American growers hope to lure buyers with their take on wines from Iberian grapes

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Move over Rhone Rangers, ZAP-ers (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) and RAP-ers, (Rose Avengers and Producers), there's a new grape advocacy group out there. It's called TAPAS (Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society), and it aims to change what consumers drink.

TAPAS members hope to share their excitement for grapes originally grown on the Iberian peninsula, home to Spain and Portugal, with American wine drinkers.

The challenge, according to the group's president, Earl Jones, is that Americans tend to think of French wines first and Iberian last. But he and his colleagues believe times may be a-changing.

Jones, owner of Abacela Vineyards and Winery in Roseburg, Ore., recently sold out his 3,000 cases of tempranillo in less than six months.

"We've been very surprised," he said.

Tempranillo is the dominant grape variety found in Spain's famed Rioja wines. While TAPAS puts the spotlight name-wise on tempranillo, most members also grow other grape varieties found in Spain and Portugal, such as albarino, garnacha, monastrell (a.k.a. mourvedre), verdejo and touriga nacional.

American-made Iberian wines are increasingly being found on West Coast store shelves, Jones said. Chicago and the East Coast are the next frontier; Jones hopes to have his Abacela wine here by the holidays.

TAPAS has some big-name wineries as members, including Bonny Doon and Clos du Bois, yet the amount of tempranillo vines under cultivation in the United States is very small.

At least a few Chicago-area retailers carry one or two domestic tempranillos. Tom Benezra of Sal's Beverage World stores points to the 2004 Artesa Tempranillo Reserve from California's Alexander Valley.

"Like most California versions, it is a little bigger, softer and jammier than its Old World counterparts, but it has a vivid blueberry fruit character," he said.

Efrain Madrigal of Sam's Wines & Spirits likes Viader Vineyards' 2003 Dare Tempranillo. The wine from California's Napa Valley has more of a true taste of the grape variety than other domestic versions of tempranillo, he said. "It's actually Rioja-like," he said.

Still, a big question remains: Why buy Iberian wines made in America when the peninsula exports so many fine and affordable wines already?

Wine expert Doug Frost, who wrote a guide to Spanish wines issued by Wines of Spain, the trade group, believes Spanish wines have an "incredible and unmatchable" quality and price.

"Tempranillo in Lodi, and most every place else in America, doesn't get me going," he said. "I'm grateful, because Americans will see more tempranillo and will buy more Spanish tempranillo as a result."

Madrigal said that people trying tempranillo for the first time should begin with Spanish brands. He offers a sushi analogy: "The first time you have sushi, it's best if you go to a Japanese restaurant first instead of the local supermarket. The market may have pretty good rolls, but the odds are better at the Japanese sushi bar."

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Offer this line to Jones and he doesn't even attempt a rebuttal.

"Try the Spanish-made products first and then go on to a domestic product," he said. "You know what to expect when you open a bottle of X from Spain. We have as much or more of X in the bottle as our Iberian forbearers."

Don't tell that to Robert Houde. He runs Garnacha Inc., the Chicago-based distributor for wines imported from Spain by the iconic and uber-influential Jorge Ordonez. He thinks tempranillo is gaining in popularity in the United States but not because of a group like TAPAS.

"The people who are making it happen are the upper-level restaurants with sommeliers and good retailers, who have shown the unmatched value that Spanish wines have," he said.

Jones said TAPAS has been contacted by a similar organization in Spain about arranging a taste-off between the two country's Iberian wines.

"The Spanish believe we're incapable of making wines better than them," he said.

Can anyone say "Judgment of Paris" in Spanish?

That contest was the now-famous 1976 tasting of top French and California wines. No one thought the Americans could win but they did, boosting California wines worldwide. Things haven't been the same since between French and U.S. wines; something the winegrowers of TAPAS surely wouldn't mind seeing repeated with the Spanish.

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By the numbers:

78 _ TAPAS members in the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.tapasociety.org for the list, plus more on the group.

1,500-2,000 _ Acres of tempranillo growing in 15 states last year.

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.