One of the many positive effects of the renewed interests for wine is the increasing curiosity of people about this subject and, with that, to the other subjects which are related to it, such as food and wine traditions and folklore, paying much attention, or, at least, trying to pay more attention, on what it is being eaten and on its quality. The ones who love nice wine and quality wines, also love nice cooking and eating quality foods; the ones who are aware of “wise drinking”, little but good, seem not to be affected by the “temptations” of fast foods, quick and less attentive, and certainly less healthy.

 This trend, both to wise drinking and to wise eating, has contributed to give tourism a real and proper boost, in particular to those peripheral areas near artistic cities, incredibly rich in traditional, enological and gastronomical patrimonies. It is more and more happening that in the plans and the journeys of people, they take some time in visiting historical and artistic cities, as well as taking some time in visiting traditional places near to them, in order to know and discover gastronomical and enological cultures and traditions of those places. This trend allowed many receptive structures to specifically organize things in order to offer the possibility of appreciating the nice food of their lands.

 Even wineries worked towards getting the advantages of these opportunities: since many years there is a real and proper increasing number of consumers who visit production sites of their preferred wines, wineries happily keep their doors open to people, something that, it must be observed, has always been part of the welcoming traditions of wineries, people can realize themselves how wineries work and produce their wines, breathing the air of those places, and, at the end of the visit, getting back to their houses with an enriched cultural knowledge. Moreover, wineries of the many countries of the world got organized and set a specific day of the year, mostly in holidays, where they open their doors to people, offering them their wines matched to local foods, as well as organizing guided tours to wineries' production structures. These events, it is now a concrete fact, are getting more and more successful each passing year.

 The revaluation of the least renowned wines and, often, produced in pretty small and unknown areas, away from important cities and therefore scarcely visited by people, are having an unexpected moment of glory thanks to the wines which are being produced in those places since ever. Thanks to wine and to the interest people have in getting to know them better, even the so called “lesser areas”, rural and unknown areas, had the chance to be properly revaluated; new structures have been built with this explicit goal and helping, as a consequence, the local economies as well. Along with the wines of these places, and if one goes there for drinking, it always and inevitably ends up eating something, had the same opportunity typical gastronomical products as well, some of them were even disappeared, they have been revaluated and offered to visitors. All that is, of course, an extraordinary and important event, positive and noble, in a world which is going more and more towards the sad homologation of things and habits, with that, unfortunately, gastronomical traditions as well, it is amazing to know all that is useful to the revaluation of the precious and fundamental local cultures and traditions, to be certainly considered as real and proper monuments of our societies.

 Reevaluating traditions and products of places also means having the availability of a broader choice of products and opportunities, in every aspect, a good way to escape from routine and to be free, at last, of choosing, a choice inspired by consciousness and not imposed. The so called “wine tours” are certainly welcome, as well as welcome are the opportunities which allow consumers to know new places and new products, which allow them to enrich their culture and their freedom of choice. Moreover, what way would be better, in getting to know anything, than going to meet and to appreciate it in the places where it originated, developed and valued? Lastly, by visiting places which are interesting, hopefully, in an enological point of view and therefore the main reason for the visit, will allow to discover other and interesting aspects one could not even imagine.

 As summertime is about to come, it is probable that anyone is thinking on how to spend their vacations, people will already have planned what places and what areas are going to be visited in their journeys; by carefully considering the routes, they will certainly realize they will happen to travel in many places and areas which are certainly interesting according to an enological point of view, a good reason to stop by, contemplating the view of those places, hopefully in company of a good glass of local wine.

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 Spain is, indisputably, one of those countries that made both history and success of European wine in the world, a role which certainly has since many centuries. For many centuries Spanish wines, in particular, the renowned Jerez, or Xérès, as it is called by French, or Sherry, the usual name known in England and in the English speaking countries, have lived moments of glory that made these wines famous in many countries. The first thing that is amazingly observed in Spain, as a wine country, is its high vocation for local grapes, in this country seems the huge “invasion” of the so called “international” grapes did not have a clear success, as opposed to other countries of the world. An aspect that, alone, makes Spain a special country, not only for the good wines produced there. Despite of the fact wine is part of the traditions of these lands since thousands years, in case we do not consider the fame and the peculiarity of Jerez, however quality production is something which was adopted by Spain only in recent times. The new and reborn Spanish wines are fully expressed in its generous red wines, in particular the ones from Rioja, and, as always, in the confirmation of that extraordinary wine, Jerez, unique and enchanting in its genre.

