Spanish Wine

[Michael Brunelle]

I have just enjoyed a nice glass of Spanish wine with dinner and it reminded me that when we returned from the first year in Oñate, the only Spanish wine available in Boise was Siglo, a Rioja that came wrapped in in burlap. It was decent, but many of us began searching for something similar to the chiquitos that drank when we made the rounds of the bars. Of course, that wine was nothing to write home about (although we all did, not because it was good, but because it only cost two pesetas a glass), but we developed a taste for it. The closest wines we found were low-end cabernets and zinfandels that we brought to potlucks and spaghetti or paella dinners that we organized in the mid to late 70"s.

Later more wines became available here, mostly Riojas, and some from Navarra and Catalunya. We tried them all, yet we kept a taste for basic red table wine. Carlo Rossi was usually served at dinners and wedding receptions held at the Basque Center, and it was also preferred by my Basque father-in-law who spent every summer with us in the U.S. from 1985 through 2000.

Now there are many, many Spanish wines sold in the United States. They have begun labeling them (at least the less expensive ones) by the kind of grape, like tempranillo, garnacha, etc. instead of using the name of the region. The big name Rioja wineries still market their traditional blended versions with the heavy oak flavors as "Rioja" rather than varietals, but inexpensive Spanish wines with clever/pretty labels naming the grape rather than the winery are all over the place.

Recently I have enjoyed wines made with the monastrell grape (by itself or as the major variety). I have heard that the tempranillo grape grows everywhere in Spain, but that its quality varies greatly. And I had a couple of bottles made with garnacha that I did not like very much.

I wonder if any of the SLT folks continue to try Spanish wines? I also wonder what Jamie has to say, since he is quite an expert on the food and drink of Spain (and he probably would be even if it wasn't his job!)

[Dennis Stevenson]

Are you kidding??!! I am always on the prowl for a good Spanish wine!! Riojas are still some of my favorites even though I have expanded my wine repertoire considerably. As you said we are seeing a huge number of different Spanish wines available now and I recently purchased a spledid Rioja on line. I even had the pleasure a couple of years ago of meeting a Spanish winemaker from the Valencia area who was producing some excellent wines. He was interested in marketing his wines in the US and a good friend of mine was working with his winery to try to make that happen. It's crazy but a bottle of Spanish wine that would sell here for $7.00 a bottle nets the vinter about a dollar. No wonder wine was 2 pesetas back in the day!!

I'm looking forward to the day we can share a good bottle of LAN or Pesquero or even a Carlo Rossi!!

[Michael Brunelle]

Dennis, I am sure you have expanded your repertoire, because you have always appreciated a good glass of wine, mug of beer, and even a copa of the harder stuff. I'm with you there. I've enjoyed some good and cheap wines from Australia and Chile, and I am liking the white Albariños and really like a fruity red Bierzo that comes from Northwestern Spain right about where Portugal and Galicia meet old Castille. There is a good wine shop behind the Meineke down the street, so whenever I get my oil changed I come home with a bottle or two. I was in this morning looking for "old school" Riojas, but all they had was Lopez Heredia Viña Tondonia, at $28 (2002) and $36 (2000), too much for me. (Actually there is another rack with $50 to $100 bottles, with a couple from Rioja, but that can buy a lot of Rolling Rock, so I steer clear). The guy there told me that in Spain there are basically two levels, "every-day wines" and "good wines", and I see that mindset since my brother-in-law drinks "vino de mesa" during the week and "vino de marca" on Sundays. But the Spaniards are bottling additional wines for the American market, so we can find three or four intermediate levels of wine here. He gave the example of an importer that had the winemaker empty his barrels and bottle the wine a year earlier than he normally would to create a $15 bottle of wine. Its drinkable now, but another year in the bottle will make it better. That's a very American approach, very MBA; creating a product to match a price point. But I think the Spanish are probably very happy to tap the American market, and it works for me because its good wine at a decent price. I may pick up one of those Lopez de Heredia, if there is a special occasion (Jone turns 21 this summer,that'll work). Or I could wait until my next trip to Oñati and get that same bottle at Eroski for about half the price.

