In this Daily: Santarena’s Wine Tasting and Costa Rican Wines
This Friday at 4pm, Santarena will be hosting a wine tasting, their first such event and one that promises to be an interesting evening. The selection of wines will only be revealed the day of, so you’ll have to register and attend to see exactly which vintages will be on the menu. A guest sommelier will guide you throughout the evening, providing an excellent opportunity to learn more about wines as you taste this curated selection.
Will There be Costa Rican Wines?
There’s even a chance that one of a few rare Costa Rican wines will be on the menu. Despite Costa Rica’s wide variety of microclimates, none are ideal for producing wine grapes. With the very few vineyards in the country exporting grapes for other causes.
However, though wine is traditionally made from grapes, there are other options for the production of the internationally renowned drink. Many producers in Costa Rica have begun to experiment with wines created from non-traditional tropical fruits.
One interesting take on Costa Rican wine involves the Jabuticaba fruit or Uva de Palo (tree trunk grape). This deep red fruit grows directly on trees in the South Pacific Coast. In the Valley of Perez Zeledón, a small organic farm run by Don Victor Julio cultivates these fruits. They combine traditional winemaking techniques with oak barrel aging. As a result, the fruit ferment to create a rich natural liqueur.
There are many other takes on this process. Some producers use fruit such as blackberries or use techniques intended to adapt traditionally non-winemaking grapes to a new purpose. Much like the growing craft beer industry in Costa Rica, there seem to be new styles and varieties popping up every single day.
The question of if these interesting Costa Rican vintages will make it into rotation, however, remains to be seen. You'll just have to attend to find out!