Spain

 The history of enology in Spain has pretty ancient origins. First evidences about viticulture are dated back to a period from 4000 BC to 3000 BC, whereas the first productions of wine are dated back to the era of the Carthaginian occupation, in the second century before Christ. When Romans conquered the lands of Spain occupied by Carthaginians, in 206 BC at the end of the second Punic war, there also are the first evidences about wine trading from Spain to the city of Rome. At those times Spanish wine was also traded, besides Italy, in France, in the Loire Valley, in Britain, in Normandy and in England, mainly distributed to Roman soldiers in charge of guarding the borders of Germany. Spanish wine was also mentioned, in their writings, by Columella, Publius Ovidi Nasonis in his Ars Amatoria and, in particular, by Pliny the Elder and Martial who particularly exalted the wine of Tarragon.

 After the fall of the Roman Empire and the consequent occupation of Visigoths, there are not sure evidences about the viticulture and production of wine in Spain, however it is believed that it continued even during this period. After the overthrown of Visigoths by Moors in 711, the production of wine, surprisingly, did not suffered any limitation because of the Islamic Laws observed by Moors, indeed, the production of wine continued and the trade was taxed. With the conquer of Spanish lands by Christians, about the half of thirteenth century, exports of Spanish wines to the countries of Europe were resumed, in particular to England. During those times the quality of Spanish wine was rather unpredictable, from ordinary to excellent; what was interesting in Spanish wine, according to a commercial point of view, was the fact they were produced in a rather warm area and therefore they were rich in alcohol, a characteristic that made these wines to be preferred for the adulteration of wines produced in other areas and low in alcohol.

 In the beginning of the 1500's, the success of the famous Jerez wine started to increase, also thanks to the privileged position of this city, near the Atlantic Ocean and therefore an easy stop for mercantile ships, and it rapidly spread, in particular in English courts. The success of Jerez was however connected to the alternate political events both of Spain and England, the main consumer, and English, as a consequence of the harsh relations they had with Spain because of the wars between the two countries, imposed heavy taxes on Spanish wines. The fame of Jerez wine was reestablished only after 1820, thanks to the zealous work of some businessmen, after a long period of commercial crisis in the country. Malaga wines also benefited from Jerez wine's success and together they succeeded in becoming more popular than Porto and Madeira wines.

 Jerez probably was the only Spanish wine that got most the attention; around the half of 1800's, many chroniclers reported about the approximate and ordinary wine making practices related to still wines, something which identified those wines to anything but quality. Production techniques for still wines in Spain were at those times differentiated between south and north, whereas in the northern area the keeping of wine in casks were preferred, in the southern area wine was left in earthenware containers, moreover, in Spain they were used to keep wine in pig skins treated with resin which usually altered wine. These production techniques could not make anyone think about a good progress and development of the enology of the country. Just like in any other country of Europe, at the end of the 1800's appeared phylloxera and oidium, greatly devastating the viticulture of the country, damaging many areas and it took many years before the activity could be resumed. Damages of phylloxera were so high that many of the local grapes varieties of Spain extinguished.

 When Spanish enology recovered from the damages of phylloxera, they introduced in the country the production of a new style of wine, sparkling wines, made with the classic method, defined as Cava, and they become part of the most important wine aspect of Spain; currently Spain is the first producer of the world, in terms of quantity, for this type of wine. In 1926 was defined the very first region of appellation of origin of Spain, Rioja, whereas in 1932 was introduced in the country the first Spanish system for quality production. In 1933 Jerez was recognized as a region of appellation of origin followed in 1937 by Malaga. After a period of recession, during the 1930's and 1940's, both because of the internal political events and because of the World War Two, in the 1950's Spanish enology showed new signs of impulse, mainly characterized by the production of huge quantities of ordinary wines made by cooperatives. Quality production in Spain restarted in the beginning of the 1980's, when economic and political conditions allowed a solid development of opportunities in the country as well as the huge investments of wineries in the aim of starting a stable condition for the production of quality wine. During the last twenty years Spain showed the world to have great enological potentialities; its wines continue to be known and appreciated wherever in the world, in particular, red wines.

