Iverican Wine

Iverican Wine and Viticulture
East Argonese Foothills
Country	Republic of Iverica
Notable Grape Varieties	Beiltam, Bonbeq, Chardunnay, Dūmá, Parvo Mauvro, Petit Orot, Ruessling D'Iverico, Sanguisalvat, Súrra, Varvavermel, Versatillo, Veio
Notable Regions	Altarian Hills, Argonese Valleys, Central Riverlands, Coastal Providencia, Navaerre River Valleys, South Tacalonia, West Vasqqa Riverlands
Climate Ranges	Continental, Mediargic, Maritime
Production	34 million hectolitres/annum
Value	$11 billion Adapton Solidus/annum
Year	2022

Iverican wine is produced all throughout the present-day Republic of Iverica in quantities between 33 and 34.5 million hectolitres per year. Iverica is one of the largest wine producers in the wurld and features a diverse viticulture of Old Wurld, Native, and New Wurld transplants from Aurelia and Southern Argis. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within Iverica.

Viticultural context and legal regulations are two concepts that distinguish the majority of acclaimed Iverican wines. Viticultural context is best represented by the Lysian notion of "Terroir", which links the style of the wines to the locations where the grapes are grown and the wine is made. Whereas, the Denominassione ét Apellatióne Garantita (DAG) system distinguish wines produced under strict standards of labour and inspection. DAG rules closely define which grape varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of Iverica's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover regions, microclimates, municipalities, or individual vineyards.

Iverica is home to many grape varieties (such as Versatillo, Parvo Mauvro, Súrra, Bonbeq, Ruessling D'Iverico, and others) both native and imported from Europa. Many of its native varities are now planted throughout the wurld. Iverican wine-making practices and styles of wine have likewise been adopted in other producing countries. Some producers have benefited in recent years from rising prices and increased demand for prestige wines from microclimates in Nou Argon like Valle Cellito and Blauacurvo.

History

Most winemaking practices and some grape varieties found in present-day Iverica originate from skills and vines brought by settlers during the Gran Viatge during the 17th century. However, viticulture and winemaking in the Peninsula began as early as 800 BCE by Narvic farmers in present-day Navaerre River Valley. In the present day, Iverican vineyards maintain Imperial Iberic traditions, Narvic traditions, or a mix of both.

The remains of a storehouse used to ferment clay jugs of wine were uncovered in Navaerre River Valley during an Archeological dig in 1902. Analysis of the pot shards suggests that wine from an ancestor of present-day Beiltam grapes was used to create a high-alcohol content wine. The remains suggest that filtration methods were quite lax, leading to a high amount of vine stem and vine matter contributing to a yeasty and slightly bitter-finishing drink. To enhance the flavour, the wine may have been blended with sweeter younger wine whose sugars had not yet been fully digested by natural yeasts.

Between the 17th and 18th centuries CE, Iberics settling around the peninsula introduced Imperial Iberic winemaking traditions and more sophisticated viticultural techniques. Up to that point, the majority of winemaking in the Narvic peninsular kingdoms had only used a minimum of techniques like pruning to temper a crop's vigour. Also, the use of early pesticides and fungicides had been largely undiscovered by Narvic growers. The Iberics introduced viticulture to the southern provinces, what is known today as Nou Argon, Providencia, and Nou Tacalonia. Subsequent migrations also introduced Europan grape varieties, mostly native Iberic vine cuttings, to Peninsular viticulture. Iberic settlers also introduced the Estandard dei Vinitre Hidalgo, or "Standard of Hidalgo Winemakers" the first regulatory law for winemaking in the peninsula.

Cuttings from old Iberic Imperial vines had themselves been taken from the cooler northern extremities of the empire, the only regions of the empire where viticulture flourished. The region of Stille at the western most coast of the Byzantine Sea, was home to most Iberic varieties.

Due to Iverica's distance from Europa and Eastern Argis during the 19th century, the country's wine regions remained untouched by the "phylloxera plague" or "great wine blight". In the present era, many Europan grape varieties which had gone extinct in the Old Wurld or had not been replanted much since the blight enjoy an expatriated popularity in Iverica.

