’t miss this article:

Another very common myth about white wine is that it can’t pair well with meat. Not at all! In fact, did you know that one of the best wines for game is an aged white? For our Coto de Imaz Reserva Blanco, the ageing on its lees in the barrel and the characteristic freshness of the high-altitude vineyard at the Finca Carbonera estate give it an extraordinary, persistent unctuousness and aromatic complexity.

There are so many grape varieties, DOs, ageing types… How couldn’t there be a wide variety of whites? Viura, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are just a few of the white grapes we use at our winery. Because at El Coto de Rioja we are experts in white wines, with 7 types on our rolls.

You can choose the type of white wine you like best: drier, sweeter, fruitier, more aged, younger…

Want to see our whole line of whites?

Another myth we want to bust is that the only possible pairing for a cheese board is red wine… No way! Of course cheese goes great with red wine, but it does with white wine, too. In fact, soft, creamy cheeses like Brie or Camembert, pair wonderfully with a glass of white wine, as do some cured cheeses.

And if you tend to have doubts about how to pair different foods, don’t miss this article on how to pair with dishes.

The quality of white wine is, of course, comparable to red wine, although it isn’t normally aged as long. However, as we have repeated several times, there are also white wines aged for several months, which gives them different nuances. So, myth busted! It ages just as well as any red wine.

Finally, will finish off our myths about white wine with the theory that it isn’t good for you, or at least not as good as red wine. Of course, as with red wine, you should always drink it in moderation, but it has great benefits such as:

• Rich in antioxidants
• Rich in minerals and low in calories
• Helps lower anxiety and stress levels
• Like red wine, it helps prevents cardiovascular disease

If you’re interested, you can check out the benefits of red wine, too.

Foudres are high-capacity containers like you see in the picture, in our winery. They are casks that hold between 10 hl and 200-300 hl that are laid horizontally, with a round or cylindrical base.

They are a classic tool that many wineries use to age both red and white wines, perfect for any grape variety when you don’t want the wood to have too much weight in the final flavour of the wine.

We talked about this and all the different types of wine barrels and their characteristics a few weeks ago. Did you see the post? If you haven’t read it yet, don’t miss out!

Do you know what makes a wine a Gran Reserva? Obviously, ageing time in the barrel and the bottle. The Rioja Regulatory Board establishes the following requirements for a wine to be considered a Gran Reserva, like our Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva: 

• Gran Reserva for red wines: Aged on oak for at least 24 months, followed and complemented by at least 36 months ageing in the bottle. Have you tried Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva?
• Gran Reserva for white or rosé wines: Aged on oak and in the bottle for a total of at least 48 months, with at least 6 in oak barrels.

 In our previous instalment of the Wine Dictionary, we talked about the phases of a wine’s evolution and ageing. Do you know them? Do you know the difference between the two?

And now the final entry of the fifth instalment of our El Coto de Rioja Wine Dictionary! When we talk about grape skins, we mean the very thin membrane that covers the grape. And they are essential to the quality and flavour of wines! The grape skins are where the tannins and pigments are found. Plus, yeast on the skins are what set off the reaction known as spontaneous fermentation to create the wine.

If you haven’t read the previous parts of the wine dictionary, we recommend you don’t miss: