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Our wine expert discusses mispronunciations and this season's must-try Spanish wines

Photo: pixabay. As Canadians, we’re prone to mispronouncing certain wine words, particularly those that were conceived in the U.S.

 Photo: pixabay.Photo: pixabay.

As Canadians, we’re prone to mispronouncing certain wine words, particularly those that were conceived in the U.S. We say Meri-TAHGE (when in fact Meritage rhymes with Heritage) and Willa-METTE valley (where the Oregonian locals say Will-AH-mit, rhyming with Dammit), and it’s because of a very Canadian reality: we’re used to seeing two languages on every package, so if a word or name looks even a tad French-y, we default to that syntax automatically.

In Barcelona, I discovered that they too had two languages on every package and sign, but to my disappointment neither was a language that I spoke (super friendly country, but telling a Spaniard that you don’t speak Spanish does not deter him from speaking way more Spanish to you. I perfected polite blinking during my stay there). Instead, the signs in Barcelona are all in both the federal Castilian Spanish and the local Catalonian Spanish, which illustrates a greater point: in dialect, as in wine, there is not “one Spain”.

The country as a whole can boast several exceptionalities, it has the most acreage under vine (but nutrient-poor soils and the resultant low-density plantings make them produce less volume than France or Italy), and it is the only European country to use significant quantities of American oak, and to have been subject to a centuries-long alcohol prohibition (at least nominally). Modern Spain really has to be described, however, as a collection of smaller regions rather than a whole, each with their own traditions and methods (and often their own grape), just like these two regional wines:

Juan Gil 18 Meses (Blue Label) 2015, Jumilla. As a person of Scottish ethnicity with pale skin (you’d see through me if it weren’t for the beard) and an even paler tolerance for heat, I doubt I’d hang out in Jumilla very long, but the wines are way fab. Hot, dry and harsh, this elevated region east of Andalucía has embraced modernity by combining the traditional Monastrell grape with international Cabernet Sauvignon. This hyper-charged blend by the enterprising Gil family (“18 Meses” denotes the 18 months it spent in barrel) is back in all of its hedonistic glory, showing vanilla and coconut over black fruits and a blacker pigment, and drinks almost identically to the family’s famous Clio, but for $20 less a bottle. $49.99 +tax

Pata Negra Organic Cava. “Cava” (means “caves”) is the bubbly of Catalonia, made from indigenous grapes that sound like moon-men (Macabeu! Parellada!! Xarel·lo!!! They’re attacking!! Run!!), and is popular with wine snobs and hipsters alike due to its low price and high Deliciosity™. Made just like Champagne with a secondary fermentation in the bottle, the bubbles are wee, the apple-citrus-croissant nose is perfect, and the acid is balanced and focused – this will not take the paint off of your house. Pairs perfectly with the plain salted potato chips you just started eating again after swearing off them 3 weeks ago. $19.99 +tax

Written by Jordan Carrier, Vintage Room Consultant at Everything Wine – River District.