In the 1921 century, the winemaking communities of Iverica underwent a period of unrest and entrepreneurial strife beginning when the vineyard Dóm Sant Vicente of the West Altarian Hills was removed from the Estandard dei Vinitre Hidalgo certified winery register for having marketed a Cabernet Lys blended with a Súrra-Beiltam crossbreed varietal. The wine was sold to Sant Vicente's distributor and wholesaler under the EVH seal and the branding of an Imperial Style Cabernet Lys. Despite the wine's labelling of "Cabernet Lys dei Nou Mundos" (or "New Wurld Cabertnet Lys in Anglish) and the back of bottle indication of 15% Súrtam (referring to Súrra-Beiltam) to distinguish Sant Vicente's use of the new variety, the action was deemed a violation of the EVH winemaking rules by the regulatory committee and Sant Vicente was ordered to recall all New Wurld Cabernet Lys and remove any EVH markings from their subsequent productions. The controversy sparked a debate among traditionalist winemakers and other winemakers who protested the severity of the consequences. Infighting at the 1922 EVH conferences led to several arrests following brawls over arguments on the dubbed, "Súrtam Incident". In 1922, Dóm Sant Vicente petitioned the Ministry of Agriculture to allow a fully government-regulated guarantee standard for winemaking. In 1925, the Denominassione ét Apellatióne Garantita (DAG) winemaking standard was passed by the Executive Ministry. The DAG standard was based on the EVH standard and regulated proper winemaking practices, appellation distinction, and marketing standards as the EVH regulations but allowed greater leeway for experimental winemaking attempts. Today, both standards exist in tandem.

Grape Varieties & Viticulture

<<FORMAT: OVERVIEW/DESCRIPTION, BRIEF HISTORY/ORIGIN, GRAPE DESCRIPTION/VITICULTURE, NOTABLE STYLES/POINTS OF INTEREST, AROMATIC&FLAVOUR PROFILE, ADDITIONAL REMARKS>>

Noble Varieties

Bonbeq, Chardunnay, Dūmá, Parvo Mauvro, Petit Orot, Ruessling D'Iverico, Sanguisalvat, and Súrra are Iverica's most notable growths of "noble" grapes. While most are transplants from the Old Wurld, Narvic native grapes like Dūmá and Bonbeq are considered by the Estandard dei Vinitre Hidalgo to be "noble grapes". Likewise, the originally Dolch Ruessling D'Iverico is considered a noble grape. Traditionally, Noble grapes are said to retain their character no matter where they are planted.

The criteria for defining a grape's "nobility" was originally qualitative and subject to much differences in taste. However, in recent years, Iverican EVH committees have been able to establish a system for chemically testing sugars, acids, and chemical compounds in various plantings to determine a minimum range of variance to establish a system for "noble grapes". EVH guidelines for testing a variety's nobility depend on samples from at least 3 different Köppen classifications and 3 different EVH-defined soil types. The lower the variance of sugars, acid levels, and phenols the more noble a grape is said to be.

Bonbeq

Bonbeq grapes from Corregidor

Bonbeq is a purple grape variety native to Western Argis. It is used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known to bear an eerie similarity to Mulbec despite having little genetic relation. In Iverica, plantations of Bonbeq are found primarily in Argon. Altaria, and Nou Tacalonia. It is celebrated as one a few New Wurld noble grapes. It is considered the national grape of Narva.

The origin of the name "Bonbeq" is unclear. Colonial Iberic vintners made notes assuming the name's origin to be a jest on the Lysian "Mulbec", though Narvic folk legends pre-dating the arrival of Europans to the peninsula present an alternative origin. The folk song of an itinerant witch named "Bonna Beiqa" roaming the lands and spreading a magical vine whilst highly intoxicated is considered by viticultural scholars as the probable origin of the name.

Bonbeq is a versatile grape that can thrive in multiple soil types and pH levels though it receives its most typical characteristics from sub-alkaline soil of clay and limestone. A combination of higher altitude of at least 500 masl and a diurnal wind from a large, cold body of water or a long and high mountain range also contributes to the typicity of Iverican Bonbeq. In the Iverican Peninsula, the bluish marl of the Blauacurvo sub-region in Nou Tacalonia, is often cited by Iberic Oenologists as possessing the ideal terrior match to Bonbeq. The bunches and berries of the produce are medium in size but may grow longer and less compact. The bunches are rhomboid or conical in shape and may have a single wing.

This grape thrives in high sunshine environments and produces balanced characters of fruit and acidity when cultivated in higher elevations with a sandy or limestone surface. If Bonbeq is grown over soil with an underlying layer of marl or clay, the resulting wine can carry pronounced earthy and herbacious notes better defined than the Lysian Mulbec it is often compared to. When aged in Iverican Oak, the earthy notes are often joined by a lingering smokey finish. Bonbeq can also thrive in sandy soils, producing wine with a notably paler colour, lower tannins, and sharper aromatics from fruit character and phenolics.

