Grape reminder on the label

IT'S interesting to see that some bodegas in Rioja are following the world fashion of labelling their wines according to the variety of grape.

While cabernet sauvignon is arguably the best-known red wine grape variety in the world and running the risk of becoming a bore, it is important that consumers should be reminded that other varieties of grape are used in different regions of the world to make great wine.

No one wants growers to plant the same grapes and thereby to limit the range of wines available because of a misguided belief in the popularity of a few grape varieties.

Tempranillo, the leading grape variety in Rioja and other parts of Spain, has not been widely recorded on labels. Now we note that Berberana (one of Rioja's top bodegas) won a gold medal at the Mondial du Vin in Brussels, not with a wine labelled simply "1991 Rioja", but with "1991 Tempranillo". Rioja does feature, but in a smaller script.

This kind of labelling must be welcomed by those who fear that one day Rioja and other regions of Spain could be swamped by cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and the like.