Just around the corner

Continuing our historic perspective of the wine trade, after the fall of the Kingdom of Granada, over the next centuries, Western Europe’s trade with the Orient declined as Constantinople fell to the Turks. In particular, this affected trade in sweet wines from the region, due to diminishing supplies. Supply was further affected when the island of Cyprus fell to the Turks in 1571.

The English were expelled from Bordeaux at the end of the One Hundred Year War so they no longer had exclusive access to Bordeaux wines; however, the new leaders of Spain, with the aid of the Dominican and Cistercian religious orders, were capable of meeting the English demand. Before the fall of Cyprus, the Spanish took vine cuttings and planted them in southern Spain and, in particular, the Canary Islands. The wine, commonly known as sherry, has its name origin from this time, as the English were unable to pronounce Jerez, which was a major wine center, producing wines for export. Some Jerez wines were referred to as “sack” and were available in different degrees of sweetness; today we still have a sherry sold under the name “Dry Sack.” An additional note: the origin of quality sherry began in the port of Bristol and was sold as “Bristol Milk”; today we know this as “Bristol Cream” sherry.

For a brief period, England and Spain enjoyed a solid relationship through trade, and more importantly, the marriage of Spain’s Catherine of Aragon, to Henry VIII, of England. The relationship fell apart when Henry sued for divorce and Catherine’ s nephew, Phillip II—who, at that time, was the Holy Roman Emperor—pressured the Pope to prevent this occurrence. When Henry dissolved the English Abbeys and Monasteries, tremendous pressure was brought down on the English traders living in Spain and, needless to say, the wine trade between both countries declined. It should be noted that the Tudors owned several vineyards in Northern France so the Court was not at a loss for wine. Thirst trumps political adversity and there was always a strong, if somewhat diminished, wine trade between Spain and England.

Next week: what prompted the age of discovery and exploration?

Blanquette de Veau requires a wine that challenges the richness of the dish yet complements this elegant French stew. I recommend the Rosehall Run Vineyards 2008 Cuvée County Chardonnay ($21.95), created by winemaker Dan Sullivan. The grapes for this treat were sourced from grapegrowers within the County and from the Rosehall vineyards.

The wine is bright straw in the glass; the nose is a tempting combination of toasted cashews, buttered popcorn and white grapefruit. The palate is roasted corn on the cob, grilled white peach and a hint of marjoram with a finish of white grapefruit and fresh fiddleheads.

Rosehall Run Vineyards is located on Greer Rd, west of Hwy 33.

At this moment many of our Prince Edward County wineries are taking part in the Cold Climate Chardonnay contest in New York. I wish them all success and expect their wines to receive the recognition they so deserve.