Peñin Guide points to Bodegas Santalba Rioja Wines

Year by year, after a huge effort it is fantastic to have a good feedback and get these fantastic points from Peñin Guide whom always gives to our wines wonderful positions in its classification:

Nabot Single Vineyard 2005

ERMITA DE SAN FELICES RESERVA 2008 - 88 POINTS

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NABOT SINGLE VINEYARD 2005 - 89  POINTS

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OGGA RESERVA 2008 - 90 POINTS

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Santalba Limited Edition 2008

SANTALBA ECOLÓGICO RESVERATROL 2011 - 90 POINTS

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SANTALBA LIMITED EDITION 2008 - 89 POINTS

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VIÑA HERMOSA RESERVA 2008 - 88 POINTS

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Thanks everybody to make this posible and please continue following our day by day!

Wine process - Part II

We continue with the wine process and as we told you in our last post, with the FERMENTATION, one of the most important points during the elaboration process.

The grape juice needs to overcome two different fermentations, the alcoholic and the malolactic.

ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION
The alcoholic fermentation is the process when the sugar turns into alcohol.
That is with are needed the yeasts, microorganism that we can find naturally in the grape skin (kind of white dust you can find out side the grape skin).

The oxigen is the responsable to start this fermentation, because of the yeasts need it in their growth period.
However, at the end of the fermentation the quantity of oxigen must be smaller to keep the ethyl alcohol and get the acetic acid. 

From the alcoholic fermentation, we obtain heat energy and we have to control the temperature because if it increase too much,(25-30 ºC) the yeasts could die and the fermentation will be stooped.

Another product from the alcoholic fermentation is the gas, carbon dioxide and it cause the bubbles and the boiling effect, and of course the characteristic aroma from the fermentation. There is a video from our tanks during this period, it is amazing! More than 30.000 litres... 

                       
This boiling effect makes the grape skins go to the top of the tank (solids) and create the "hat". This "hat" protect the grape juice from bacteria and another microorganism from the skin and also is from we get the tanins and the color, aromas and  another susbtances like Resveratrol located in the skin.

TASTING COURSE II - BODEGAS SANTALBA

We continue with our tasting course

Then, when we are ready, we will start with the tasting:

• From the lightest to the hardest
• From the weakest to the most alcoholic
• From the driest to the sweetest



VIÑA HERMOSA - BODEGAS SANTALBA



Firstly we should start the tasting with whites, continue with the roses and finísh with reds, starting with the younghest and continue with the aged ones. If there is any sweet, we will leave it for the end. 

The glass do not have to be filled more than the 1/3, reasons:

Example about the quantity

• To shake it without problems
• To smell properly the aromas that the wine dislodge
• To see the colour because if we have too much wine, we can not see the colour clearly reflected in the other side of the glass, table, hand... 

We wish you are taking notes about these advices and you will use them in future tastings… Soon, we will post new secrets about tasting…

Cheers!

TASTING COURSE - BODEGAS SANTALBA

The more representative picture about our winery is The Taster so we will post a guide about the Wine Tasting Process and we will try to teach how to do a professional tasting with family, friends …

First, we must learn to perceive the difference between taste or drink..

Everybody has ability to taste, however, nobody is born knowing and it is an activity that will be improved when you train, keep the senses and learn the techniques.

The

taster has to be relaxed, calm and focused. The best time to taste is in the morning, one or two hours before lunch. It is better to taste a little hungry and alone, and try to eat  neutral food like bread, crackers, breadsticks etc., Some people with a little bit of water may be enough.

Depends on the knowledge of the taster, tasting should not be in longer than an hour and to taste no more that 6 or 8 wine samples.

