Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month And Wine

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th to October 15th. This Wine Wednesday feature was scheduled for last week, when Hurricane Milton hit. I pressed pause and picked up celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and wine today instead.

Hispanic farm workers are a vital part of California's wine industry. Some have transitioned from the field to working in the wineries, even becoming wine makers and winery owners. It's impossible to talk about all of them here but in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month we'll highlight a few.

Not just the wines but also in-depth stories through podcast links. For years, I co-hosted a wine-centric podcast on NPR called Grape Minds with Julie Glenn. Julie was also the news director for WGCU Public Media in Fort Myers.

We loved to do series such as women winemakers. During COVID, we spent a virtual summer in Italy, traveling to a different region each week through wine. One of our favorite series was Hispanic Heritage Month. For Wine Wednesday, I'm sharing three as not only a tribute to the winemakers but also Julie.

In the summer of 2019, Julie was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We continued to record our show through her treatments, although at times it was a struggle. Wine was a passion of hers and it was a good distraction.

Julie lost her battle May 2, 2022.

When you are not steaming the radio station, listen to one of these podcasts to learn a little more about the wines and the people behind them.

Don Melchor is one of the most respected and most decorated wines in Chile. I've had the honor of meeting and tasting with the winemaker, Enrique Tirado. In fact, I just picked up the newest release of this cabernet and it is a gorgeous, 97point wine. Buy two, one to decant and enjoy now, the other to age.

We talked to Enrique about what makes Don Melchor one of the most well-known and best wines in the world.

It's not a secret, I love Bibiana Gonzalez Rave and the things she is doing in Sonoma. Born in Columbia, she left her family to study winemaking in France, then made her way to California to establish Wines By Bibianna.

Under that umbrella she makes Cattleya. I recently had a bottle of the Cuvee Number Eight Pinot Noir. It was a nicely balanced, bright wine that was just a little earthy, with red fruits and whisper of white pepper on the finish. Here is BIbianna's inspiring story.

Finally, I visited the Mi Sueno Winery tasting room in Napa some 20 years ago and never forgot the story or wine which is consistently good. When translated from Spanish, Mi Sueno means my dream. It refers to the founder's journey.

As a teenager, Mexican immigrant Rolando Herrera washed dishes at the exclusive Auberge du Soleil before working his way through cellar jobs at wineries. He and his wife Lorena founded Mi Sueño Winery in 1997. He realized the American dream, hence the name of the wine. His story is here:

Julie and I so enjoyed these three stories and the wines that Enrique, Bibiana and Rolando make. When it came to wine, Julie was a scholar. She didn't just enjoy drinking it, she wanted to know everything about it from the grapes to the age of the vines and their locations, and the people that brought them to life.

She, like many people battling cancer and other illnesses, left us too soon. Life is fleeting and uncertain. Open that wine you've been holding on to. Share it with friends and family. Tell them you love them and raise a glass to those who left us too soon.

Cheers to you Julie Glenn. Miss you. GB

For Wine Wednesday we are discovering wines from Sardinia in Southwest Florida. I have just returned from a week on the Italian island doing lots of food and wine research. If you are looking to try something new, these wines are for you.

While there are a lot of vineyards on the island, not many of the wines make it to the United States. I visited the country's biggest producer, Surrau. The winery and vineyards are in Sardinia's beautiful Costa Smeralda. About 20% of their wine gets exported and Florida is on the list.

As a matter of fact, the bottles pictured below, with one exception, are the labels to look for in the United States.

Sardinia grows a variety of grapes but the flagships are vermentino for white wine and cannanou for red. Vermentino is grown all over the world but the grapes grown here are a little different due to the climate and the soil.

The wines tend to have more minerals and even have a bit of salinity to them. They are perfect with seafood and a lot of the cheeses found here.

As for the cannanou, it is the Sardinian name for grenache. The grapes here are said to have more antioxidants than any other. Sardinia is a so-called Blue Zone afterall. Blue Zones are areas where people live longer, are generally in better health than the rest of the world.

Vermintino is Surrau's specialty, but they also produce some lovely cannanou and even use those grapes for rose, sparkling wine and sweet passito. Check out this quick video from my winery visit and tasting.

If you make it to Sardinia and Costa Smeralda, book a tasting and tour at this winery. The facility is immaculate and high tech. The tasting room has a superb view, and the wines are a great discovery.

We tasted some of the dessert wines, a rose and sparkling wine too. They are not exported to the United States, but you can buy them at the winery and either ship or pack.

Surrau's winery and tasting room is modern and beautiful. The grounds are full of flowers and art.

The wines from left to right. 1. Limizzani Vermentino de Gallura DOCG is dry and tropical but still round with lots of minerality. 2. Branu Vermentino de Gallura is a DOCG wine. It also lots of minerals but with some juicy pear notes. 3. Sciala Vermentino de Gallura DOCG has fresh layers of flavors, a slightly floral and effervescent feel.

Concrete eggs are used at Surrau's winery for aging the white wines. The concrete is easy to clean and reuse as well.

Aging wine in amphora's is centuries old. It is done at Surrau in Sardinia as well. One of the ways the white wines are vinified.

At Surrau Winery in Sardinia, the vermentino grapes are still ripening on the vines. Harvest wont be for another month or so depending on the weather.

Winery founders are committed to supporting art and local artists. The hallways are set up like a gallery and so is one of the vineyard walkways. This is part of a competition. Winery visitors can vote on their favorite at Surrau in Sardinia.

Surrau uses a variety of barrels for aging its red wines at the winery in Sardinia.

Wines left to right. 1.lIsola dei Nuraghi IGE is a lighter style with mixed berry and herbs 2. Naraou Cannonau de Sardegna DOC is more chalky and dry with lots of red fruit 3. Sincaru Cannonau de Sardegna DOC is full, with dark berries and layers of flavor

Surrau makes a sparkling wine from cannonau that does not get distributed in Florida. But it fit nicely in my suitcase. It is elegantly bold with nice red fruit characteristics.

Winery founders are committed to supporting art and local artists. The hallways are set up like a gallery and so is one of the vineyard walkways. This is part of a competition. Winery visitors can vote on their favorite at Surrau in Sardinia.

Check out the floor in this barrel room. It is full of rocks. They are said to be helpful to maintain proper humidity in the cellar as the wines age in the barrels.