When we first arrived in Spain to buy property it was late in the afternoon and we were probably quite antisocial on the personal hygiene front. Having driven down through France with a 4 month old Dalmatian puppy all crushed in the front seat of a transit van. Being lovers of the old grape we decided a bottle of wine was what we needed to sort us out. Now Spanish wine had never been high on the agenda in the UK. It was the end of the 90´s and we were majoring on Italian. The only alcoholic substance from Spain I had encountered was the odd bottle of sherry but anything from Spain and coloured red, white or rose was a mystery.
Off I went to the local supermarket to pick up a bottle of Italian plonk. Big mistake. I discovered that in Spain we sell Spanish wines not French, Italian or any other breed from around the world. Although things have changed a bit in the past 12 years our wine supply is still pretty Spanish in origin so if you have not had it before and intend spending some time here you had better get a taste for it sharpish or go teatotal.
Labouring under the misconception that the staff would be able to point me in the right direction, I felt somewhat comfortable. Shock horror, the owner was a very friendly little man but informed me that he was Iraqi and spoke Aramaic (the language of Jesus) or Spanish! No assistance from that quarter then. I was stuck in front of the red wine shelf totally alone for what seemed like an hour.
I decided to employ option 2 when buying wine, look for a decent label on the premise that if they bothered to get a decent label designed then they probably bothered to put something decent in the bottle.
Our first taste of Spanish wine was Marques de Caceres a Rioja and I have to say that after two bottles we felt far more at home in our new country. Since then we have learned a lot about wine. Our next abode was a rental property close to a Bodega so we would wander in and out buying different wines and as our Spanish improved we learned a little here and there from the owner about wines.
When we moved to the Costa de la Luz where wine runs in everybody´s veins our little bit of knowledge grew and nothing can be more enjoyable than a Sunday afternoon´s drive through the vinyards between Lebrija and Sanlucar de Barrameda and at least now we know the difference between white and red grapes.
Being of a generous nature I would like to share with you the little bit we have learned so you don’t have to stand in fear and trepidation before the wine shelf. Spanish wines are pretty simple – they fall in to 3 basic categories.
CRIANZA
Red has 24 months in a cask or bottle of which 12 months have to be in an oak cask.
White and Rose have 12 months in a cask or bottle of which 6 months have to be in an oak cask.
RESERVA
Red has 24 months in a cask or bottle of which 12 months have to be in an oak cask
White and Rose have 24 months in a cask or bottle of which 6 months have to be in an oak cask.
GRAN RESERVA
Red has 36 months in an oak cask and another 36 in a bottle.
White and Rose have 48 months in a cask or bottle of which 6 months have to be in an oak cask.
Most of us ignore the lettering on the bottle for fear of being marked as an Oz Clark or Jilly Goolden geek but sometimes a quick squint can pay dividends or at least explain why it is more expensive than the bottle on the shelf below.
D.O. stands for Denominacion de Origen (designation of origen). This official label is gen to all quality Spanish wines but not to Cava. The name that follows makes reference to the geographical area where the wine comes from. DO´s are acknowledged by a Regulator Council controlled by the Spanish government and they have certain requirements regards planting, cultivating, harvesting, ageing etc which must be satisfied to have the DO mark
D.O.C.a stands for Denominacion de Origen Calificada (quality designation of origen) or a higher category than DO. This mark certifies that the wine has consistently achieved the highest quality for a number of years and quality controls and grape selection as more rigorous. Also compulsory is on site bottling.
Wine is a very personal thing like perfume or underwear. We all like something different but here are a few I like and would recommend to you to try.
RED
Bordon Crianza
Milflores Rioja
Viña Real Crianza
Cumbrero Rioja
Sangre del Toro
WHITE
Laxas Albariño
Marques de Riscal Sauvignon Blanc
Barbadillo
ROSE
Gran Feudo Rosado
Rene Barbier
Enjoy the wine, the Spanish swear it makes you live longer!