Spain

Watching the Spanish vines grow with a relaxed gaze

When you think of Spanish wine, you think of Spanish red wine. And even though the diverse wines made from Tempranillo, Grenache and Bobal support this assessment, Spain is also considered the largest producer of white wine. The Iberian peninsula offers almost one million hectares of cultivation area. Enough space for all kinds of noble grape varieties. In fact, the winegrowers allow the vines more space than in other countries.Spanish viticulture has the largest cultivated area in the world, but produces less yield than France and Italy. This means less quantity and higher quality. Thus, every connoisseur of Spanish wine can be sure to hold in his hand a full wine with complex structure and intense fruit.

The history of Spanish viticulture

The history of Spanish wine is ancient, dating back over several thousand years, 4000 BC to be exact. Around 1100 BC, Phoenician traders founded the city of Cádiz along the Atlantic coast and started growing grapes. Even with the conquests of the Carthaginians and Romans, viticulture in Spain did not stop. On the contrary, the Romans promoted the cultivation on a large scale in order to supply troops and settlers in the farthest corners of the Roman Empire with tasty wine from Spain. In this way, the Romans exported wine to Italy, France, and England. After the disintegration of Roman culture in Spain, it was barbarian tribes from the north and Arab rulers from the south who severely limited Spanish viticulture. Especially the Arabs had no use for alcohol, ergo there was no need for viticulture. But it did not disappear completely. The rulers in between allowed the locals to continue the production of wine. But only monks allowed the Spanish viticulture to flourish again after the Arabian princes had withdrawn from Spain. Phylloxera and world wars summarily prevented growth, but ultimately could not prevent the strong rise. Spanish wine is simply too spoiled by the ideal conditions the grapes enjoy in the different microclimates. Today, Spain is considered one of the top nations for professional and traditional viticulture.

Quality levels of Spanish wine

Like every renowned wine country, Spain has its own quality system. Spanish wines are divided into 5 categories. In ascending order these are:

• Vinode Mesa ( VdM), comparable to table wine, with no indication of origin or grape variety, as the latter may be chosen by the winemaker on a whim.
• Vino de la Tierra (VdlT), a country wine that must come from a specific region. The grape variety and vintage are indicated on the label.
• Denominación de origen (D.O.), wine with a controlled denomination of origin, where the indigenous grape variety and yield are also regulated.
• Denominaciónde origen calificado (D.O.C.) A quality level that is only granted to a few wine-growing regions. Among them the region Rioja and Priorat.
• Vino de Pago, a relatively new level that may only be used for outstanding single vineyard wines.

Among these categories, Spanish winemakers and wine experts use another classification that refers to the wine's ageing.

• Joven - A young wine with no prescribed barrel aging period.
• Crianza - A red wine with at least 2 years of aging, including 1 year in barrel, and a white wine and rosé with 6 months of barrel aging may carry the Crianza designation on the label.
• Reserva - Red wines must age for 3 years, 12 months of which must be in barrel. White wines, on the other hand, 2 years, including 6 months in barrel.
• Gran Reserva - For the highest category, red wines must be aged for 5 years, at least 2 of which must be spent in barrel. Spanish rosé wines and white wines must be aged 6 months in barrel and a full 42 months in bottle.

The most important Spanish wine-growing regions

In every corner of the Iberian Peninsula, sometimes larger sometimes smaller, there are numerous Bodegas, with different climatic conditions. High-quality wine from Spain is pressed everywhere, but some growing areas are particularly significant for the steep rise of the Vino de España.

Rioja

The most famous cultivation area of Spain is spoiled by numerous sun hours and loamy as well as calcareous grounds. From Rioja come predominantly Spanish red wines from Tempranillo, Grenache and Mazuelo. Always worth a glass is the varietal Graciano, which develops along the river Ebro into a powerful, aromatic wine of the highest quality.

Ribera del Duero

On the slopes of the Castilian plateau, in the middle of the region of Castile and Leon, some of the best wines Spain has to offer thrive. Modern approaches have a long tradition here. Tinto Fino, the local name for Tempranillo, lines the vineyards and yields first-class products. In addition, there are also isolated areas planted with Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Priorat

The oldest vineyards in Catalonia are located on the sloping slate soils of Priorat. Both red wines and white wines from Spain are grown here. Among them are all kinds of noble grape varieties, such as Cariñena, Grenache, Merlot, Chenin blanc, Pinot Noir, yellow Muscat, Syrah and of course Tempranillo. A fine selection for high-quality and award-winning wines from Spain.

Navarra

Very fine and less rich wines of the top class often come from the northern Navarra. Thanks to its proximity to France, vines such as Chardonnay, Malvasia and Muscat have found their way into the Navarre region, in addition to the usual Tempranillo and Grenache varieties. Despite the strong decline of Grenache, Rosado is still considered a speciality of the winegrowers from the north of Spain.

Toro

The wine-growing region in the heart of Spain on the banks of the Duero is known and popular for the almost black and powerful red wines from the grape variety Tinta de Toro, the local term for Tempranillo. Toro stands for typical Spanish red wines - powerful, intense and good value.

Cava

Not so much a cohesive growing region as a collection of areas devoted to sparkling wine. Cava from Catalonia is the answer to French champagne and German sparkling wine. Vinified from, for example, Macabeo, Parellada, Chardonnay, Monastrell and the sugar-rich Xarel lo, the storage period on the yeast for Cavas is at least nine months. Quite a bit longer in the case of Reservas and Gran Reservas.

