Wine for Normal People

This week we explore the Mencía grape of northwestern Spain, and northern Portugal, where it is called Jaen. This is a grape variety that hasn’t strayed far from home, as almost all plantings of it are in this corner of the Iberian Peninsula.   Although it is likely native to Portugal, Spain grows more than three times what Portugal grows and the grape has become the flagship of a number of revived regions that are building back their international reputations for exceptional wine from this singular grape that tastes a little like a lot of things but nothing like anything you’ve ever had