Spanish wine online - from white to red, blanco to tinto

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At first glance, Spanish wine may appear to be rather complicated. Just learning a few basics can help to unravel the mysteries and discover the charms of the wide variety of wines available in Spain.

There are five quality levels in Spanish wine:

1. Vino de mesa (table wine) is suitable for everyday needs.
2. Vino joven is often from a qualified region (see below) and aged a little but not enough to be a Crianza.
3. Crianza is aged for two years, with at least six months in oak barrels.
4. Reserva is made from top vintages and aged no less than three years, at least one in oak and two in the bottle, so is a quality wine.
5. Gran Reserva is made from outstanding vintages and aged at least two years in oak and three in the bottle to make a high quality wine.

As well as these five categories, Spanish wine is classified in a similar way to the French 'appellations':

1. Vino de mesa is the equivalent of vin de table.
2. Vino de la Tierra is the equivalent of vin de pays.
3. Denominacion de Origen (DO) and Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa) denote the best quality wines that have complied with strict controls over their origin and style.

The types of wine available in Spain are as follows:

• Cava - sparkling wine, the Spanish equivalent of Champagne
• Blanco - white wine
• Rosado - rosé wine
• Clarete - light red wine
• Tinto - red wine

The most famous Spanish wines are Rioja, Penedés, Ribera de Duero, Valdepeñas and Rueda. If you are trying to build up a Spanish section in your wine cellar, or simply hoping to try a few new sorts of wine, you can't go far wrong with a couple of bottles of red Rioja, Penedés and Ribera de Duero (try the Crianzas and Reservas) and some white Rueda. These are all reasonably priced bottles and of a general good standard. Also try a red and white Valdepeñas if you intend to broaden your spectrum.

Rioja is the name that springs to mind when Spanish wine is mentioned. Made from grapes grown in the north of Spain, Rioja can be red or white, and is made up of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo (red), or Viura, Riojana and Garnacha Blanca (white).

The best vintages in the last decade were 1994/5 (Rioja), 1995/96 and 99 (Ribera de Duero) and 2001 was a good year across the board.

So, now that you've armed yourself with a little insider knowledge, go forth and try some new wine!

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