Spanish wines

The country with the largest area of land from the vineyard of the world and a country that has always (Roman vineyard) has produced and exported wine entered the market shortly before the modern California wine and it is only the third largest producer.

In 1970 the government prepared the Denominaciones de Origen (DO) and in 1978 the new constitution reorganized the 50 provinces in 17 autonomous regions. In 1986 Spain (like Portugal) and entered the EC has begun major restructuring of the Spanish wine sector with adequate legislation to Community and obtaining technical and financial assistance on a large scale.


We thus have a scale of names protected by the Regulatory Board (Organization for the defense, control and promotion of protected designations of origin), from the bottom up, is organized as follows: Wine corriente usually ordinary wine bulk wine mesa (de meal ) table wine, DE (Denominación Específica) for areas of good quality which can become DO, DO (Denomination de Origen) that corresponds to our DOC and DOC (Denomination de Origen calificada) was given for the first time in 1991 to Rioja region and corresponds to our DOCG. The traditional division of Spain in seven geographical macrozone is useful to recount the varied geography and, consequently, its multiple denominations. The face of southern Spain is dominated by the sherry and brandy and wine as an aperitif and dessert wines of Montilla and Malaga.

Further south in more than 1150 km from the mainland, the Canary Islands, once known for the sack, are resuming production of a wine with a similar style. In Jerez de la Frontera (Jerez already) you need to visit a bodega. Berci You can wine and eating a tapa but this is where you put the new wine to mature and that’s where it comes out, after an elaborate process of cutting with the solera system. Occasionally, fine wine is sold as uncut almacen. In essence, the solera system consists of a series of subsequent topping up of barrels containing the oldest wine by the younger wine, so as to achieve a consistent taste. Solera wines are also the basis for further mixing. Until the sherry is first class. Has almost no sugar and will only need a minimum of cutting. A step below are the Amontillado, a wine softer and darker, and the best of taste is dry and powerful pungent smell. In the third place ‘Oloroso wine with great aging potential, but too heavy to be young.

The Oloroso sherry are the basis of the best desserts also known as Milk or Cream sherry (name invented by the merchants of Bristol).

