The Spanish wine industry has a rich history with some archaeologists believing that the vines were cultivated as early as 4,000 years ago. Impressively, Spain is the world’s largest winemaker with more vineyards compared to any other country.
The labelling on Spanish wine includes the terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva, or Gran Reserva, which indicates the length of the aging period. Wine marked Gran Reservas has been cellared the longest and wine marked Joven has spent the least amount of time resting in the winery.
The French Way
Beirzo is a wine region containing 55 Bodegas (Cellars) based around Leon.
In this region, we recommend considering the red wine varieties of Tempranillo and Mencia and the white wine Dona Blanca.
Tera De Leon is a small but significant wine region of about 36 Bodegas just outside of Leon. In this region, we recommend the red varieties of Mencia and Loureira Tinta and the white varieties of Alberino and Verdeja.
The Portuguese Way
Rias Biaxas is the wine region in Galicia containing over 200 Bodegas based around Pontevedra.
The red varieties in this region to seek out are Loueriero Tinta and Mencia and the white varieties include Alberino and Loueriera Blanca.