Spain, the final frontier, to boldly go....

Okay I am excited about the Star Trek movie but that is irrelevant.....

Spanish wines are so easy. I’ve just enjoyed a couple of days taking in the best that Spain has to offer and it did not disappoint. Great wine, full of flavour, fruit and it is so easy to drink. Admittedly most of the time it was washing down some superb Tapas but somehow the two go together like they are inseparable. Okay I have to admit to having a soft spot for Rioja, it is my drink of choice when I just fancy a glass of wine, satisfying on so many levels. The beauty of drinking it in Spain is not only the food but the constant sunshine and the incredibly cheap prices compared with anywhere outside of the country. The Euro’s relative strength to the Pound and Dollar may have hurt but when you think about the quality and satisfaction received from Spanish red wine, it’s very tempting to move there permanently.

I can strongly recommend the 2005’s, 2004’s and indeed most of this decade if you want a solid, reliable fruity wine with bags of flavour. Tempranillo, Gamacha (Grenache) and Carinena (Carignan) compete and meld to form this excellent wine. Personally I like Marques de Riscal, Vina Ardanza and Marques de Caceres, all readily available outside of Spain.

I’m off to the London International Wine Fair next week for two days of overdosing on every wine imaginable, wish me luck.

Spanish Wine Rocks

I recently came back from the Spanish Islands and had the chance to reacquaint myself with the Timpranillo grape. Huge robust Reds, excellent with Paella and Tapas, which seemed so perfect even in the hotter climes of the Med. The Spanish are very passionate about this grape. The wine from the grape they rate as highly as anything from Barolo, Bordeaux or Southern Australia. It's easy to get hold of, mainly found in Rioja and Navarra so look out for Marques de Caceres, Marques de Riscal and Vina Ardanza, all excellent.

The real surprise though was a lovely white wine produced by the massive Torres company called Vina Esmeralda. Readily available from Oddbins it retails at a mere £6.99 and is an excellent example of a Moscatel and Gewurztraminer mix producing a wine that is very easy to drink, very fruity with a slight hint of spice from the Gewurz. Try it one of these warm evenings, chilled and in a clean glass it is a very welcome change from the numerous Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs in this price range.