7o6 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Dec, 1908. 



produced in enormous quantities the blending wines so largely shipped to 

 France a few years ago to make good the deficiency in the wine supply 

 of that countr)- caused by phylloxera. 



These wines, produced largely from the Garnacho or Grenache, the 

 Carignane (here called Mazuelo), the INforastel (Monastrel), and several 

 purely Spanish varieties such as Miguel de Arco and some others less 

 widely grO'wn, are big heavy wines, rich in colour and lannin and of 

 an alcoholic strength of about 22 to 23 per cent, of proof spirit. 

 The cessation of the French demand, owing to increased production fol- 

 lowing on reconstitution, has been a severe blow to Aragon winegrowers 

 wh3 have experienced a crisis similar to that recently gone through in 

 Southern France. However, decreasing production, owing to the con- 

 tinued spread of phvlloxera in Spain, is relieving the pressure and as 

 phylloxera works havoc in portions of the countr v which ha\e hitherto 

 been free from it, prices will no doubt improve. Reconstitution is com- 

 mencing ;ind will ere long be in full swing in Aragon. 



<?P' 



f^RIDGE Ov'ER THE EBRD AT ZARAGOZA. 



The wines of La Rioja are very different from those of Aragon and 

 enjoy an excellent reputation throughout Spain where the name of the 

 district has become synonymous with what is best in the way of light 

 dry red table wine — La Rioja is in fact the claret district of Spain. 

 When one wants something better than the " Vin ordinaire'" provided 

 free of charge at lunch or dinner at all Spanish hotels and restaurants, 

 it is almost always a lx>ttle of Rioja that is ordered. The English term 

 claret is often appropriated and by many firms this wine is labelled Rioja 

 Clarete, the final "e" of the second word be'ng pronounced. Some 

 thirty or forty years ago the best wines of the district were found to be some- 

 what similar to those of Bordeaux and a few energetic growers and 

 merchants imported trained cellarmen from that celebrated French wine 

 centre with the result that the natural product was greatly improved — so 

 much so that it has almost entirely superseded French clarets in Spain. 



Li 1892 the Spanish Government established a viticultural station at 

 Haro which has been of great assistance to growers generallv and has 

 further contributed to the improvement of this thfe &st table wine in 

 Spain. 



I was able to visit the district ha\-ing several letters of introduction 

 and, in addition, Don Nicolas Gaicia de Los Salmones most kindlv 