In Sanlucar de Barrameda, they make different types of Manzanilla, Manzanilla and up is the most lovely and delicate, with a slight hint of salt seems caused by the proximity of the vineyards to the sea. Less common is to find the Manzanilla Amontillado, a wine that comes to be delicious, salty butter and brown as burnt and no mixture can be compared to these treasures. The Palomino grape (and others) give their best in the land called Albarizas (fine ground limestone) and grapes in the less fine sandy-clay soils. The pagos (districts) Albarizas of Jerez de la Frontera are those of Carrascal, Macharnudo, Anina and Balbaina Sanlucar and the pay Miraflores. The bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera are those of Williams & Humbert, Garvey, Valdespino, Sandeman, Pedro Domecq, Gonzalez Byass and John Harvey of Bristol’s largest producer of sherry and the most famous producer of Cream Sherry. The producers of sherry are Jose Medina y Cia, AR Valdespino, Williams & Humbert, Manuel de la Calle, Delgardo Zuleta, Gaspar Florido Cano, Jose de Soto, SA Bobadilla, Pedro Domecq SA, Sanchez Romate, Barbadillo, Wisdom & Warter, Sdom & Warter, Gonzales Byass, Emilio Lustatu, Sandeman and Osborne y Cia Palomino y Vergara. Rioja, Navarra and Aragon.
The Ebro is the river that flows south-east of the Cantabrian Mountains, and after spending Rioja, Navarra and Aragón flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Catalonia.
La Rioja has a mountain climate, and sheltered from the Cantabrian, its best vineyards rising to over 500m.
The region is divided into three sectors according to the terrain and height.
La Rioja Alta has a cool climate and a soil composed of clay mixed with gypsum and iron ore: its wine is the most preservable ilmigliore and potentially in the region. Rioja Alavesa has slopes with hot alkaline soil and its pale and fragrant Tempranillo is faster in the maturation and is a great blending wine.
Rioja Baja has almost Mediterranean climate and heavy soil and produces a strong wine and used as the major component of miscellaneous full-bodied.
The three areas converge near the city of Logroño, a major wine centers of the region.
The most important wine center Haro and here are 13 bodegas equal to one third of those suffering in the region. The best red Rioja is made from a blend of different grape varieties including the family Garnacha (Grenache Rhone) and the aromatic Tempranillo that is said to be akin to Pinot Noir. The white Rioja is made from Viura (Macabeo), Malvasia riojana and, at times, Garnacha Blanca, which only adds to alcohol. The best bodegas are those of Imperial, Ygay, La Rioja Alta, Lopezde Heredia, Bodegas Muga SA, Baron de Lay and Marques de Villamagna. Duero and Rueda (Castilla y Leon).
The plain is crossed by the young Castilian Duero (Douro in Portugal) and chalky clay soils and cool nights in the vineyards as high as up to 600m. A Valbuena de Duero, in the 1860 sample and the legendary Vega Sicilia planted in the Bordeaux style, Tempranillo (Tinto up here or Tinto del Pais) and Garnacha and Cabernet Merlot and more.
Produced here, even today, the surprising and penetrating Vega Sicilia Valbuena and his younger brother to five years. Since 1970 the cooperative began working on Peñafiel Tinto up reserves in wood and taking care of the early ’80s with his Alejandro Fernandez Pesquera reached perhaps the best quality that the wine can give. During the same period in the south of Valladolid traditional white oxidized were reviewed by the Bodega Marqués de Riscal Rioja that, with the Verdejo and help of Professor Peynaud, produces excellent fruity white. In 1980, Rueda Designation of the area becomes and the Bodegas de Crianza de Castilla La Vieja, the local family Sanz, were joined at the Marqués de Griñon to grow Cabernet. Griñon. Even Marqués de Riscal, who also assisted by Peyneaud, produces a superior Rueda made at least 60% Verdejo, who sells young. Catalonia. The east coast of northern Spain, the soft Mediterranean but the Catalans are the Spanish the most vital, demanding, critical and creative. Catalonia now has 8 DO but the most important is not the name of a region and is the DO Cava and his heart, as well as the registered office in the city of St Sadurni d’Anoia in Penedès. Cava is the sparkling wine from grapes tradicional method Parellada, Macabeo and Xarello. and major producers are Freixenet and Codorniu (it also has to Raimat Bodega Cabernet Sauvignon) and has the best wineries in the world for Cava. For table wine that excels Bodegas Torres is a maximum with his Gran Coronas Cabernet alone followed by Masia Vallformosa and Cavas Hill and the White by Conde de Caralte. Valencia and Alicante. The vineyards of the hinterland have a tradition modest and no particular point, if not the strength. Valentia, Utiel-Requena, Almansa, Yecla, Jumilla and Alicante are blending wine for export to a market that is disappearing.
Montilla and Malaga. The generous wine of Andalusia. The land that the original reappears sherry in the south of Cordoba 150 km from the coast in the 15.000ha Montilla-Moriles.
Here, the Pedro Ximenez produces a wine that does not need alcohol with which you sherry. The Amontillado is ready within a couple of years, perfect as an aperitif, it has more of a finesse I forced Manzanilla Jerez but producers have appropriated the terms and this may indicate their wines with the only terms of dry, medium and creamy.
Malaga (bodegas be located within the boundaries of the capital) is bred in an area around Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel Mollina 12.000ha in the region of Malaga Axarquía for more sweets to the sweet omen Lagrima did as the Tokaji.
Galicia and Asturias with El Bierzo and the Pais Vasco, Spain represent the green of Celtic and Christian traditions that produce wines almost always white light and dry, ideal for fish such as Chacolí of San Sebastian and the birthplace of the new exciting Spanish white wine, silky and aromatic: the Albariño in Rías Baixas.