The tasting room should be a quiet place with a temperature of 20 ° and a relative humidity between 60 and 70% where the taster can be concentrated without noise if possible. Lighting should be ok too (halogen lamps or candles). It should not be used fluorescent lamps. It should have a white background where you can see different wine shades and brightness.In the beginning, we have to take all the material that we will need, wines, drinks, glasses…

The temperature of the wine must have her around:
White and Rose: 8/10 degrees
White and rose with aging: 10/12 degrees
Young red wines: 14/16 degrees
Aged wines, 16/18 degrees.

The glass is the most important instrument for the taster. Glass should be fine, colorless, transparent and smooth. The glass must be caught by the bottom to avoid getting fingerprints on the glass clouding vision and to warm the wine.

To start is enough, we will teach you more about the taste and the process that you should follow to taste as a professional.

Cheers!!

ART IN THE AGEING ROOM

Today we will show you the Aging Room.

The barrels are French and American oak. This room is underground so that keeps the best temperature for the wine.

They are piled up in the traditional way with wood wedges and as a curiosity, you can see a small hole in the front part of the barrel.

That is to decant (change the wine from one barrel to another) the wine in the traditional way as well. Each 6 months we do this process in Bodegas Santalba and in another post we will explain you these kinds of peculiar methods that we practice in our winery. That is the difference in Bodegas Santalba, the quality is very important for us, so we care all the details that make the wine better.

Also you can show this glass in the aging room,

It has a special meaning, the development that the wine is having during its life.

Firstly you can see a grape, that is the beginning … The Tempranillo grape, the most typical grape variety in our region, D.O.Ca. Rioja.

From that grape we obtain the young wines with its typical colour, violet, purple…

After that, when the time goes by, the wines in the ageing process have a different colour, red and ruby.

Finally, the wines with a long ageing process have a russet colour and you can show it in the outer part.



ABOUT RESVERATROL

Talking about resveratrol, there are  magazines, television programs and  Internet articles that in our opinion, lead to confusion in some cases. For example, some scientist in Harvard University claim that resveratrol is the Holy Grail against aging. Other institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, the Salk Institute and the University of California, say that resveratrol is almost an elixir for youth. Is it to much?. In our humble and relying exclusively on what our parents have always said, before our grandfathers and our great-grandparents even before, we believe that natural food is always good. If this is red wine, is a source of health.And if wine is taken in moderation, is a source of life.

         

But let's go with something more of science: David Sinclair, professor in Harvard University and world-renowned specialist in aging battle, has worked for some years searching for substances that someday effectively delay the human aging. His studies have proved that resveratrol activates certain genetic pathways or "regulatory genes" that exist in all forms of life, protecting the organisms in a way that makes them more healthy and probably will prolong their life.

The key, in our opinion and also given by Sinclair when he says "It´s not important living longer. The really important is feeling as 60 years old when you are 90". Can you imagine it?. Great!

Resveratrol is a natural substance in the  polyphenols group, which is generated in vegetables. It is found in peanuts, blueberries and cranberries, as well as spruce, eucalyptus and other plants (not all edible), but mostly found in the skin of red grapes. Thus, red wine is rich in resveratrol, but white wine also has a certain amount. Many articles have said that resveratrol in the wine protect against heart disease, talking about the famous "French paradox". That paradox tells about French, who have lots of cheese, foie gras and other foods high in fats in their diet, but still they have lower cholesterol levels and suffer fewer heart attacks than average. Presumably  this is because in their diet they also enjoy more red quality wine than the rest of the world.

Some scientists have demonstrated that resveratrol has neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant  properties, helps to protect against cardiovascular diseases and even some scientists have theorized about the possible use of resveratrol to treat some cancers.

Should we give our grandchildren resveratrol capsule every morning in order to get 100 years old without seeing a doctor? Should we buy a bottle of pills and take resveratrol just now?

For the first question, nobody knows the answer. But about the latter, the response according to many scientists and  our logic thoughts is clear that NO. For the moment, we prefer to enjoy a glass of high quality red wine (SANTALBA wine if it´s possible), because we do not know if we will live longer, but sure we´ll live better. Of course, always in moderation.

More information in http://www.santalba.com