The typicity for Iverican Bonbeq is defined by EVH standards as full bodied (8-9/10), dry to off-dry (2-3/10), medium-high or high tannin (8/10), and medium to medium-high acidity (6-7/10). In the EVH Lexicon, the Bonbeq may be more subjectively described with both aroma and bouquet terminology. For aroma; red or acidic stone fruit (red plum), dark berries (black berry), earth and mineral (loam, graphite), and may have trace notes of redder berry notes (red cherry, red currant). For Bouquet; carbonic (smoke, charcoal), spice (nutmeg, blackpepper), nut (chestnut, walnut), woody (tobacco, cigar), animal/barnyard (leather, hay)

Chardunnay

Chardunnay from northern Argon

Chardunnay is a Lysian green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Bourgoundy wine region of eastern Lysia, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from Anglia to Iverica. The Chardunnay grape itself is neutral, with many of the flavors commonly associated with the wine being derived from such influences as terroir and oak.

Chardunnay was not planted in Iverican soil until the 18th century, when Lysian merchants sold the vine cuttings to enterprising new vintners in Providencia. In its earlier days, Iverican Chardunnay had a reputation was a low-quality table wine as many of the vintners were inexperienced and did not carry EVH certifications. Esteemed Iverican Chardunnay vineyards today are descended from non-Hidalgo owners who were some of the first to enhance malolactic fermentation and ageing in barrels made from a quarter new oak.

Grapes grown in Iverica can be diverse in character. The majority are grown in the warmer west and south, thus carrying more residual sugars and grippier tannins in the resulting wine. Iverican Chardunnay, typically from the northern regions of Argon is often described as more distinct than the typically neutral Chardunnay. Some Iverican Chardunnays are very lightly oaked and carries balanced notes of minerality with grapefruit, figs, and stonefruit. In cooler climates like Navaerre, Chardonnay wine tends to be medium to light body with noticeable acidity and flavors of green plum, apple, and pear. Providens Chardunnays grown on the white chalky hills have strong mineral characteristics described as "slate-like". Providens Charunnays are often touted as the best balance between the pure varietal's characteristics and its terroir of origin without interference from the vintner. Other Iverican Chardunnays undergo malolactic fermentation and thus, have softer acidity to complement the sometimes aged fruit flavors and buttery mouthfeel from diacetyl content.

A "brut" or sparkling style of Chardunnay, called Vino Scintillo is produced in the northern bank of !!RIVER!!, in north Providens. The soil from the northern banks is typically 70-75% fine chalk or mixed with gravelly limestone, allowing good drainage. The Apellation Communes Scintillo, named for the style, consists of up to 14 municipalities with 32 DAG registered domaines or wineries producing either or both dry and sweet substyles of Scintillo. Regardless of substyle, Scintillo is always naturally carbonated by bottle fermentation, wherein much of the fermentation happens after the juices are transfered to the bottle and stored for bottle aging. Often, sweet styles will use juices from berries carrying noble rot to create a sought-after substyle known as Scintillo Real. The noble rot imparts honey and walnut characteristics to the wine and lends more viscosity to the texture. Scintillo wines are often compared with Lysian Chumpagne and are notably best with at least 10-25 years of age, depending on the substyle and vintage.

Iverican Chardunnays are grouped into 4 styles, Providens, Providens Scintillo, Chardunnay Argonese, and Chardunnay Navaeresse. Of the 3, Providens is noted as one of the most unique and is widely exported.

Dūmá

Early morning fog in a Dūmá vineyard

Dūmá is a native Narvic red wine grape variety predominantly associated with the Nou Navaerre region. Dūmá is thought to derive its name from the Narvic word for "fog". During harvest, which generally takes place late in mid-autumn, a deep, intense fog sets into the Laqrimas region of Navaerre where many of the oldest Dūmá vineyards are located. Next to Beiltam, Dūmá is the second-oldest known Vitis vinifera to be cultivated in the Iberic Peninsula.

Dūmá is an incredibly sensitive variety to grow. The vine flowers early, ripens late, and can struggle to ripen fully. It also seems to prefer specific hillside locations with clay and silt-based soils. The foothills surrounding the Navaerre River Valley present an ideal microclimate and soil type for the vines to grow but not overripen. Although the grape thrives in a cool climate, the fruits bear thicker skins compared to cool-climate counterparts, which give the Dūmá wines their notable tannic structures.

The grape produces a full-bodied red wine more famously known by the two production regions of Laqrimas and Fuepá in Navaerre. Though these wines are generally considered full bodied, they have a higher degree of transparency in appearance and aged Dūmá can have a balance of delicate and robust notes. They are sometimes described as a "ingot in a silk glove" with their aromatic and flavour impressions. The wines are translucent, similar to Parvo Mauvro and have a delicate smell, but tasting notes carry robust tannins and high acidity. The traditional method for producing the glubally esteemed "Laqrimas" wine is to age the juices for 2 years usually in a sealed stone cistern and then aged a further 18 months in very lightly peated first-use Iverican quarter-oak barrels. The result is an intense but balanced wine described by Iverican sommeliers to have an even mix of ripe cherries and a toasted cacao with a minor vanilla and smoke finish. Acidity to should be assertive and present throughout but not sharp and a tingling, drying sensation from the tannins should linger after tasting. Additional aromas, bouquets, and notes include clove, earth, tobacco, and occasionally, truffle.

