Celebrate International Tempranillo Day, Thur., Sept. 1 with Spartico NSA Spanish 100% Tempranillo

Aug. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Natural Merchants, LLC, with headquarters in Grants Pass, Ore. and Cartagena, Spain, encourages Spanish wine fans to celebrate International Tempranillo Day with USDA Certified Organic No Sulfites Added (NSA) Spartico Spanish Tempranillo. The wine is made from Spain’s most prominent and popular Tempranillo grape without the addition of any sulfites during production and carries the USDA Certified Organic Seal. The suggested retail price for the wine is $11.99 and it is available through Whole Foods nationwide and other fine wine retailers across the country.

Spanish wine sales have grown quite rapidly in the U.S. market during the past few years, with Spain’s most famous grape, Tempranillo, leading the way in popularity. Tempranillo is indigenous to Spain but is planted in 500,000 acres of the world’s vineyards, making it the sixth most widely planted grape.*  Spanish Tempranillo remains the authentic leader of this popular varietal. Tempranillo is a food-friendly wine, pairing well with a variety of tapas, Spanish cheeses, paella and spicy meat dishes.

“Spartico Spanish Tempranillo is the first USDA Certified Organic No Sulfites Added (NSA) wine from Spain available for nationwide distribution,” said Edward Field of Natural Merchants. “The wine is made from 100% USDA certified organic Tempranillo grapes, without the addition of any sulfites during production. It took our winemaker several years to perfect a winemaking process that would create a quality and stable wine without the use of any added sulfites and we are elated with the results.”

Spartico is produced by Bodegas Iranzo, Spain’s oldest estate bottled winery, by winemaker Francisco Galbardón–Professor of Enology at Spain’s oldest School of Enology. Only the finest certified organic Tempranillo grapes are selected. Bodegas Iranzo is located in the D.O. Utiel-Requena region (second largest wine growing region in Spain).

TAPAS (www.tapasociety.org) is coordinating the first International Tempranillo Day, September 1, 2011: A celebration of the Tempranillo grape with all its regional synonyms. They are encouraging consumers to open a bottle of Tempranillo, enjoy the fun, and share their experiences online at www.internationaltempranilloday.com.

TAPAS aims to celebrate the wines made from this grape from around the world. Their goal is to raise consumer awareness of these food-friendly wines made from Iberian varieties, and provide broader exposure for the typically smaller, limited-production wineries making them.

The Natural Merchants Selections program highlights more than 150 carefully selected wines from Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Greece and Portugal, grown in unique organic terroir, each vineyard producing clean, fresh superior wines that are both good for the earth and tantalizing for the palate. For more information visit naturalmerchants.com.

*Sales and planting statistics according to TAPAS.