 Spanish quality system, which is called Denominación de Origen (Appellation of Origin), abbreviated as DO, was introduced in the country for the first time in 1932 and it was subsequently revised and modified in 1970. The institute which is in charge for the regulation of production areas having appellation of origin status is INDO, Instituto Nacional de Denominaciones de Origen (National Institute for Appellations of Origin) whose headquarters are in Madrid. The system shows similarities with the analogous French (AOC) and Italian (DOC) systems, they recognize delimited production areas, cultivation practices and wine production techniques, yields per hectare, minimum periods of aging before being released in the market, as well as specific norms about labeling.

 About 50% of Spanish production belongs to the DO category and each of them is supervised by a proper Consejo Regulador which is in charge of verifying the production procedures as well as evaluating every wine with the purpose of making sure it has the right prerequisites in order to be recognized as DO. The categories of quality for Spanish wines are as follows:

• Vino de Mesa, VdM - Table wine produced with grapes cultivated in different regions of the country
• Vino de la Tierra, VdlT - Wine produced in a delimited area, usually larger than DOs. It is the equivalent, in general terms, of Italian's IGT (Typical Geographic Indication) or French's Vin de Pays
• Denominación de Origen, DO - Wine produced in a region having appellation of origin status which is regulated by specific laws
• Denominación de Origen Calificada, DOCa - (Appellation of Qualified Origin) Wine produced in a region having appellation of origin status of high quality. This is the highest level of the Spanish system and it was introduced in 1991. Currently the only region belonging to this category is Rioja.

 In the labels of red wines are usually found some indications, and according to Spanish wine laws, they state the aging period the wine had before being released in the market. Aging can be done in wood or steel containers as well as in bottle.

• Joven - Young wine which is usually aged for one year
• Crianza - When referred to reds, it is a wine which is aged for two years and at least one of these in cask. When referred to white or rose wines, it means an aging in cask for at least six months. The term Crianza is usually regulated by every DO and they usually set aging practices. The term Sin Crianza stated in the label indicates a wine which did not have a minimal period of aging and therefore was bottled young
• Reserva - Indicates quality wines produced in particular and favorable years. When referred to reds, this indicates a wine which had an aging of at least three years and at least one of these was in cask. When it is referred to white or rose wines, it indicates an aging period of at least two years and at least six months of this period in cask
• Gran Reserva - Quality wines produced in particular and favorable years. When referred to red wines, indicates a minimal aging of five years and at least two of them in cask. When referred to white or rose wines, indicates an aging period of at least four years and at least six months of this period in cask

 Spain has the largest area cultivated with vines of the world, however it ranks as the third wine producing country, after Italy and France, because of the high quantity of old vineyards, with pretty low yields, planted in arid or not much fertile areas. Despite of the fact Spain is mainly known for its red wines, it is however a white grape the one to be cultivated the most in the country, Airén, particularly common in the central plains of Mancha, south from Madrid, which is generally used to make rather ordinary wines. A characteristic of Spain, according to an enological point of view, is represented by the remarkable use of local grapes they do for making wine; in Spain the phenomenon of the so called “international grapes” seems not to have never had particular or evident success.

 The most representative grape of Spain, concerning red berried species, certainly is Tempranillo, which is used for the production of the full bodied wines of Rioja, whereas among white berried species, the most representative one is Albariño which is used to make interesting white wines and with nice aromas, in the Rías Baixas region. Spanish enology is still and strongly bound to its traditions, one of them consists in aging wines in casks for very long period of time, even more than twenty years. It should be however observed that because of the general changes of people's taste, and therefore of the market demands, in Spain are now common the more “modern” practices, even here, just like everywhere else, wines having a more fresh and fruity character are preferred better.

