What Are The Characteristics Of Spanish Wine?
Spain has always been a popular tourist getaway. The county is also one of the world’s popular wine producers, but to a beginner their wines can seem awfully confusing. Below we have listed a beginner’s guide to the characteristics of Spanish wine. The Spanish produce some awesome red and white wine.
The more you know about wine, it really does help to up your pallet when you’re drinking a glass of the precious concoction. Blanco - It’s a very common terminology used in Spain – in short it means white wine. Wine, that in a nutshell is made from white grapes.
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Bodega - Quite simply the Spanish term for winery. Albarino – This is Spain’s most commonly used white grape. It is usually found in the Rias Baixes wine region of the country and is used inside white wines. It offers you an aromatic feel to your glass of wine and is high in acidity, so a great secret weapon to help digest your meal.
Cava – is a fizzy wine. An excellent choice for those people who like their wine bubbly. Garanacha - A very common Spanish red grape. It is used mainly as the ingredient in Rioja wines, and offers the wine drinker a hint of raspberry to their pallet.
Reserva - A wine derived from red grape’s that have been kept for a longer period of time before hitting the store. Those who are familiar with wine have commented how the grape has a hint of cherries. It has to sit for a bare minimum of 1-2 years in the barrel before being distributed for sale. As a result, this type of wine tends to be on the pricier end of the bar menu.
Gran Reserva - A step up from reserva, quite possibly the best red wine you ever taste! Before this wine hits the shelves, it will have sat accumulating flavour for a minimum of three years.
Crianza - Wine that sits in an Oak barrel, to pick up a hit of oak. It usually sits for a year; as a result this wine is higher priced. The more expensive the bottle, quite simply reflects that the crianza has spent longer fermenting!
Rioja - White or red wine, as the name would suggest the wine originates from the Rioja region of Spain.
Tempranillo - Medium to full red wine utilises this Spanish red grape.
Tinto - This Spanish word commonly used in the wine market, quite simply translates to the colour red, or red wine!
The above was just a very simple guide to the main characteristics of Spanish wine. Next time you are at the pub, or restaurant you’ll be able to impress your loved ones by having a little extra knowledge about Spanish wine. One important thing to remember though is the fact that the longer the wine is sat fermenting, the higher the price should be.