Why you should try Spanish Wines
It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or advanced wine lover, I am determined to convince you to try Spanish wines.
Why? Because at the moment they offer the best value for money of all the countries, beating even Chile, plus they are delicious. Don’t get misled by my surname, which is Spanish, I was born and l learnt about wine in England!
Don’t get me wrong, you can still find not so good, even terrible Spanish wines, same as with any other wine producing country, but if you do a little bit of research, it will be easy to find the good ones, even the hidden jewels.
While Spain fights every year with France and Italy to be the biggest wine producer in the world, many wineries have moved from bulk production into quality production, that is great for us wine drinkers because we are getting many more good and excellent wines.
There are two other factors that help Spanish wineries to deliver great value. First, Spain still has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, therefore labor is cheap, making wine production cheaper. Second, most Spanish wineries don’t have marketing departments, much less English speaking ones, so they mostly sell in Spain, and are yet to be discovered internationally (that would lead to a higher demand and higher prices), especially small boutique wineries.
So what Spanish wines should you drink? Try as many as you can, and look for small wineries as they offer the best value. If you want to go for something similar, but different to Bordeaux, give Rioja and Ribera del Duero a try. These two areas are internationally known for having the best quality generally, and you can find amazing wines.
There are a few areas that are not well known and they keep their price- quality ration very attractive. Bierzo, in the North West of the country, is a tiny area producing amazing wines with Mencia grapes; if you are a Burgundy lover you are likely to love these wines.
In the North of Spain, bordering France, you have two amazing areas: Navarra and Campo de Borja. The first one blends Spanish and international grapes (Cabernet, Garnacha, Tempranillo, Chardonnay), delivering gorgeous inexpensive wines. While the
later mostly produce Garnacha and Tempranillo, also inexpensive with many very nice wines.
Don’t miss the Galicia wines, Ribeiro and Albarinho, not cheap, but they are amongst the best white wines in the world, and very unique.