Parvo Mauvro

"small black", descended from a Europan Iberic grape Ermitago crossed with Argic Beiltam to create a descendant of Ermitago that could more withstand the difference in climate.

Wine produced from juices mostly from Parvo Mauvro have to be aged at least 48 months to reach the wine's characteristic quality. Parvo Mauvro as a majority or single varietal wine is often light to medium bodied and paler in colour and with a lower opacity. Aged properly, it is a refined and elegant wine with balanced acidity and tannins with red berry fruit flavours accenting its structure. The best Parvo Mauvros are often aged in neutral wood and are seldom put in any vessel that might introduce other bouquets. Their flavour profiles are heavily terroir influenced, with stoney or mineral characteristics sometimes being more apparent than their identifiable aroma of sour cherries. Iberic vintners prefer growing the wine in soil with a notable content of iron oxide which can impart subtle iron-like notes sometimes described as "bloody" in oenophile texts. In this regard, they are considered a lighter more subtle sibling to the heavier body of Sanguisalvat, a varietal also grown in ferric soils to produce a similar tasting, albeit less subtle, wine.

Petit Orot

"small gold", Lysian. Similar to Petit Verdot. Gold refers to the leaf, not the berry. This is a red grape for red wine.

Ruessling D'Iverico

Ruessling D'Iverico

Ruessling is a white grade variety originating from the Schlammfluss region of Dolchland. First named and described by writing in Helbrecht Fromm's 1657 first publication of Die Weinkunst, it was formerly known as an exclusively Dolch grape variety with highly controlled viticulture and export regulations. Until its proliferation in the 19th century, Ruessling was not known to be grown by any other region of the wurld other than in Höherschlammfluss, Schlammgau, and Dozzel. Though first named by record in 1657 CE, archeological findings and wine ledgers from Dolch estates suggest that the grape had been grown since the 15th century.

On the 30th of August 1820, Iberic merchants in Dolchland, led by Olivia Montessor dei Ermita violated the Ruessling export laws and smuggled several dozen cuttings out of the Schlammgau. The cuttings were from the imperial Ruessling estate of Drecktröpchen, the most prestigious single-vineyard Ruessling grower and vinting estate of the Dolch Empire. Smuggled out in packages between the folds of women's drawers aboard a score of steamer trunks and cases, the cuttings were first taken over the Morthal bay via ferry to Dazhdinia. They were not inspected due to being marked with diplomatic marquees of the Dazhdinian court. However, the Dolch authorities learned of the plot upon the capture and interrogation of an unnamed grape picker serf from Drecktröpchen. The serf was tortured by thumbscrews and revealed that cuttings were taken—though neither the picker nor the authorities knew the identities of the Iberic merchants. On the 3rd of September, Dolch imperial agents lead by Sir Dietrich von Karlsbad, Margrave of Schmutzschwanz tracked down Olivia Montressor and her party at a train station of Jilinsk and threatened Montressor and company with violence and according to Montressor's account, "compensation by indentured matrimony to an unattractive, flatulent, and most ghastly Dolch Ritter". The Dolch agents had been unsuccessful in bribing Dazhdinian authorities with the then-circulated Imperial Dolch Mark but gained information on the Iberic party's whereabouts by word of a Dolch transvestite escort—allegedly a former lover to the Margrave Schmutzschwanz—who had attempted to broker a business arrangement with some of the merchants the evening prior.

The events that followed differ per account. According to the Dolch account, Montressor drew a concealed .36 calibre double-barrel muzzle-loader from her stocking and shot the first two agents in cold blood before they could draw their weapons. According to Montressor's account, the Dolch agent grabbed her arm first, tearing at her frock sleeve. Passersby at the station give a third conflicting account, whereby both parties drew weapons at the same time with Montressor merely able to shoot first. All accounts agree that the incident lead to a gunfight at the station which eventually lead to the Dolch agents pursuing the Iberic party by horse as the Iberics made their escape on the 9:20 to Kolikovo. 2 civilians, a dog, and a cart horse were injured in the crossfire and ensuing stampede as people rushed out of the station. According to the Iberic accounts, a member of the Dolch party shot the dog despite it being nowhere near the Iberics, possibly out of spite for failing to hit his mark. A Dazhdinian newspaper later wrote that the dog survived.

