If there is one thing we truly love at Barcolobo, it is wine. That’s why we know how to recognize when a wine is ‘special’. But, one thing is that they are special for us, like those of our winery. And another is that they are called ‘special’ because they are wines that have unique characteristics due to the particularities of their grapes or the winemaking processes -and that normally do not fall into any of the categories that are usually distinguished-. For example, sweet or semi-sweet dry wines. But there are more types. Here are some examples.
Liqueur or liqueur wines
These are wines with an alcoholic content between 15% and 22%, partially fermented. They also have the designation of Quality Liqueur Wines Produced in a Specified Region (VLCPRD), which guarantees the origin and quality of the product. They are divided into:
- Natural sweet wines. These are wines made from musts that, due to their high sugar content, are only partially fermented. For example, Moscatell Espelt.
- Fortified wines. The best known is Jerez, whose name comes from the region of Jerez de la Frontera (with Denomination of Origin). There are different categories: finos, olorosos, amontonados, manzanilla, sweet (Moscatel or Pedro Jimenez), Palo Cortado; or those of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Montilla-Moriles, Madeira (D.O. of Madeira Island), Oporto (D.O. of Porto), the Italian Marsala (D.O. of Sicily) or the Vins Doux Naturels of France. Also mostela, although it is not considered as a wine in the strict sense of the word.
- Fortified liqueur wines. Obtained from a combination of the two previous types of wines -generous with natural sweets-. A clear example of this type of wine is mistela.
But there are more types of special wines. In this case, we will highlight the aromatized, sparkling and carbonated wines -among others-.
- Wine derivatives: aromatized wines and vermouths. These are wines to which an additive is added. In this case, we are talking about aromatic substances, which make their flavor change completely; macerated herbs, spices and even water and/or honey stand out.
- Sparkling wines. Due to their varietal origin or their particular elaboration, they conserve a part of the carbonic gas coming from the fermentation of their own or added sugars. This carbon dioxide gas is released in the form of bubbles and does not produce foam.
Aerated wine. Wine to which all or part of the carbon dioxide gas it contains has been industrially incorporated.
- Sparkling wines. Also known as Champagne in France, Spumante in Italy and cava in Spain.
- Waxed wines and chacolís. These are wines whose grapes have not ripened normally due to conditions that are typical of certain climatic regions.
This is the division of special wines. Did you know them all? Which one is your favorite? Between sparkling, liqueur, aromatized and other categories, we stick to our standard classification: red, rosé and white, because if there is a wine that is special, that is Barcolobo!