 This area is certainly the most renowned one of Spain, in particular for the production of red wines, full bodied, rich and complex. Currently Rioja is the only Spanish region which is entitled to the Denominación de Origen Calificada, DOCa status, the highest level of the Spanish quality system. Despite of the fact red wines are the ones which made Rioja famous for more than a century, in this region are also produced white and rose wines. Rioja is located to the northern area of the country, at about one hundred kilometers (63 miles) away from the Atlantic coast and goes along the Ebro river. Vineyards are cultivated in a pretty large plain which is located at an altitude of 450 meters (1476 feet), mainly cultivated, as for red grapes, with Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, and, as for white grapes, with Viura, also known as Macabeo, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. Rioja is divided in three subareas, Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja, the first two to be considered of higher interest.

 Most of the production is oriented towards red wines, produced with Tempranillo grape, which are usually aged in wood for rather long period of time, faithful the common enological tradition of the country, just like no other part of the world. Even though the practice of long aging in cask is getting less and less used in favor of shorter periods, some producers still prefer to age their wines for long periods, sometimes even longer than four years. These long aging times give wines the typical character, complex and “earthy” aromas as well as body. In Rioja the same procedure is also used for white wines, aged in wood for long times and followed by a further aging in bottle, however it should be observed that some producers, currently most of them, do not age their white wines in casks therefore favoring the typical crisp and fruity character.

 In this region are mainly produced red wines with Tinto Fino, also known as Tinta del Paìs, by many considered as a genetic mutation of Tempranillo grape. The region is located north from Madrid, about 200 kilometers away (125 miles), and goes along the course of Duero river. In this area are not reported relevant production of white wine, however it should be observed that here is produced a modest quantity of rose wine, generally obtained with Garnacha grape, which is mainly consumed locally. The red wines of this region are also to be considered as the best examples of Spain: full bodied, concentrated and rich. Here, just like in Rioja, the long aging time in cask is a common and used practice. It should be however considered that casks, just like in Rioja, are never used when new and the wood used to make them is usually from the United States of America.

 This small wine region, having ancient enological traditions, is to be considered among the most interesting ones of Spain. It is located near Tarragon, in Catalonia, facing the Mediterranean sea. The region is getting more and more recognized as a quality wine area, mainly for its red wines, and its wines are often looked for more than the ones from Rioja or Ribera del Duero. The grapes mainly cultivated in the region are all red, in particular Cariñena, known in France as Carignan and in Italy as Carignano, and Garnacha, as well as small vineyards cultivated with Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Wines produced in Priorato are rather full bodied and robust, alcoholic and tannic, concentrated and rich, produced with grapes coming from vineyards producing pretty low yields. Contrary to Rioja and Ribera del Duero, wines of Priorato are not classified as Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva and they are usually aged in French oak instead of American oak.

 Contrary to most of the wine regions of Spain, this area is particularly known for its white wines, as opposed to the other areas which are mainly oriented to the production of red wines. Here the most representative grape is Albariño which does not have rivals in terms of popularity. Every bottle produced in Rías Baixas practically has the name of this grape stated in the label. The considerable worldwide success of the wines of this region were mainly determined by new and modern wine making practices and, in particular, by the fact of aging and fermenting wines in steel tanks instead of wood containers, therefore fully favoring the interesting and pleasing characteristics of Albariño. The area is located north from Portugal, near the Atlantic coast and it is part of the Galicia region.

 In Spain the Albariño grape is practically cultivated in Rías Baixas only and it is almost absent in all the other regions. The main characteristics of the wines produced with this grape are a prominent and pleasing aromaticity, as well as having very agreeable flavors, are produced and aged in steel tanks and should be drunk, in order to better appreciate their best characteristics, when young.

