Spanish red wine.?!
Spanish red wine.?
I'm off on my Spanish hols. soon. Whats a good Spanish red to bring back. Could probably manage half a dozen bottles so might as well be good ones......
Answers: Two regions to look for are Ribero Del Duero & Somontano gie it a bash as they are both stonkers get the ones with brass wire round it Sangue de toro or
rioja For me personally when I go away on vacation and want to buy wine to take home I look for wine that is made by small wine growers like family owned and run winery. These are great because when you drink them it instantly takes you back to the vacation because these wines can't be purchased in stores. These small places are also very proud of their product so they will often let you try it first for free. You are probably better off getting some local wine rather than any which has been seen here. Ask around when you get there and do plenty of tasting. When you get back get some El Bombero from Laithwaites and compare. Hi Bankman,
The price of Spanish red wine in supermarkets is so cheap, and there are some really nice wines to be bought. Its hardly worth the agro in carrying them back.
I would sooner buy some nice sparlking white Spanish Wine as that can still be abit pricey here. To tell you the truth, many of the good Spanish reds are available in the UK at much the same price as they are here. However, some wines to look out for around the 10 to 12 euro mark are (These prices are for the crianza - relatively young. The reserva version - oak aged in barrels - will cost about double):
Remelluri (Rioja)
Muga (Rioja)
Bordon (Rioja)
Alkorta (Rioja)
Ochoa (Navarra)
Protos (Ribera del Duero)
The best thing to do is to go to the Corté Inglés department store (All over Spain) and go to the food section where you will find the Club del Gourmet, where they have all the good wines from Spain and they will be able to advise you. The other alternative is to drink them in bars and buy on your experience.
As you can imagine, there are dozens of good reds and whites nowadays. How much money do you intend to pay for the spanish wine? There are varying qualities of wine in Spain, some good, some not so good. The idea is to find a wine that tastes good, has a bright or luminous complexion, and doesn't have a bitter aftertaste (unless, of course, you like that type of taste in your wine).
As for specific wines, I can only suggest the ones which are normally imported from Italy. Spain is okay for wine, but Italian wines have the best overall flavor (in my opinion).
Paul Rioja I like stuff from the termpranillo grape. Don't just stick to red: bring yourself a bottle of Cava (Codorníu) and a couple of litres of those cheap 45cent cartons of red for making homemade sangría! First, check with the State Department. I believe that each person can only bring up to 2000 ml of alcohol back to US. That would mean about 2 or 3 bottles of wine per person. Check before the custom makes you pay extra tax for the wine. Also, keep in mind that, if you buy wine, you will have to check in, since there will be on carry-on liquid in all flight in US and most of the world. Checking wine in can be tricky - you are risking breaking the bottles AND ruining your clothes.
Second, if you were to buy wine there, you should buy stuff that you can not get at home. Honestly, if I were you, I would go for the premium wines, the expensive stuff that runs at least $60-70. Riojas region is where you want to go, since that is the most well respected area in Spain for wine making. Like other writers had said, they are good brands (personally I like the more expensive Muga) and many are made from their indiginous grapes - Temperanillo. Buying cheap Spanish wine is good to drink there, but if you bring something back, bring 2 bottles of really nice stuff so you can save it for a few years. Then you can open it up to relive the memory of the trip.