It is with no small excitement that I am able to announce a new trip to vino heaven, once again this year.
Navarra, Spain is both an autonomous region (Navarre) as well as an ancient wine region, whose wine roots date back up to 1,200 years. It was once a
great and proud kingdom and sits between what is now the Spanish wine appellation of
Rioja and the French wine appellation of
Bordeaux. Consequently, it has grows an
awesome mix of grape varieties from both regions that have been approved by the Navarra Denominación de Origen (DO):
Garnacha Tinta,
Tempranillo,
Graciano,
Mazuelo,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot,
Pinot Noir,
Shiraz,
Garnacha Blanca,
Malvasia,
Moscatel,
Viura,
Chardonnay, and
Sauvignon Blanc. It also has a long history as an
approved DO (the Spanish equivalent of a wine AVA or appellation that has strict, government-regulated quality control and approved grape growing and winemaking methods), celebrating its
75th anniversary in 2008. And it is to
Navarra that I have the great fortune to fly, this coming Saturday!
The #Navarra5 team hit the ground running (not yet drinking) at the start of our first full day in the great Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) with our trusty guide and F1 driver Michael "Miguel" Mantilla (ARGOS Wine Consulting/Kraynick & Associates, Inc.). Technically I ran the day before, through parts of the glorious and small city of Pamplona, capital of Navarra/Navarre and the setting of many a famous scene in the writings of their adopted son, Ernest Hemingway. I ran past some of his favorite haunts during that afternoon jog, past the tolling bells of the Church of San Lorenzo, and through the ruins of the Citadel. One of my favorite ways to get to know a new city, neighborhood or surrounding land is to take a run through it's fresh splendor.