 The region of Penedès represents, as a matter of fact, an exception in the Spanish enology. This interesting area of Catalonia, near Barcelona, is characterized by a rather varied wine production and, as opposed to the other wine regions of the country, here are found a relevant quantity of “international” grapes. The most representative wine which certainly marks Penedès is Cava, a sparkling wine produced with the classic method. The production of Cava in this region is rather old, the first sparkling wines made with the classic method were produced in 1872, and these are the wines which made this region famous in the world. Cavas are mainly produced with Xarel-lo, Parellada and Macabeo, three local white berried grapes, although Chardonnay is getting more and more used. These grapes are also used for the production of still wines. Moreover, there also is a style to be considered as a rarity: Cava Rosé, whose color is obtained by Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha and Monastrell grapes, used alone or together.

 The Penedès region also produces good and interesting still wines, both white and red, obtained by local and international grapes. The most cultivated white berried grapes in the region are the one already mentioned for the production of Cava, whereas red berried grapes include Cariñena, Garnacha, Monastrell, Ull de Llebre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

 This area, located in Andalusia, in southern Spain, is famous for the production of the excellent and charming fortified wine which is named after the city where it is mainly produced. Talking about Jerez, or Xérès or Sherry, as it is commonly known respectively in France and in England, tributing this extraordinary wine the proper and right honors, which lived glorious moments in the past, would certainly need a proper and better explication. Sadly, Jerez is currently to be considered as one of the most underrated wines of the world, it is only in recent times its production is experiencing an impulse, indeed this is a wine that would certainly deserve a better consideration. These wines are incredibly complex, rich and produced with specific and amazing methods which give them truly unique characteristics. Jerez wines are available in many styles, from elegant Finos to charming Olorosos. Among fino styles, dry and crisp, there are Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado and Palo Cortado, whereas among oloroso styles, full bodied, dark and usually sweet, there are Oloroso, Cream and Pedro Ximénez.

 The production of Jerez, which generally has an alcohol by volume from 15 to 22 percent because of fortification, that is to the added alcohol, is complex and takes long period of time, by making use of the famous Solera method, as well as a specific technique which gives them the typical oxidized character known as “rancio”. The grapes cultivated in the area and used for the production of Jerez are exclusively white: Palomino, Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez.

 Among the other production areas of enological interest in Spain, there are Valdepeñas, where are produced light red wines; Navarra, near the Rioja, known for the production of its rose wines; Somontano, located near the Pyrenees, which produces white wines with Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, as well as good reds produced with Monastrell, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir; Rueda, mainly known for its white wines produced with Verdejo grape; Toro, near Rueda, west from Ribera del Duero, where are produced red wines with Tempranillo grape.

 Red wines, certainly more complex in the evaluation than whites, are generally considered, in the common sense about this subject, the ones that usually are associated with the idea of wine. These types of wine, produced with different methods than whites, have specific organoleptic characteristics which requires an adequate evaluation strategy in order to find out and appreciate their best properties. In general terms, what is usually adopted for white wines, does not have the same efficiency when applied to red wines, mainly because of the presence of other factors usually absent in any other style of wine. The differences are clearly evident as soon as appearance is considered, aromas are different as well, most of the time are the result of the aging in a cask, and in the flavor are usually found elements which are absent in other wines, such as astringency.

 The color of red wine, even when it is quickly evaluated, allow the determination of some of its main characteristics. The range of colors in this type of wine is rather vast, determined by the type of grape, area and cultivation practices, the way the grape was turned into wine and the evolution process, in other words, its aging level. A first consideration that can be made about the colors of these wines is that, contrary to white wine which tends to get darker in color as time goes by, red wines tend to get lighter in color with time.

 Talking about colors in red wines it should be said that, as opposed to what it is usually believed, the intensity of its color is not always a sign of quality. The intensity in red wines must be considered according to the variety of grape used for its production and, in particular, the coloring capacity of the grape, that is, the quantity of pigments it contains, last but not the least, the way they were transformed into wine. A red wine having a color not much intense could indicate an absolutely normal condition and coherent with some types of grapes, however, it could also indicate a short period of maceration, or grapes from harvests of high yields or from a particularly rainy season. In order to make this concept clearer, it could be useful to observe the color of two wines very different from each other, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir, and realizing that, no matter they both are excellent wines, the one produced with Pinot Noir will certainly have a less intense color when compared to the other. Not all the grapes are the same, and this is true for the color of wines they produce.