The Dolch agents were unable to catch up to the locomotive by horse and were arrested by local authorities after the chase but were released when the same Dolch transvestite escort provided an alibi for the agents. The Dolch pursued the merchants as far as Minsk, Ahrana with small skirmishes between the Dolch and the Iberics taking place at nearly every juncture. In one case, a Dolch agent (unverifiably, the same who shot the dog) was Defenestrated from the 7th floor of a Lusuviyan bordello and broke his neck upon landing in a passing manure cart. An Iberic merchant, Timoteo Salassar-Osueño was accidentally killed by alcohol poisoning by his Dolch captors when they attempted to water torture him with using a cask of vodka at a Volhynian roadhouse. A shootout, also in Volhynia, lead to the bodyguards of several unconnected Rhodellian guests of the Grand Karpattia Hotel opening fire on each other and alerting the local authorities who arrested 38 guests that night, none of them from the Dolch or Iberic parties. The chase purportedly came to an end when Montressor and company cross-dressed; Montressor dressed as an adolescent boy while her male company donned her ballroom garb, requiring a lengthy process at an Ahranaian women's saloon. Montressor and her company boarded a ship to Iverica before the Dolch agents could take notice, whereupon Olivia allegedly released her kerchief to the wind saying, "auf wiedersehen, dummkopfen!" — a quote never confirmed by Montressor in her accounts.

Súrra

Thick-skinned, high-tannins, often high acid when grown in cooler climates. One of the few varietals that can thrive in loamy soil, though they need a mix of courser dirt to help drain water and prevent malignant rot. In Iverica, discovered to attract a domestic mold now classified as a "noble rot".

Ordinary Súrras picked at their ripe windows will result in a wine with deep dark berry, wild berry, and plum fruit characteristics. When aged well, a bouquet of peppercorns, leather, clove, woodspice and other strong, sharp bouquets of spice and earth will be present and are often detectable on the palate due to their strong phenolic presence in the wine. The wines are known for their pinching acidity and cutting tannins that tend to balance with age. Most Súrras are further bottle aged for at least 8-12 years before they are considered drinkable on their own and without a heavy accompanyment of red meat to mellow the profile.

Notes: ideal pH 6.5, 50-55% andisol or sandy soil or loose silty soil or limestone soil - versatile but expression changes with the primary soil type. 20-25% clay. 20-25% loam. Ideally grown at higher altitudes with more sunlight. Benefits greatly from diurnal cooling, reducing hyperactivity. Does poorly on pebbly gravel in hot climates as the gravel reflects too much heat during the evening - grapes are high sugar and overripe. In warmer climates, needs more hostile soil to temper sugar levels.

Other Old World Transplants

Cabernet Lys, Pinot Gregio, Graneche, Merlut

Boure Varieties

The term Boure is an Old Narvic term meaning "peasant". The term originally referred to common Narvic grapes ubiquitously planted but today includes Iberic grapes that do not exhibit noble qualities. Boure grapes were historically derided as common grapes with little consistency in the resulting wine but modern viticultural innovations in the last century have resulted in more terroir-driven wines and reconsideration by the market.

Beiltam

Beiltam grapes exhibiting their bluish-purple hue

The oldest continually cultivated red wine grape on the peninsula, the name "Beiltam", is a Narvic compound noun meaning "strong-dark". Beiltam grapes are thick-skinned and high in sugar, often being used to make full-bodied wines with either plenty of residual sugars, alcohol or both. Beiltam can be vinted into purely Beiltam wine styles but is more popularly blended with more acidic wines to achieve better structure. Beiltam can also be used for making fortified wine.

Beiltam is a culturally significant grape to the Narvic peoples of West Argis, being one of the oldest and most ubiquitous grapes of Vitis vinifera in the Narvic vinting tradition. Beiltam vines are believed to originate from Europa, being brought with the westward Narvic migration and first planted in the Peninsula almost 2800 years ago in 800 BCE. The grape is thought to be related to the Buranian Sumetovky, though it is notably less acidic and easier to grow than its Europan ancestor.

The grapes are Teinturier grapes with thick black skins and red flesh. The vines are slender and smooth in their young ages but grow rough, woody, and stout in their older ages. The leaves are broad and fan-like; they are a verdant green with 5 lobes. The berries' dark skins are often described as a deep dusky dark bluish-purple. It is a late-ripening variety, ripening in the middle of October. It has moderate vigour, its vines are resilient, and capable of resisting cold and pests better than most red wine grapes. It is relatively resistant to winter frost but less against the spring frost. The period from budding to reaching full maturity takes about 170 days. The cluster is large, medium compact, and weighs an average of 250-400 grammes.

