March 7, 2013 a
Venencia is not an Italian City “W
hen I was stationed here, about twenty plus years ago,… “ I used to see an item being sold in the Rota shops and I had to ask: “ What is that long stick with a silver cup at one end and a hook at the other?” It turns out that it is called a Venencia and it is an instrument utilized in the sherry industry. The “how” and “why” of its use are very interesting topics to explore. By the way, “Venecia” is a city in Italy, and “ Venencia” is the topic of this article. How is a venencia utilized? First, we need to understand that sherry wine is produced and aged in oak barrels. In simple terms, there is an opening at the top of the barrel which is essential, especially for Finos and Manzanillas (clear, dry wines), to allow for oxygen to enter and consequently to keep the yeast, that forms inside, alive. The yeast, which is a living organism, forms a protective layer between the oxygen and the wine below. As a result, the wine maintains its clarity since there is no oxidation affecting it and the yeast stays alive by feeding on the natural sugars contained in the wine. Since Finos and Manzanillas undergo a minimum aging of three years in a barrel, there has to be a way of checking on their progress without destroying the protective yeast layer (the flor) that has formed over the wine. Enter the Venencia. Literally. Each of its components , the staff, the rounded cup, and the hook, serves a purpose. The rounded cup gently breaks open a small space in the flor and allows for it to come back together once the venencia is removed. The length of the staff allows for the veneciador (the person using the venencia) to reach far enough into the barrel to get a good, representative sample of the wine. And, the hook is designed to prevent the venencia from falling through the hole into the barrel. Now, getting what has been extracted from the barrel into a cup is another part
of the story. The cups are small, invertedbell-shaped glasses with a stem. They are called “catavinos” which literally means “wine taster” and are typically what Finos and Manzanillas are served in. The transfer from the silver cup at the end of the venencia into the catavino has become almost an art form and requires practice and skill. In speaking with a friend of mine who makes venencias, Jose Maria Torquemada, he said: “One will never learn how to handle the venencia by filling it full of water, because if you miss the cup it won´t matter to you. But, if you fill the venencia with Manzanilla or Fino, and then you miss the cup, it will hurt your heart…(to see such good wine go to waste).” I do so understand his reasoning. Originally, the staff portion of the venencia was made out of a whale whisker and the silver cup was made out of actual silver. Nowadays, however, the staff is made of poly-vinyl and the cup is made of stainless steel. Both serve the same functions of flexibility and durability that their predecessors did. The catavino is usually held at arms length and the contents of the venencia are poured into the glass, most often with an elegant finesse. The following are some comments which I found on the Consejo Regulador (Regulatory Authority for sherry wines) website, www.sherry.org which better describes this process: “The venencia allows us to extract a small quantity of totally clear wine and pour it into the tasting glass from a height to help the wine to aerate and open up when it strikes the glass, thus enabling the tasters to fully appreciate its characteristics. It is, therefore, neither just a simple trade, nor merely a spectacular way to serve wine, but rather a task which is carried out daily in the bodegas and one which is absolutely irreplaceable. “ “The venencia must be held by the shaft,
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placing the hand as near as possible to the hook. The most skillful venenciadores always hold the venencia by the very end of the shaft since, in the bodega, this allows them to reach the very center of the bota and pour into the catavino from a greater height.” “Withdrawal of the venencia once the cup is full should be carried out as vertically as possible. Once outside the bota with its cup full, the venencia is swung until horizontal to the floor.As the wine starts to pour out, the veneciador will skillfully ensure that it
falls into the catavino glass and that none splashes out. Bearing in mind that the shaft of the venencia is very flexible, as the cup at the end empties the weight at the end of the shaft decreases and as a consequence it therefore begins to straighten, thus becoming more horizontal. The expert venenciador plays with this effect in order to cause the wine to fall with a specific rhythm. “ And that rhythm, my friends, can be music to the ears of the person who begins to cultivate a taste for the wonderful sherry wines of this region.
All photos by Consejo Regulador de Jerez.: Bottom left: Flor de Vino Bottom right:.Wines and Venencia Top left: Venenciando Top right:.Venenciador
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