Spanish Wines We Like
We love the many wines from Spain. Spanish wines are excellent, inexpensive, and very tasty. Spanish wines deliver the biggest bang for your buck. Spanish red and white wines pair well with foods. They are balanced and not overly robust. The best place to shop for Spanish wines are fine wine shops. They will have a large Spanish section with many choices in price and Spanish wine districts. Costco, Trader Joe’s, Total Wine, and BevMo also have good selections. Supermarkets like Safeway have a rather limited selection.
These are the Spanish wines we drink year in and year out. Here is what we like and where you should be able to buy them.
Tempranillo Wines from Rioja
Tempranillo is the number one grape in Spain. It is grown all over Spain, particularly in Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toro. We have visited many wineries in these three areas. Rioja Tempranillo is the most popular and easy to find in wine shops and supermarkets. Ribera del Duero Tempranillo wines are more robust. Wines from Toro are the most robust of the Tempranillo wines and harder to find in our markets. This is a list of Tempranillo wines we recommend.
- Bodegas Lan – Rioja
- Bodegas Cune – Rioja
- Bodegas Beronia – Rioja
- Puerta de Plata Reserva – Rioja
- Kirkland Rioja Reserva – Rioja
- Condado De Haza – Ribera del Duero
- Numanthia – Toro
Priorat and Montsant Wines
Priorat and Montsant are important D.O. (Denominaciones de Origen) of Spain. The three principal grapes are Garnacha, Carignane, and the white wine grape Garnacha Blanca. The Priorat region is desiginated D.O.Q., the highest quality wine region. The Rioja is the only other region with the D.O.Q. designation. The wine prices for Priorat can be very high, exceeding $100. However, many wines hover around the $20 mark. If you see a wine from the Priorat for that price, give it a try.
Priorat vineyards are grown in dark slate soils. These soils impart a unique characteristic to the wine. Can you taste that mineral flavor in a Priorat wine?
Montsant wines are much less expensive. The Montsant region is within the Priorat area, but the soil is the only difference. Montsant wines are excellent tasting and a fantastic value.
Note: Priorat and Montsant wines are a rarity in Supermarkets. Fine wine shops like KL Wines, Weimax Wines, and The Spanish Table wine department, will carry a good selection. Costco often has wines from Priorat and Montsant. BevMo and Total Wines also carry these wines.
These are the wines we recommend from the Priorat and Montsant wine
- 2018 Black Slate “Escaladei” Vi de la Vila Priorat – $19.99
- 2018 Celler de Capçanes “Mas Donis” Old Vines Montsant – $12.99
More Spanish reds
- Bodegas Breca Old Vine Garnacha – Calatayud D.O.
- Tres Picos Garnacha – Campo de Borja D.O. in Zaragoza, Spain
- Evodia Old Vines Garnacha – Catalunya D.O.
- Volver Tarima Hill – Monastrell grape from Alicante D.O. in Valencia, Spain
White Wines of Spain
The most popular in the white wine department are the Albariño wines from the Rias Baixas region of Spain. We love these wines; most are under the $20 price range. Our three favorite Albariño wines:
Another good choice in Spanish wine whites is Verdeho. This grape has many similar characteristics to a Sauvignon Blanc.
Cava is one of the great values of sparkling wine. The vineyards are in the Penedas region of Spain, just south of the great city of Barcelona. Our favorite Cava wines are Segura Viudas Brut and Segura Viudas Brut Reserva.
To learn more about wines from Spain, check this website: Spanish Wine Country
