Spanish Wine
Wine has been produced on the Iberian peninsula since time immemorial. Already the Phoenicians and the Greeks, who arrived around 1100 bC, drank wine from grapes that had been ripened under the Spanish sun. These sea-farers were mainly familiar with the coastal areas, and this was were they started the first wine production.
After them came the Romans, and during their reign wealthy people owned vineyards. Plinius the Old (23-79 a.d.) praised the wines from what is now known as Tarragona and Penedés.
A few centuries later the Moors ruled the greater part of Spain. In this era wine consumption was forbidden, but the production of wine did not disappear altogether.
But it was not until the eighteenth century that wine started its renaissance. From then until today the Spanish wine cellars (bodegas) have worked their way up to being some of the world’s finest.
The so-called D.O. (denominación de origen) which you will see on the label under the year of a wine indicates the quality. The most famous Spanish wine producing district is undoubtedly La Rioja, where the wine of the same name comes from. However, many less known areas produce wine of similar or even better quality. In total there are some 40 official wine producing areas.
Two other important quality factors are the aging time and the quality of the casks.
Here is a short description of the terminology of red wine:
Vino de mesa: A praiseworthy table wine
Crianza: A wine that has aged for at least two years, and at least half of this time in oak casks.
Reserva: This wine has aged for at least three years, again at least one year in oak casks.
Gran Reserva: A wine with a total ageing time of five years, two of them in oak casks.
However, the most important characteristics of a wine are the smell and the flavour. As these are very subjective, you should never choose a wine from its label. The best way of finding a wine that is to your liking is by going to a wine testing or indeed trying a variety at home. However, when you get beyond the third or fourth glass, do not decide there and then, but put off your shopping to the next day and try the ones you thought you liked again.
¡Salud!