[Rob and Anne Johnson]

We were very lucky to have such tasty table wine at San Lorenzo that it was always fun to help 'clean up' if you know what I mean. Check out www.wine.com as they have a nice array of Spanish wines that are great values. Jaime should definitely send us all some tips on some great values. It is his duty! We're looking to checking out the wines from Eastern Europe on our next adventure.
ps
Good that Dennis has moved beyong T-bird!
rj

[Kay Hummel]

MIke: agree with you on the granaches I've tried. Interesting on how they label over there. Not purely regional and who knows who is blending what.

We are getting a much wider variety of Spanish wine here but I am not sampling all that much due to mold allergies. Kind of blew it last week, was down watching our younger son race in Truckee at Nationals and should have done some investigating; or at least gone to Trader Joe's in Reno. Does anyone know if Trader Joe's carries much foreign wine or mainly California?
kay

[Tom Hanigan]

Rioja was always great and all Riojas have a similar earthiness. I've started drinking Ribera del Duero and finding even better! My brother-in-law introduced me to some really refreshing whites, too. All of them have denominaciones which I can't remember. Albariño, of course, is the classic but there are others out there that are just as good.

I traveled to a bodega in the Rioja a couple of years ago, one of the hundreds without any export internationally, and bought a case of blanco for $3 a bottle. The best Blanco I've ever swallowed. (I've swallowed many...)

Spain has grown up. Since I studied in San Lorenzo, the country has joined the EU, improved it's infrastructure, settled solidly in the developed world. Real estate prices in Donosti are higher than Monaco's. But the wine is still a bargain and still delicious. Cheers!

[Michael Brunelle]

I've been told that wines from certain regions, like Ribera del Duero (or Rueda?), are overpriced now because of the high demand for them within Spain. But there are still many "undiscovered" wines to be sampled.
Lately I am enjoying some sweet wines from Spain. I have a Don PX made with Pedro Ximénez grapes down in sherry country. It has been described as tasting like french toast with syrup on it, with a long finish. I think it tastes like raisins and figs, and its a great after dinner drink.
By the way, I drink less wine now than when we lived in Spain, and later when Doroteo was spending summers with us, but I am trying better ones, although I don't have the time, money, and palette needed to advance to the level of "wine snob".

[Michael Brunelle]

I was just in my favorite wine shop, behind Meineke (getting my oil changed). Found a bottle of Sarasola Astigarragako Sagardoa, Basque cider. I wonder who in Charlottesville, Virginia would know about/drink it? The label actually has a diagram showing how to pour it from a height of "1 meter/ 3 feet" into a tipped glass. I have to go find my tape measure so I can try a glass.

[Michael Brunelle]

This morning I picked up a bottle of Wrongo Dongo at the grocery store. This is a wine from Jumilla in Murcia, Southwest Spain, made from the monastrell grape. I bought it despite the silly name because I used to buy jumilla when I lived on calle San Bartolomé in San Sebastion about 30 years ago. There was a bodega on the corner that would fill my empty bottles from a big barrel, I'd buy a half dozen at a time and pay around 50 or 60 pesetas each, certainly never more than 70. It was a good, dark red table wine that was not only enjoyed by myself; Scott Logan would often drop by for a glass, and Ross Corbet shared some when he was rooming with me in the fall of the year, later Tom Hanigan stayed with me for a while and helped drink it until he moved to Zarauz to teach English. And I often had weekend visitors from the 78/79 BSU program who also seemed to enjoy some tinto before hitting the bars in the Parte Vieja.
I hesitated (briefly) to buy it because of the name, but a quick search on the web reassures me that it is highly rated for the price, and that Bodegas Hijos de Juan Gil are a respectable operation. There is no mention of "Wrongo Dongo" among the wines they feature on their website, so I'm thinking this is another custom bottling for an American importer.
Monastrell wines are a quick trip into the past, that olfactory memory is amazing, and I will especially appreciate being swept back to Donosti over half a lifetime ago, because today at Kroger I was given a senior citizen discount for the first time. Tuesdays are crazy in the store, lots of old people bumping carts and traffic jams in the produce section. I won't complain, however, because that 5% discount paid for my bottle of jumilla. Righto Dighto.