Verdejo

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Verdejo is a white wine variety that comes from the Spanish wine-growing region of Rueda and is grown almost exclusively in the Castilian D.Os Cigales , Toro , Tierra de Léon and Rueda .

In the past, heavily oxidized sherry-like wines were made from Verdejo. Modern history begins in the 1970s, when the well-known wine producer Marqués de Riscal (from Rioja ) was looking for an area for growing white wines with high quality requirements. The oenologists from Riscal became aware of the Verdejo grape variety in Rueda through the French professor Émile Peynaud and recognized the enormous potential of this grape in modern viticulture. The outstanding freshness of the must could be preserved through new techniques such as fast transport of the grapes to the cellar and pressing the grapes under a protective gas cushion . The grape is extremely sensitive to oxygen, so because of the cold it is harvested at night when high quality has to be achieved. Verdejo should usually be drunk young; Top qualities have a good structure to mature and develop a nutty and creamy character after a few years in the bottle.

The grape is mostly processed together with the grape varieties Palomino and Macabeo and increasingly with Sauvignon Blanc to make a dry, fresh white wine.

See also the article Viticulture in Spain and the list of grape varieties .

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