Tempranillo.
Albarino.
Garnacha.
Verdelho.
Not wines with which you’re likely to be familiar—unless, that is, you’ve been a member of one of the wine clubs of Vinesse for a while. We’ve been championing lesser-known varieties for as long as our clubs have been in existence.
But enough about us. This is about those lesser-known, under-appreciated varieties that are native to the Iberian Peninsula.
Like many grape varieties that consider someplace else home, they’ve found a welcoming second home here in the United States. They even have a trade organization dedicated to them: the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society…which, as you may have deduced, is known more simply as TAPAS.
For five years now, TAPAS has staged an annual walk-around tasting of the aforementioned varieties and several others. This year, the tasting is scheduled for Saturday, June 9 at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion in San Francisco.
Like many of the wines featured in our clubs, some of the bottles to be opened that day are rarely seen in the marketplace because they’re made in such limited quantities. But beyond that, the event provides an opportunity to chat with the people who made the wine.
So, if you’re planning a trip to the City by the Bay this summer, consider scheduling it in conjunction with the TAPAS tasting.
For hotel planning, you can check out Fort Mason’s location here. And for full details on the TAPAS event, click here.