 In youth red wines will show, in a more or less evident way and according to the grape used for their production, strong blue or purple nuances, mainly observable in the rim of the liquid mass while keeping the glass tilted. As time goes by, these blue and purple nuances will tend to disappear and the color of wine will get a more strong red tint, in particular ruby red, and it will subsequently get garnet tints and, as the aging process goes by, red tints will tend to diminish while getting orange or brick tints, and therefore getting, at the end of its life cycle, brown or mahogany colors, a sure sign the decay has finally come to an end or because of strong oxidations. It should be however observed that by evaluating the evolution of colors it can be uniquely determined the process of the aging evolution of a wine, not its age considered as the quantity of years passed from harvest. The velocity at which the aging process takes place depends on many factors, among the many, the kind of grape used to make the wine and how the wine was kept, and the quantity of time in which a wine reaches a specific level of aging is variable from wine to wine. It must also be considered that the most reliable information about the level of aging of wine can be determined by observing the colors nuances, that is the color of the rim of the liquid mass in a tilted glass, instead of its tint, that is the overall color of the liquid mass. The following list contains the most common tints in red wines and the information that can be determined:

• Purplish Red - This is the typical color of young wines, and in case blue or violet tints are very evident, it could also be the sign of an immature wine whose fermentation process ended recently. However it should be observed not all young wines show this color; the many species of grapes have quantities and qualities of pigments rather different from one each other, therefore grapes which are rich in blue/violet pigments will usually tend to produce wines that in youth will be characterized by this color and in other cases, the purplish tint will be evident even when the wine will have reached an advanced level of aging
• Ruby Red - Represents the color of the first aging level which follows youth and the loss of the purplish tint. In general terms, red wines get this color after about one or two years of aging. This color is certainly the most common one in red wines and, in particular wines produced with specific grapes, this could also indicate the best aging level, the one that would allow the best appreciation. In case of wines destined to long aging periods, this color should be considered as a sign of youth
• Garnet Red - This color usually indicates a wine whose aging process is proceeding towards maturity while leaving its youth time. According to the type of wine as well as the grape used to make it, this color is usually observable after two or four years of aging and it can accompany the evolution of red wines even for many years before getting to a full and complete maturation
• Brick/Orange Red - Represents the tint which is typical in wines that finally reached full and complete maturation conducted in excellent keeping conditions. It should be observed that not all type of wines, according to the grapes used for their production and the technique of wine making, can reach this level while keeping at the same time excellent organoleptic characteristic. For some wines, that certainly should have been consumed earlier in their youth, this color indicates the loss and the degradation of their best characteristics. It must also be observed that this color can also be caused by oxidation, therefore the wine is not appreciable anymore. In case oxidation occurred, this can be easily confirmed by the olfactory evaluation. This color, when observed in young wines, can be the sign of a rapid aging probably because of a too high keeping temperature. The time needed for wines kept in the best conditions to get to this color, in general terms, can vary from five to ten years, in some wines, it could also take longer
• Mahogany - In case this color is observed in wine's tint, that is in its overall color, it is the result of a strong and excessive oxidation as well as being sign of some degenerative diseases, therefore the wine is not drinkable anymore. This color can be considered as a positive sign only and uniquely in rare, very rare cases and when met in wines of excellent and magnificent quality, which reached the apex of an extraordinary aging process conducted in excellent and impeccable keeping conditions. It can be observed, in case of such magnificent wines, after an aging period in bottle for more than twenty years and, often, these wines can remain in excellent conditions for many other tens of years, before taking their way for decay. Once again, it must be said this condition belongs to few, very few wines; most of the cases, as well as when amber nuances are being observed, when this tint is present in wines aged for some years, it always represents a negative factor

 The aromatic range of red wines is rather vast, in particular, it is rather high the expectations of the taster when he or she is about to taste a red wine. These types of wine are considered, at least for the majority of wine lovers, the ones which are usually associated to the idea of wine, therefore one usually expects from these wines superior characteristics because of this “prejudice”. Indeed, the aromatic variety in reds seems to be more complex because of its higher versatility and suitability to aging, a characteristic which allows aromas to evolve and to get “important” connotations. However it should be remembered that red wines are produced with a fruit, the grape, and therefore will be the aromas of fruit, just like in any other wine, the ones that will be more frequently perceived in its olfactory assessment.

