What's in a name: Tempranillo

I choose Temoranillo for the name of this blog since this grape variety is most since it is the grape most associated with wine from Spain. Of course there are many other indiginous Spanish varieties, but Tempranillo is the acknowledged leader for its quality and prevelance.

The name arises from Temprano, the Spanish word for "early", because in the Rioja region this variety ripenes before the two common grapes there, Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano (Morastel).

Tempranillo has many aliases. By one count, up to 29. The most frequent of these are Ull de Llebre (rabbit's eye) in Catalan regions of Priorat, Penedès and others; Tinto Fino, Tinto del Pais in other regions of Spain, and Tinto del Toro in the Toro D.O.