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Winemaking in Spain, The Grapes , Technique , Labeling
Spain is a world class producer of wines, both in quality and quantity. Better known are the quality reds from Rioja and Ribera del Duero , reds and whites from Penedés , fine whites from Rueda , "sherries" from Jerez , and a fine sparkling wine known as cava . The aim of The Spanish Wine Page is to help both novice and experienced wine lovers find and enjoy not only the known wines, but also to become acquainted with wines from more than 50 recognized wine , Extracts below are from the superb site http://www.jrnet.com , Vist it for full details and lots more information..

Winemaking in Spain
Spanish wineries are known as "bodegas" and the winemakers, "bodegueros". The Spanish winemakers make their products from a large variety of grapes. It's not unusual to find the typical Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and so forth, but the majority of the wines are produced from native grapes, many completely unknown outside the Iberian peninsula.

The methods used by the "bodegueros" are of course based on the same "technology" used in other wine producing areas, but the differences in technique , storage and aging methods, etc., produce some interesting and often pleasantly distinct wines.

For the wine drinker, the language and terminology used in labeling can be a serious problem when selecting Spanish wines in the local shop. The following sections should be helpful in both understanding what you are about to buy, as well as how and when to most enjoy it.

The Grapes , Back to Top
As we've seen, the majority of Spanish wines are produced from native grapes. The list of all the known native varieties would but be impractical here, as there are literally hundreds of recogized grape varieties. Let's start with the best known ones, as used in the main regions. The D.O. system includes the grape varieties allowed in each D.O. region. Most wines are produced mixing several varieties to achieve the required characteristics: color, alcohol content, balance, aging properties, etc.
D.O. Rioja
Tempranillo Black Fine quality, aromatic, good acid balance
Graciano Black Aromatic, scarce, low alcohol
Mazuelo Black Rich in tannin & color
Garnacha Black High alcohol, oxidize easily (Grenache)
Viura White Low alcohol, resists oxidation Malvasia White Low alcohol, fresh (of Greek origin) Garnacha Blanca White Higher alcohol, less acid

D.O. Penedés (Catalonia)
Cariñena Black Robust, rich color Garnacha Black Full bodied, high alcohol
Monstrell Black Small yield, deep color, sweet Ull de Llebre Black [see Tempranillo]
Macabeo White [See Viura] Xarel-lo White Medium alcohol, sparkling wines
Parellada White Low alcohol, high acidity, fruity Malvasia White Fruity, medium alcohol, also used in Madiera
Pansé White Coarse, high alcohol Pedro Ximenez White Sweet wines, also used in Montilla

Other regions
Bobal Black, Intense color, used in rosés ( Valencia & Albacete )
Cencibel Black [See Tempranillo] ( La Mancha )
Caiño Tinto Black In scarce supply ( Rías Baixas & Ribeiro )
Mencía Black Quality similar to Cabernet F.( Valdeorras & Bierzo)
Tinto Fino Black Variety of Tempranillo ( Ribera del Duero )

Albariño White Intense aroma, high quality ( Rías Baixas )
Caiño Blanco White In scarce supply ( Rías Baixas )
Arien White High yield, abundant ( La Mancha-Valdepeñas )
Godello White Fruity & light ( Valdeorras & Rías Baixas )
Loureira White High quality, aromatic ( Ribeiro )
Palomino White High yield, prime grape for sherry ( Jerez )
Moscatel White Dessert wines ( Malaga )
Verdejo White High quality, fresh, best young ( Rueda )

