Verdejo
Pronunciation: Vayr DAY hohWhere it's Grown: Verdejo is a native specialty of the wine region of Rueda in North Central Spain. Rueda is just south of the Ribera del Duero, which is home to the epynonomous Tempranillo based red wine district. Rueda's next door neighbor is Toro where powerful Tempranillo and Garnacha wines are the tradition. This region of Spain is a relatively high plateau with a continental climate. Hot days followed by cool nights are the norm as should be expected in a semi-arid elevated area. Large temperature shifts create an environment which supports white wines with crispness and ripe fruit flavors.
What to expect: Verdejo is a lovely blend of moderately ripe stone fruits, like peach, and pomme fruits. Because the semi-arid climate of Rueda allows for cool nights the resultant wines have a lemony lift to the otherwise ripe fruits. Plan on tasting yellow apple, pear, apricot or peach, and lemon. Great wine for shellfish, lighter white meats and certainly olives. It is also blended with Sauvignon Blanc quite often and in those cases the flavors of green herbs, grapefruit and lime will be added.
