White the other spanish wine

Think of Spain. What do you see? The conventional images of a bullfighter’s cape and flamenco dancers dress from old Life magazine, or do you see retro travel posters that make many of us, at least of a certain age, see red when we think about Spain. So similarly, when we think of the wines from Spain, red almost instantly comes to mind.

We think of Rioja and even Sangria. But believe me, these few images in no way can capture the spectrum of Spain’s culture, their classical wines and they of course cannot totally represent the breadth and quality of its viniculture.

Ever since the death of General Franco in 1975 and the establishment of a parliamentary democracy in 1978, Spain’s wines benefited from the country’s new economic freedoms. Membership in the European Union has contributed much to improving the quality of wines as well. Old methods have given ways to new, sloppy wine production have been replaced with more meticulous and regulated counterpart. And the expanding markets of fine wine home and abroad have fanned the fires of Spain’s wine revolution: cooperatives have been taken over by private estates; native grapes have been complemented by international varieties, and tannins have been better balanced with fruit.

The new Spanish whites are now widely available in the United States. They offer outstanding values, especially when compared to our domestic offerings. And what’s more, they provide very appealing distinctive alternatives to our sometimes boring Chardonnays.

With hot weather not too far away, I thought this is an ideal time to focus on Spanish whites that will appropriately compliment hot-weather dishes like pasta and seafood salads, poached fish and grilled seafood. Some of these wines possess so much character that they make appealing aperitifs and perfect patio sippers.

Spain’s most popular native white wine varietals include:

AIRIEN, widely planted, especially in La Mancha.It is very resilient varietals and used primarily for brandy and local wines. This grape producing delicate, light in color wine with elegant fruity taste .It is delightful in a taste! ALBARINO, from Galicia, can yield perfumed elegant wines that are sometimes compared to Viogneier .Very popular and very easy drinking.GODELLO, quite popular, makes a tangy wine that is both dry and light bodied. POLOMINO, from Southern Spain, low in acid and sugar, but the wine that made from this grape tends to oxidize. It is often used to produce Sherry. And another one that deserves attention is VARDEJO is Rueda’s prized wine. It has nutty characteristics and is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc.

But of course,the international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and even Viogneier have found their way into Spain’s wines and vineyards. So this summer, when the weather turns hot and you are looking for cool,crisp,refreshing wine to serve with dinner, try an affordable Spanish white and let the bulls go after the red.

Q: What does one need to cellar wines?

A: Some wines not only become more interesting with age, but can actually require ageing to make them a pleasant drinking experience! The other reason to store young wines yourself for drinking at the later date, is the scarcity of mature wines to be had at a price you ‘d want to pay. Buy them when they are young at a cheaper price and you just have to wait for the wines to mature.

Remember, Life is a Matter of taste!

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• 17.06.2010. White the other spanish wine
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