Wine labels from almost every wine region are slightly confusing, barring the US varietals. Spain has some of the most confounding names and labels for newcomers, in my opinion. And it's a minor tragedy, given that Spain has some of the tastiest and greatest value wines around right now! So I'm going to do a Top Ten list about what you don't know about Spanish wine.
Top Ten Things You Didn't Know About Spanish Wine
10) "Rioja" is a region in Spain, not a type of wine.
9) Most of said red wine in Rioja is made of the Tempranillo grape.
8) Tempranillo is a light-medium bodied red that is very drinkable young
7) In Rioja, "Crianza" wine is aged at least 2 yrs, "Reserva" wine, 3yrs, and "Gran Reserva", 5 yrs.
6) Of those years aged, for "Crianza" and "Reserva" 1yr must be in oak. Gran Reserva must be 2yrs in oak.
5) Ribera del Duero is an excellent region for red, and very different than Rioja.
4) A great, underrated white Spanish grape is the Albariño varietal.
3) Many of the best Spanish whites come from the Rias Baixas region.
2) Southern Spain makes great sherry.
1) Spain has the most acreage of any country in the world devoted to wine grape-growing.
Awesome post. I personally think the wines from Ribera del Duero are much more interesting than the Rioja's.
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