Beiltam grapes tend to ripen to high sugar levels and produce rich wines with noticeable sweetness and residual sugars. The wine's thick skins mean that young Beiltam vintages are extremely tannic unless cellared or unless the juices were fermented for longer as in traditional Narvic methods. If the juices are pre-fermented before being casked and aged for secondary fermentation, the sugars are reduced and a higher-alcohol wine of 14.5% to 15% ABV is produced. Traditional Narvic vinting methods had a primary fermentation in large stone cisterns which were sealed by peated wood covers and lined with an outer layer of tallow and then buried. Other methods used smaller clay jars which were similarly buried. Secondary fermentation would take place in peated casks which helped to give the sweet Beiltam smokey and woody bouquets. Unpeated pure Beiltam wines can lack structure, secondary aromas, and tertiary aromas. Traditional Narvic Beiltam is 100% Beiltam and oak aged in lightly peated wood. The fruit aromas are often described to be like black cherry and currant. The fruit profile can be extremely jam-like if grown in warm climates. The wines can carry a secondary yeasty, gamey, or barnyard aroma from trace amounts of natural Brettanomyces yeasts that are found in the stone cisterns. Wines that have been secondarily fermented in oak casks have been described to have bouquets of vanilla, smoke, or sometimes roast meat.

Beiltam has been a traditionally affordable wine enjoyed at all levels of Narvic society. Today it continues to remain relatively affordable in the Iverican wine market though in recent years, high-quality Beiltam has been used to blend Versatillo and Petit Orot into more complex artisinal styles. In some cases, Beiltam has been cross-bred with other grapes like Súrra to produce Súrtam, which has enjoyed praise for its more complex structure and age-worthiness.

New Wurld Transplants

Lumeli

Lumeli Grapes

Lumeli is a variety of black-skinned wine grapes originating from Cashar in Alharu, specifically from Ocraly or Acràlia. The name means "the honey-like" in the Acràlian dialect. The cuttings were transplanted to Iverica by mistake in the 1862 century when a shipment for tomato vines was mistakenly sent to Porto L'Norte. It was sold to several small vineyards there, whose vintners cultivated it out of curiosity. It was not well received during its debut years due to its excessive sweetness. However, later attempts to establish the style were met with success in the market as the grapes became prized as an exotic, niche variety primarily for enthusiast circles. The grape found legitimacy in EVH certifications after Ivericans canonised vinting techniques for the style known as Vinovulca or Lumeli Navaeresse.

When grown in its native Ocralian terroir, the grapes typically ripen early and have thick skins. The vines feature stout, verdant stems and sprout broad, fan-like leaves. The berries are plump, dusky-hazy skinned, and range from dark purple to near-black. Sugar content is high and acids are naturally low. When aged in certain woods, the wine carries over a distinct phenolic character - giving styles distinct wood spice and toasted nut bouquets. Drier varieties may be fermented longer and more aggressively from early harvests, resulting in Alcohol by volume levels of 15-16%. While the sweetest styles may be from extremely rich late-harvest crops fermented only to 13-14% ABV.

While Lumeli from Cashar's island is traditionally grown in warm temperate climates, most Lumeli in Iverica is grown in Nou Navaerre. The oceanic climate of its adopted homeland is cooler and with slightly less intense sunlight during the summer months. Furthermore, about 80% of Lumeli in Iverica is grown in Valle Navaerre, on the north foot of the Imperiale mountains. The soil in Valle Navaerre contains a layer of ash-enriched silt from when Apicc D'Imperiale was volcanically active. Other areas around the region feature sedimentary calcerous soil. These growing conditions forced the Lumeli grapes to mature slowly and with less resulting sugar while still retaining their complex fruit-forward and phenol-friendly potential.

The taste of Lumeli wine depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruit characteristics like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas, whereas dark berry, jammy, anise and pepper characteristic are more common in wines made in warmer areas. Ocralian styles tend to highlight the grape's jammy-sweet rich characteristics of stewed dark berries while Navaeresse styles exhibit just-ripe sweet-sour cherry, raspberry, and blueberry characteristics. For Iverican styles like Vinovulca, the combination of a cooler climate, less sunlight, and less loamy volcanic soil results in a Lumeli with a reduced, tempered sweetness, moderate acidity and a notable minerality. The cooler climate also results in thinner skins leading to less aggressively tannic wines while ageing in 1/3rd first-use Iverican oak barrels adds woody, barnyard, or tobacco-leaf bouquets that in rare and old vintages can transform into liquorice, clove, or wood spice bouquets that balance the punchy natural fruit characteristics.

Lumeli styles of wine today are some of Iverica's most popular expatriate wines. Production volume is kept low by the limitations of the specific terroir required by the Vinovulca and even bottles from recent great vintages (1985, 1997, 2000, 2001) are rare and held at high value. The high natural sugars in Lumeli grapes mean that its styles will retain their complexity well after long cellaring periods. Wines from early production Vinovulca (1910, 1918), though rare to find in good condition, are often noted to retain some vigour when consumed at present.

