Winemaking
At Viña Loriente we proudly reclaim California’s Spanish heritage and indulge in the best of both worlds.
The process
We may be the only vineyard in the United States making Verdejo (pronounced “Vurr-day-ho”) and we pride ourselves for the most authentically Spanish Tempranillo. Our secret? It’s best described in the Spanish word for aging wine: “crianza”, which means to nurture with the same love and care that is given to a child.
Then the bottle is responsible for harmonizing, polishing and fully maturing our wines.
Our VERDEJO
Verdejo is a subtle but superb white wine grown almost exclusively in Spain, the most acclaimed being produced in the Rueda region. It gets its name from the green hue of its juice (a play on “verde” in Spanish) when first pressed and is sometimes referred to as “the little green one”. We harvest it during the night to preserve its primary flavors at cooler temperatures. Verdejo continues to improve over several years of bottle-ageing, where it gains a rich texture and continues to surprise with changes in flavors.
Our TEMPRANILLO
The Tempranillo is an eager one; it earns its name for reaching its optimal ripening point sooner than others (“temprano” means early in Spanish).
The King of Spanish red wines, it needs warm days to ripen and develop flavor, complemented by cool nights to not lose too much acid. Medium to high levels of tannin makes Tempranillo great for aging.
With age, the tannins soften and additional aromas and flavors develop. Delicate but with character, this is a balanced but complex wine, full-bodied and of dark garnet color, with hints of cherry, plum, and fig, vanilla and leather.
Both Viña Loriente’s Tempranillo red and the Verdejo white are aged in French oak barrels. The reds age for three years — at least two of which are in the barrel — making it similar to a Spanish “Reserva,” while the Verdejo is aged for one to two years, with a minimum of six months in the barrel.
The French Oak creates a softer texture while also imparting an elegant, more robust flavor to both wines. Additionally, our Tempranillo is periodically topped up in the barrel with a small quantity of Viña Loriente Cabernet Sauvignon to add acidity, additional character, and balance.
The fining process for Tempranillo is conducted in the old-fashioned European way, by adding small amounts of egg white, which allows excess tannins to attach to the egg white’s protein and drop to the bottom of the barrel. The wines are then very carefully racked to another barrel, leaving the sediment behind. Our Verdejo is fined by the same process apart from the fining agent, which is skimmed milk for our white wine.
The 2017 Tempranillo and 2018 Verdejo are its first vintages available to enjoy now or to store for many years to come.