We all know and love a Rioja but mention Rioja and most people will associate it with Spanish red wine but have you tried the white version from this iconic region of northern Spain. The wine known as Rioja Blanco is primarily made from the Viura (aka Macabeo) grape which has to make up at least 51% of the blend. Other grapes used to name a few, are Malvasia, Garnacha [……]
The Rueda region of Castilla y Leon in northern Spain produces some fabulously fresh and vibrant white wines and this Verdejo (a classic white grape of the region) from Lidl is no exception and brilliant value at £5.99. The flavour profile for Verdejo is usually fresh and fruity and the ‘La bien Pintá´scores on both accounts. The Verdejo grape is usually harvested during the night when the temperatures are cooler [……]
‘At last’, I hear you all cry ‘the weather is warming up’, pink drinks start appearing, all kinds of Rosés and even pink gin but in my opinion nothing beats pink fizz, in all its forms including Champagne, English sparkling and especially the much more affordable Cava. Step forward this excellent offering the Cava Vilarnau Rosé Brut Reserva from Barcelona., with its Gaudi inspired designer bottle. This was lively, when [……]
Most people think of Andalucia as mainly a holiday area full of hotels, tourists, sunloungers and fiesta, so when you see this bottle on the shelf although there’s no doubting it’s a Spanish wine with its colourful abstract Flamenco label, where it’s from may come as a surprise. This is a blend of Tempranillo 50% and Syrah 50% made in the cool ‘Laujar valley’ vineyards high up in the Almeria [……]
Scala Dei 2011 If you like your wines with a bit of muscle and intensity then Scala Dei translated from Latin to literally mean ‘Ladder to God’ is one to try. Made by Carthusian monks in the Scala Dei winery, founded in the 12th century and found in the Priorat region south-west of Tarragona Spain. I actually picked up this bottle in a small supermarket down a back street in [……]
I recently celebrated my 60th birthday and judging by the number of wine-related cards and bottles I got I think, perhaps some is trying to tell me something. Not that I’m complaining as I still get enormous pleasure from receiving that special bottle of fizz or that sought after Rioja and I was very grateful for the generosity of family and friends. This picture shows a small selection of some [……]
Picking a wine on nothing but the name, label or bottle sometimes works, more often it doesn’t. That’s exactly what I did when buying this ‘Cubist Old Vine Garnacha’ that was made in the mountains south-west of Aragon in northeastern Spain with 100-year-old vines, hence the ‘Old Vine’ on the label. I paint a bit and Picasso happens to be one of my favourite artists, so I actually picked it [……]
With the weather improving and thoughts of summer barbecues ahead here are a couple of excellent white wines that generally don’t hit the headlines as much as they should.The first is an Austrian Gruner Veltliner sold in Morrisons and the other a Spanish Godello (although this particular one I bought in Spain, Godello is now widely available in most supermarkets and wine retailers). I first reviewed these wines a little [……]
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