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Wines of Spain

To quote from Jan Read’s book “Wines of Spain”- Since the time of Sir Francis Drake, Spain has been known first and foremost for its sherry. Until recently, the image was of sturdy (though often drinkable) plunk. The Spaniard much prefers quantity to quality, and loves flavor less than he hates trouble. Better wines were available, like those from Rioja, but they were drunk mainly on special occasions. During the last dozen years, there has been an increasing realization among the younger winery owners that Spain’s future as a wine producer lies in quality. With the help of modern technology, Spain is now producing characterful and individual growths. Perhaps no other country in Europe makes wine in such a variety of styles.

Map of Spain
Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja

There are 17 regions/provinces in Spain, and Valencia’s GNP is 12% of all of Spain. Think Valencia oranges, Paella Valenciana, rice, wine, tourism and construction. The port is one of the busiest in Spain and handles 20% of the country’s exports. Some of the grape varieties planted in this region along the Mediterranean coast, south of Barcelona, may be unfamiliar. Yes, there are plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, but I am more interested in the native varieties. They include: Red- Garnacha (Grenache), Monsatrell (Mourvedre), Bobal & Tempranillo. Whites- Malvasia, Macabeo & Moscatel.

Tempranillo grapes

Utiel-Requena is a region situated in the province of Valencia and from Alicante, a wine region located south of Valencia. It will be frustrating trying to find them in wine shops, but that should change within a year. The region just south of Basque country in north-central Spain is named after the river Rio Oja. The red grape of note is Tempranillo as well as Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. For white wines there are Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca.

Bodegas Ysios

Red wines are labeled as Crianza (12 months in barrel with “several months” aging in the bottle), Reserva (3 years aging with at least one year in barrel) and my favorite, Gran Reserva (24 months aging in barrel and 36 months in the bottle before release). The grape of note here is Tempranillo. There are three sub-regions with the most important being Rioja Alta; Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja are the other two. Rioja wines are normally a blend of various grape varieties, and can be either red (tinto & 85% of production), white (blanco) or rose (rosado).

Bodegas Juan Alcorta

After visiting half a dozen wineries and tasting more than 50 wines my conclusion is- “the wines range from good to superb but very few have found US importers. Or, if they have, they are niche importers often covering just a few states.” What is Rioja doing to reinforce its position as Spain’s number one wine region? My conclusions were more fruit forward wines, single vineyards, estate wines and cleaner, crisper white wines.

The future looks bright for the Spanish wine industry. Congratulations, Valencia and Rioja!

Marques de Riscal
Marqués de Riscal

For More Information:

Wines from Spain
Rioja Wine
Blame it on Rioja
Vibrant Rioja
IVEX

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Ron Kapon is seeking wine tasters for the New York Tasters Guild.
Visit www.tastersguildny.com
or email him at: Ron@tastersguildny.com

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