Chenin Blanc Mencia Rum Spain Navarra 750ml

Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.

It is difficult to categorize rum as a single spirit, because of all the spirits found around the globe, rum is perhaps the one which varies most dramatically from place to place. Clear, white rum - a favorite for cocktail drinkers - is perhaps the most prevalent example found today, but there is a whole world of darker, spiced and molasses-rich rums to explore, thanks to the fascinating history and wide reach this drink has.

Rum came about during the colonial times, when sugar was a huge and world-changing business. The molasses left over from the sugar production industry could easily be distilled into a delicious alcoholic drink, and provided extra income for the sugar traders. Before long, it became a favorite of sailors and transatlantic merchants, and it quickly spread across the Caribbean and Latin America, where it remains highly popular today.

The production of rum is a basic and simple one - you take your molasses, add yeast and water, and then ferment and distil the mixture. However, as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. The variation in yeasts found from place to place, the maturation period, the length of the fermentation and the type of stills and barrels used provide the rainbow-colored variation that gives rum its spectrum of styles and characteristics.

Ever since the Phoenicians and Romans brought their knowledge of vine cultivation to Spanish soils, the country's culture has grown alongside wine production, with wine being a vital part of Spanish identity and Spanish traditions. Each region of Spain has a wine quite distinct from the others, and it is produced by smallholders and families as much as it is by large companies and established wineries. From the relatively mild and lush regions of La Rioja to the arid plateaus that surround Madrid, grapes are grown in abundance for the now booming Spanish wine industry, and new laws and regulations have recently been put in place to keep the country's standards high. By combining traditional practices with modern technology, Spanish wineries are continuing to produce distinctive wines of great character, flavor and aroma, with the focus shifting in recent decades to quality over quantity.

The Spanish wine region of Navarra is a seriously big one. This vast space covers over a hundred kilometers, and within the region you can find almost every climatic condition imaginable in Europe. From the semi-desert of the south, near the Bardenas Reales national park, to the northern mountains where the air is damp and the terrain lush and green, this is a region of real variety and range. As you might expect from such a far-reaching bit of wine country, the wines you find in Navarra vary from one extreme to the other. In some ways, this can present Spanish wine fans with a bit of a problem, as Navarra doesn’t really have any singular, identifiable wine style. However, thanks to the dedication of the vintners who work this disparate terroirs, there’s plenty to explore and several gems to uncover.

The temperate regions to the north, in the shadow of the mountain ranges that criss-cross the country produce remarkably fine imported French white wine varietals, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The mineral rich soils it the foothills are brought forward beautifully in the wines, which are quite distinct from their French cousins. The winemakers of Navarra have also experimented a lot with French style blends over the past two decades, bringing Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon together with the native Tempranillo grape. However, Navarra is principally rose country, and the Garnacha grape varietal thrives in the vineyards which cover this huge and historic region.