TECHNIQUES, Back to Top
Modern techniques have made their way into the bodegas. Stainless steel vats and controlled temperatures during fermentation have done a great deal improve the overall quality levels. Some areas do continue to produce their wines with traditional methods which include fermenting and aging in huge clay pots known as "tinajas", or a modern day replacement in the form of reinforced concrete vats.
Rioja
The wines of Rioja are typically built around the Tempranillo grape, traditional production methods and oak. Ageing in oak is one of the key characteristics of the Riojas. Even some of the whites are matured in oak. The technique was brought from Bordeaux in the 19th Century. The 225 liter "barricas" may be new or used, and made of either American or French oak, but they are always an important part of the best Rioja bodegas.
Penedés
Penedés, near Barcelona is one of the quality wine producers in Spain, turning out some fine reds, fruity whites, and first rate sparkling wines. Both native grapes and the better known Cabernets, Pinot Noir, etc. are used by the Penedés bodegeros. White Xarel-lo and Macabeo (Viura) are used in the sparkling "cavas", while the black Ull de Llebra (Tempranillo) and Garnacha, are key ingredients in the reds. The red wines generally spend less time in oak than their Rioja counterparts, and so tend to be less "oaky".
Jerez
Wines from Jerez-Xéres-Sherry are in a class all their own. The special sherry taste is due to the unique production methods used in the bodegas of the Jerez area. The Palomino grape is the main ingredient of the best sherries. The wines are aged in loosely stoppered casks, where a special yeast growth known as "flor" prevents oxidation, while adding that special taste. When the time comes to end the maturing process, the flor is killed of by fortification (the addition of alcohol) and the Jerez is moved to the "solera". The solera is a vertical row of oak casks, designed to gradually mix old wine with new to achieve a consistent final product, year after year. The wine to be bottled is drawn off the bottom row, the casks are topped off with wine from the next row, and so on up to the top where the new wine is added. If you see something like "Solera 1856" on a bottle, this is the year the solera was originally put on line.
Cava
Sparkling wines are clearly the leading wine export from Spain. Known as cava, the best bubbly is produced in a variety of geographic areas under the D.O. Cava. The sparkling wines are generally produced using three distinct methods:

Cava
Bottle-fermented
"Granvás" (fermented in large vats).
Cava, or "traditional method" uses the Champagne method where white wine is subjected to a second fermentation to add bubbles naturally in the bottle.
The bottle-fermented style is made in much the same way, except the bubbly is transferred to a new bottle at the end of the process - it's also known as "transfer method".

The granvás system involves large pressurized vats which hold the wine during the second fermentation - the bubbles do tend to be larger. A fourth class of cheaper sparkling wines add CO2 gas directly to the wine to create the bubbles - these are known as "vino gasificado". If in doubt, you'll find the production method the label, and (just for safe measure) on the bottom of the extracted cork.

LABELING
At first, trying to make sense of a Spanish wine label may seem to be a daunting task; but it's not really that difficult. Rather than run a course in label interpretation, let's just try and get a handle on the basic terminology.

First of all keep in mind 5 basic quality levels:

1. Vino de mesa table wine ("plonk") 2. Vino joven young wine, usually from a qualified DO region, often with a bit of ageing, but not enough to be a "crianza" 3. Crianza aged 2 years, at least 6 months in oak 4. Reserva quality wine, normally aged at least 3 years, at least 1 year in oak cask, 2 years in the bottle, made from top vintages 5. Gran Reserva quality wine, aged at least 2 years in oak plus 3 years in the bottle, made from exceptional vintages

    Other useful terms:

  • Bodega = Winery
  • Añejo = Aged
  • Cepa = Vine or name of grape
  • Cosecha, vendimia = Vintage year

    Types of wine:

  • Tinto = Red wine
  • Rosado = Rosé wine
  • Clarete = Light red wine
  • Blanco = White wine
  • Cava = Sparkling wines made by champagne method

    Sweetness (whites, sherries and "cavas"):

  • Dulce = Sweet
  • Seco = Dry
  • Semi-seco = Medium-dry
  • Brut = Very dry

    Sherries (Jerez, Montilla, Sanlucar de Barrameda):

  • Fino = Light dry sherry
  • Manzanilla = Very dry sherry from Sanlucar
  • Amontillado = An aged "fino"
  • Palo cortado = Dark, superior grade sherry (or Montilla)
  • Oloroso = Dark, full-bodied sherry
  • Pedro Ximenez = A dark, sweet sherry (or Montilla)
  • Cream = Very sweet sherry


Note: Don't forget de Denominación de Orígen label. It's your guarantee of the wines origins and content. The function of the Consejo Regulador (regulatory body) of each D.O. region is to insure the quality of it's wines

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