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TODDCAST EPISODE 19: SHOW NOTES: Outline for this week’s episode:

Hello everybody and today is May 25.

And on this day in 1938, the city of Alicante in Spain is bombed by the Italians during the Spanish Civil War. Over 300 people were killed. Ugly stuff. And why were the Italians bombing them? War is hell, I tell ya.

Well, Alicante is a tourist town now and it is quite nice. Alicante is also a wine region in Spain. They are known for their Garnachas, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir…

And that brings us to our Wine Word of the Day: Alicante Bouschet

Alicante Bouschet a wonderful grape. It is one of the few grapes whose juice is naturally red. Almost all other grapes have clear juice. Those grapes must be fermented with the skins to make the wine red.

Some grapes, like Zinfandel, have pretty big berries and thin skins. Therefore it is hard to make a wine with a deep red color from just Zinfandel grapes. So, winemakers will often blend darker wines with Zin to give it more color. Alicante Bouchet is one of those wines.

You might think Alicante Bouschet comes from Alicante, Spain. Nope. That was just a convenient lead in. It actually was developed in France in 1866 by Henri Bouschet when he crossed Petit Bouschet and Grenache. Petit Bouschet was developed by his dad, proving the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine.

Although Alicante Bouschet is mostly used for blending you might occasionally find it bottled as its own varietal. Common flavors you might taste in a bottle of Alicante are cherry and plum.

But if you don’t like Alicante Bouschet, that’s okay. It’s a thick-skinned grape so it can take criticism well.

For transcripts, links and more podcasts go to moonstones.com/wwd. If you have any suggestions for more words or historical war inquiries like, how many cases of Alicante Bouschet would you have to trebuchet, the Italian’s way, to stop them from using their bombays, please send email to wwd@moonstonecellars.com.

And until next time, cheers to you.

TASTING ROOMORS (Happenings in the Tasting Room)

Papagallo Party Wrap-Up

Club Shipment Time is coming up!  Make your selections now!

MOONSTONE CELLARS CLUB ANNIVERSARIES

Bobby Ward                          6 yrs
Mike & Linda Finley             5 yrs
Mike & Judy Green              5 yrs
Mark Hedger                        5 yrs
Bob Kasper                            5 yrs
Bonnie Little                         5 yrs
Teresa Rice                           5 yrs
Tippy Sheppard                  5 yrs
Hali Sherman                        5 yrs
Dana Spychalla                    5 yrs
Gary Floyd                             5 yrs
Sheryl Powell                        5 yrs
Roy Hammond                      4 yrs
Judy Schuster                       4 yrs
Jim Stroud                             4 yrs
Marc Blair                              4 yrs
Ruth Capelle                         4 yrs

BOOZE NEWS & VIEWS

Pennsylvania may soon open its doors to the wine trade.
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Maybe I read this story before, I can’t remember.
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A winery that is truly going to the dogs.
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“I’m not drinking the f@%*ing Merlot” onstage.
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CREDITS
Voice Over Talent – Andrew Dawson (Andrew’s YouTube Channel)
Show Posting and Tagging – Robert Widmer
Utter Nonsense – Jill and Todd

Tagged as: Alicante Bourschet

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