Shedeh

Shedeh Grapes

Shedeh is a black-skinned grape used for making red wine. It is closely associated with the Graneche grapes once grown widely in the former Iberic Empire but is distinguishable for its lower sugars and slightly thinner skins. Shedeh is one of the oldest domesticated Vitis vinifera in the wurld, being first grown and vinted to wine in 650 BCE during the reign of Sekhemheatenkhuatwy II Sa-Aten in coastal Per-Aten. The grape has since proliferated to many oceanic or warm temperate climates like the Iberic Peninsula and other parts of Western Alharu. The name Shedeh was originally a generic term for any red drink made from grapes or other similar fruit and berries but became an internationally recognised term for the variety after a mistranslation incident by Iberic scholars. It was originally called Kem-Shedeh (Black Wine) in its native Atenic.

The Shedeh vine is characterized by its strong wood canopy and upright growth. Its grapes are resilient to wind and disease but do poorly in hot climates with year-round strong sunshine and poorly in climates where the nights are too temperate. They thrive better in the well-draining soils and sun of coastal Per-Aten, facing the warm Verde Sea. The unique terroir of formerly diluvial valleys in coastal Per-Aten provides Shedeh with a heat trap for colder evenings. Shedeh is unique because it does not benefit from overly cool evenings. Like Graneche, Shedeh is late ripening and often results in high volumes per vine. The loose sand, limestone silt, and deeper clay soils provide the steady drainage needed for the grape to produce its signature balance of medium-high sweetness, zesty acidity, mellow tannins, vegetal herb, and fresh strawberry notes.

In Iverica, Shedeh is used to blend strawberry flavours into more neutral wines from Versatillo or Parvo Mauvro. When grown in the coolest parts of Navaerre, they can be grown specifically to produce a sharp strawberry-citrus sourness that balances out the confectionary of Beiltam. In recent years, vintners have tried growing Shedeh at high altitudes, near hot springs and on volcanic soil. Resulting wines have taken an earth, mineral, and perfumey quality not found in classical Shedeh styles.

Wines produced from Shedeh are high in alcohol but generally lower than most Graneche wines. Their distinct aromas include strawberry, figs, citrus rind, oregano, other red berries, and herbs. When aged in Iverican oak, the wine's natural aromas are joined by notable anise, clove, and pepper bouquets. Despite its limited terroir, Shedeh is widely available in the New Wurld. Lower quality, sweeter Shedehs are widely grown in countries with developing wine industries.

Terroir & Climate

Altarian Hills

The Altarian Hills are a low massif with an average altitude of 550 masl. The Altarian Hills dominate the island's centre and centre-east regions. The western and southern regions have a warm-summer Mediargic climate, while the eastern and northern regions have a humid continental climate.

Grapes are mostly grown in the west and south.

Western Hills

Altaria Island's western hills are not actually on the island's western fringe, it refers to the western slopes of the Altarian Hills. The Western Hills jut out of the massif group and into central Altaria. They experience a stronger diurnal cooling effect from the North Oriental Ocean compared to other wine regions on the island

The Western Hills feature soil that has a higher concentration of volcanic material than other Altarian regions. Several of the Altarian Hills' peaks are known to be dormant shield volcanoes that are believed to have last erupted some 12,000 years before present, depositing large quantities of ash and cinder into the strip of high hills to their immediate west. While water erosion swept much of the volcanic ash deposited on the eastern and northern faces of the massif down to the lowlands and shorter foothills, the Western Hills, retained much deeper concentrations of this soil owing to substantially lower volumes of seasonal rain and overall humidity.

The soils of the western hills range from sub-acidic to neutral, having pH levels that range from 6.2 to 7. Ideal soils expressing the region's terroir are mostly composed of a top layer of fine gravel or loam. The gravel comes from eroded stone from the hill's peaks, boulders, and spurs. Beneath the gravel or loam is a mix of sandy andisol and a small amount of clay. The andisol is largely responsible for the acidic and sub-acidic pH levels in the region.

Varietals: Súrra-Beiltam, Versatillo, Súrra

Southern Hills

The southern tip of the Altarian Hills are slightly warmer, on average around 1.5-2.4° centigrade warmer than the Western Hills. On average, they are also much lower, with the average peak altitude being 432 masl. These hills are directly adjacent to the dormant Caparazón volcano, a shield volcano responsible for the southern hills' abundance of granite and schist. The hills are uneven and severely angled towards their peaks and thus, most vineyards are located between 300-400 masl and are seldom on the crowns of their hills.

The soil in this region is more acidic, with a pH range of 5.5-6.5. The tiles of slate and large pebbles of granite mixed into the soil make it difficult for plants with root systems that prefer softer soil. Grape vines of Shedeh and Granache are well suited, given their stronger root systems. Lumeli vines have also been found to adapt well to this type of soil which helps temper their high sugar production and enhance its sometimes lacking acidity.