 Whereas in white wines are frequently found aromas of flowers, in red wines are fruit aromas the ones that will prevail, in particular fruits having a red pulp or skin, such as raspberry, strawberry and cherry, or black, such as black currant, blackberry and blueberry. However aromas of flowers can be found as well, even though they are less frequent than fruit, such as rose, violet, peony and cyclamen. Aromas of fresh fruit will be common is young red wines as well as in those wines which are beginning their aging process. As time passes by, aromas of fruit start to evolve and to turn into cooked fruit, in particular jams, and subsequently in candied fruit. Even aromas of dried fruit, such as hazelnut or dried fig, can be found during the aging process in a red wine and these aromas can be perceived after a very long time of aging. In red wines can also be perceived, during the aging process, aromas of seasoning and aromatic herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and mint.

 During the evolution of the aging process in red wines, other aromas develop as well, usually having nothing in common with fruit, as a consequence both of production factors and of evolution. The most easy ones to be perceived are the ones passed by wood to wine during the aging in cask. These aromas can resemble toasted, smoked and vanilla. Moreover, “unusual” aromas can be perceived as well, such as coffee, cocoa, chocolate and tobacco, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper. In some wines, as a consequence of long time of aging, there can also be perceived aromas of tar. An aroma which is often found in red wines, particularly in quality wines, is licorice, an elegant aroma that, when present, gives wine a touch of class.

 The long aging of wines in bottle can result in reductive conditions, that is the progressive diminishing of oxygen, and as time goes by, it contributes to the formation and to the development of particular and complex aromas, as a consequence of years of patient and long aging. The aromas which usually originates from this condition are of animal and foxy nature, a condition which is usually preceded, in those wines which are subject to this kind of evolution, by aromas of leather. The series of “animal” aromas evolves with time until getting real and proper smells of animal's fur, wet fur and game, as well as aromas of civet and musky secretions.

 Moreover, the aromatic range in red wines is enriched, in some cases, with balsamic essences, such as eucalyptus, pine, resin and incense, as well as aromas of vegetal origin such as bell pepper and truffle. In particular, the aroma of bell pepper, especially the green one, can be indicative about the variety of grape, as well as the maturation level of grapes used to make the wine. This aroma particularly indicates the presence of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, sometimes it can be perceived in Merlot grape as well, however it can be perceived in wines produced with grapes not perfectly mature at the time of harvesting. Another aroma which usually indicates a specific type of grape is the one of black pepper, generally associated to Syrah grape, however it can also be found in other wines, especially when are aged in cask. Violet is an aroma which usually identifies Nebbiolo and Sangiovese grapes, as well as rose is a characteristic of Brachetto grape.

 During the gustatory evaluation, red wines are usually more complex than white wines. The main cause of this “complexity” is astringency, because of the presence of tannins, both passed from cask's wood and the ones extracted from grape's skins. Astringency in red wines, caused by tannins, is usually the element which plays a fundamental role in the determination of balance. A fundamental element which is capable of balancing astringency in red wines is alcohol and, besides that, it is also responsible for balancing any acidity or sapidity in wine. Diagram shown in figure illustrates the relation among the many elements present in red wines responsible for balance.

 It must be observed tannins and acidity tend to exalt one each other, therefore a red wine, in order to be balanced, in case is characterized by a high quantity of tannins it will have a pretty low acidity, on the other hand, a crisp red wine, that is having an evident acidity, will not have much tannins. As a consequence, alcohol, responsible for the burning sensation in the mouth, must be present in adequate quantities in order to balance the sum of quantities of both tannins and acid.