Two Bottles of Lovely Wine from a Lovely Area #WorldWineTravel

 I have invited the members of World Wine Travel to join me in exploring Carinena, Aragon Spain.  Carinena is the most well know wine region in Aragon but I am hoping that some of the group explored other areas.  

photo courtesy of google images

Won't you join us?......

Carinena is right in the heart of Aragon which borders France.  The wine from this region is from the Carignan grape, a black skinned variety native to Aragon.  Carignan is normally used as a blending grape with Granache, Syrah and Mourvedre. (Source: Wine Searcher)

I knew virtually nothing about this area prior to this event, however it has much the same terroir as Languedoc-Roussillon in France and uses the same grapes in the wine production.  I'm a little more familiar with Laguedoc and I anticipated that I was going to be very pleased with the wines from Carinena, Aragon.  I was so right.

I bought two bottles of CARE Wine from a local wine distributor.  The first bottle I opened was a 2018 Garnacha Syrah Tinto Sobre Lias.  This wine was light and fruity with a hint of pepper.  Very smooth and well rounded it paired well with a Chicken Mexican Bake.  At only $10 a bottle this wine was a steal.  I have paid twice that for wines that aren't near as nice.

Bodegas CARE is in the heart of Carae, one of the oldest demominations in Spain, where mead was mixed with honey in ancient times. 

The second bottle I opened was the Garnacha Nativa made from old vines and aged in American Oak for 8 months.  It is 100% Grenache.  This is a deep wine with hints of coffee.  This bottle was much higher priced and I could see that it was a more elegant wine.  I paired it with a Greek Burger and it was lovely but I think I would prefer to buy 5 bottles of the Grenacha Syrah were it still available.

We are all going to get together on Saturday, 5/22, at 11 AM ET to talk about our exploration of this area.  We would love to have you join us on Twitter Chat.  You will find us by following #WorldWineTravel.  Here are the topics we will be discussing......

• 2015 Vinos del Viento Cariñena + Pulled Pork Sandwiches by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• A Tale of Garnacha, Exploring Aragon by Avvinare
• Aragón by Tabletop: Arroz Aragonés + 2015 Vinos del Viento Cariñena by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Aragon’s Carinena and Castles + Olive Anchovy Sammies by Wine Predator
• Calatayud, Aragon Wines: Evodia + Fully Loaded Pork Taquitos by Our Good Life
• Campo De Borja: The Empire of Garnacha by My Full Wine Glass
• Cooking to the Wine: Vinos del Viento Cariñena with Smoky Octopus, Bacon Smashed Potatoes, and Romesco Sauce by Somm's Table
• Exploring Aragon via Plate and Glass by Food Wine Click!
• Exploring the Kingdom of Aragon and Its Wines by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Fountains of Wine in the Land of Kings by Children of the Grape
• Heading to Aragón and Valdejalón with Bodegas Frontonio by Savor the Harvest
• Learning Spain - Aragon's Four Wine Regions: Carinena, Somontano, Calatayud, and Campo De Borja Through Eight Wines by Chinese Food and Wine Pairings
• Two Bottles of Lovely Wine from a Lovely Area by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Hope to see you there!!! Adios for now.