Shedeh, Granache, Lumeli

Argonese Valleys

Valle Cellito

Veio, Petit Orot, Ruessling D'Iverico - "Little Heaven"

West Valleys

Shedeh, Versatillo, Veio

Central Riverlands

Léonese Western River Valleys

Beiltam, Varvavermel, Versatillo, Soil:

Léon-Montaco

Ruessling D'Iverica, Parvo Mauvro, Versatillo Soil: Clay, Red Clay, Slate" Temperature: Cool, in-land

Coastal Providencia

West Coast

Chardunnay, Ruessling D'Iverico, other white Soil: Sandy, Limestone Temperature: warm, diurnal

Inland Providencia

Parvo Mauvro, Alba Suave

Navaerre River Valleys

Laqrimas

Dūmá, Parvo Mauvro, Varvavermel - "valley of tears" Soil: marl, volcanic ash, slate Temperature: cool

Fuepa

Dūmá, Lumeli, Shedeh - "misty/foggy" Soil: marl, volcanic ash, sandstone Temperature: cool

Nou Tacalonia

Blauacurvo

Blauacurvo soils have a pH range of 7.3-7.6 and are composed of a mix of clay and limestone known as marl. The top layer of ideal Blauacurvo soil for Bonbeq has a thin top layer of limestone soil or limestone-dominated marl while being mostly clay or clay-heavy marl below a thin topsoil layer. On average, soils are 45-50% clay-heavy marl or clay, 30-35% limestone-dominant marl or limestone soil, and 20-30% loam. For varietals needing more sunlight, the best locations for vineyards are on the southern facing spurs and slopes of the Sant Faustino hills. The Sant Faustino south is higher than it neighbours and benefits from uninterrupted sunlight throughout the day with its consistent slope of 20-°30° which is mostly even and free from prominent ridges or ledges. The clay in the Sant Faustino slopes is thought to have been deposited from when the Tula River was higher and wider, depositing limestone gradually as erosion from limestone mountain slopes increased.

Blauacurvo is notoriously hostile to new vines as the thin topsoil is often too alkaline for young vines to absorb the nutrition they need. The region is dominated by old vineyards, many of them bearing a Cres or Folio designation.

Cabernet Lys, Merlut, Saguisalvat, Súrra - "The Blue Riverbend"

Corregidor Plateau

Bonbeq, Parvo Mauvro, Cabernet Lys Soil: gravel, silt, clay

West Vasqqa Riveralands

Vasqqa-Navaerre Estuary

The south-west bank of the Navaerre River, the Vasqqa-Navaerre Estuary runs from the coastal hills and riverbank deposits of the west bank of the Navaerre. It's best growing regions are where the edge of the Navaerre river once flowed millenia before - these areas are now hill slopes facing the river. A rich layer of clay underlies top layers of sand and fragmented slate. The soils here are best for older vines with deep roots that can tap the deeper richer clay. , Merlut, Veio, !Varietal, Soil: clay, sand, slate

Sámhkey Riverbanks

Sámhkey means "grey sands" in Narvic. The sub-regions of the Sámhkey start slightly more inland than its west bank sibling but terminate in the hills that give way to the barren rock flats bordering the sea shore. This region has a mixed inland quality with minor coastal influences. Its soils are mostly sand and gravel with a hard to tap deep layer of thin clay making it difficult for new-leaf vines to yield vintage worthy harvests. The region balances West Vaqqa's cold and semi-damp climate with heat stored and released by the course sand and pebbley gravel. The region yields consistently good quality wine grapes from old vines, unaffected by the rot brought about by the general dampness of the West Vasqqan north coast.

Bonbeq, Veio, Cabernet Lys - "Grey Sands" Soil: clay, sand, gravel

Styles

Fortified Styles

Oesteira

Oesteira casks aging under the san.

A fortified wine from Custo D'Oeste. Made from grapes juices that have been heat-treated and fortified with grape spirit. Heating traditionally involved sailing the casks down the length of East Thalassa during the summer. The result was pronounced "Oesteira" and only marqueed after its voyage. Traditionally stored and drunk on Iverican Navy ships when keeping more delicate wine is not possible or when the main wine store has run out.

Oesteira is noted to have the aroma and flavour of stewed stonefruit, fermented cherries, plums, raisins, or prunes. It is sometimes aged in cedar to impart slightly higher astringency and faux-acidity to an otherwise sweet and big-bodied drink though it is more commonly aged in Iverican Oak. Nobler vintages when aged past 20 years can gain notes of muscovado, fired-tobacco, nuts, and baking spices.