Do you know what today is? It’s International Tempranillo Day! (Why is this not indicated on my wine country 2012 calendar?!?)
The wine industry’s version of a “Hallmark holiday,” International Tempranillo Day was created by the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society—kind of a long and hard-to-remember name until you learn the rationale behind it: Its acronym works out to be TAPAS.
So what would the folks at TAPAS like us to do in celebration of International Tempranillo Day? Open a bottle of Tempranillo, of course. It’s a popular variety in the Vinesse Wine Shop, by the way.
Here’s some more information from the TAPAS press release:
“Tempranillo, indigenous to Spain and used in the great Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines, is planted in 500,000 acres of the world’s vineyards, making it the fourth most planted wine grape, and that would be enough to celebrate.
“Until recently, this noble grape’s entire acreage was almost all grown in Spain. Perhaps others were confused by the 60 or more regional synonyms for Tempranillo, which in itself may be a record worth celebrating.
“But things have changed: knowledge of this noble grape is rapidly spreading, creating excitement and a spirit of cooperation among adventurous vintners bringing this Old World variety to New World soils.
“Tempranillo today is grown in many more countries including the United States, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, France, Portugal, Turkey, Canada, China, Thailand and more. And that’s why we established International Tempranillo Day.”
TAPAS helped organize a number of regional events leading up to International Tempranillo Day. But what about today—Thursday, November 8—the big day itself?
Says a TAPAS spokesperson: “We encourage everyone to open a bottle of Tempranillo, enjoy the fun, and share their experiences online with the hashtag #TempranilloDay.”
Let the Tempranillo tweeting begin!