Our VINELLO recommendation

Montecillo Crianza DOCa - Bodegas Montecillo

What would a Spanish wine recommendation be without a powerful and cherry-red wine from La Rioja? Fruity and spicy, the single-varietal Montecillo Crianza presents itself on the palate and guarantees a balanced and delicate finish. A wine from Spain for strong meat dishes, for grilling or simply to enjoy.

Reserva Brut DO - Segura Viudas

Fruity and refreshing Cava with aromas of white fruits, exotic fruits and citrus nuances. On the full-bodied palate, a stimulatingly tangy acidity and notes of pineapple and lime provide plenty of freshness. Cava at its best. It's hard to imagine a bottle-fermented sparkling wine at this price.

Goru El Blanco Jumilla DO - Ego Bodegas

A wonderfully aromatic cuvée from the grape varieties Chardonnay and Moscatel. In the nose lush ripe aromas of citrus, quince, banana, pineapple and papaya, plus typical floral notes of muscatel. On the long and round palate very lush, ripe fruit, with soft acidity and full body.

Buy Spanish wine cheap online

Red wine, rosé wine, white wine, sparkling wine, sherry, dessert wine - a lot of wine from Spain, which ignite passion, reveal pleasure and simply taste delicious. You will find this and much more at your wine shop VINELLO. Buy Spanish wines cheap and have them delivered insured wherever and whenever you want. Shop safely and experience boundless sensual pleasure in liquid form. Discover Spain and the wide world of fine wines and noble spirits on VINELLO - your wine trade for a sun-drenched Spanish drop, or two, or even several in the Spanish wine package.

Spanish white wine

Spanish white wine is refreshing, excellent and varied. Iberian specialities remain in the memory of gourmets forever. Spanish white wine as well! Spain's white wines by no means have to compete with the country's own red wines , as it has long had a large worldwide following. At Vinello you can buy fine Spanish white wines and many more white wines online.

Spanish white wine has many tastes

In terms of taste, white wine from Spain is as versatile and original as the flora and fauna of "Reino de España". Why does no two Spanish white wines taste the same? The tastes of Spanish white wines are influenced by various factors.

• Growing region
• Altitude
• Soil composition
• Climate
• Harvest
• Grape variety
• Ripening time / Maturation
• Maturity
• sweet, sweet, dry, semi-dry
• Vintage

Whether you order sweet white wine from Rioja online or buy a dry white wine from Spain at Vinello: We offer Spanish white wine with cork guarantee and taste at its best!

Grape varieties of Spanish white wines

The history of Spanish viticulture is said to have begun more than 4000 years before Christ on the Iberian Peninsula. Whether this is actually the case is still the subject of speculation. However, we can say with certainty that the most important ingredients for excellent Spanish white wines ripen in Spain's most important wine-growing regions. Very interesting white wine grape varieties from Spain are for example:

• Airén
• Garnacha Blanca
• Godello
• Loureiro / Loureira
• Macabeo (also known under the synonym Viura)
• Malvasia / Malvasia
• Moscatel.

Vinello recommendation for Spanish white wine

You want to buy a fragrant white wine from Spain, which is spicy on the nose, has fruity aromas of apricots, apples and peaches and at the same time tastes slightly of citrus fruits? Then "Waltraud" is the perfect fruity white wine for you - an excellent summer wine.

We would like to "pair you up" with a sensational Spanish white wine from 2015, a dry Riesling from the Miguel Torres winery in Catalonia, which goes wonderfully with pasta as well as with rice with chicken fricassee. To fish, seafood and Asian dishes anyway.

Spanish white wines and their quality levels

As far as you want to buy a top quality Spanish white wine online, you are well served with D.O.Ca. wine from Spain. After standardization of the quality system for wines from the EU, strict conditions also apply to Spanish white wines since 2009.

• One of the highest quality levels is called DOP (Denominación de Origen Protegida).
• Spanish red and white wines with the designation D.O.Ca are of higher quality and surpass even the best DOP wines.
• The IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida) designation is also a quality mark for Spanish wine.
• The former quality designation "Vino de Mesa" was simply renamed "Vino".

The best vintages of Spanish white wines

Buying white wines from Spain's best vintages is quite a challenge. Finding them is not particularly difficult. The difficulty lies in finding the most sought-after Spanish white wine vintages "from the cross" of wine specialists. Hardly any wine lover likes to give away his "treasures".

It's just good that high-quality Spanish white wines from the best vintages can also be ordered online. Vinello leaves no stone unturned in tracking down the most outstanding vintage wines from Spain's most popular wine regions. After all, we want our customers to enjoy these sought-after wine specialities.

What dishes does Spanish white wine go with?

Spanish white wine is generally referred to as summer wine. In Germany, the term "balcony wine" is often used in this context. We would like to contradict this only conditionally.

On the whole, Spanish white wine is indeed the ideal "companion" for the summer. However, Spain's popular white wines go down well even in winter. Not as a "warming substitute" for the mulled wine, but as a pleasure wine for dishes that red wine doesn't go with.

If you prefer to serve fish, seafood, mussels or white meat, we recommend buying a dry white wine from Spain. For dessert it may well be a fine dessert wine from Spanish white wine grapes.

Spanish white wine buy online and much more

Where can you find the tastiest white wines from Spain? At Vinello! In our shop we offer all kinds of excellent wines and spirits that will satisfy gourmets and wine lovers and make them happy. Among them: 

• Top white wines and quality red wines from the most popular wine countries,
• Delicatessen specialities and delicacies from all over the world,
• fantastic wine packages at low tasting prices,
• noble wine gifts for special occasions.

Spanish red wine

Spanish red wine is the world's top red wine! Does that surprise you? Not to us! After all, the impressive history of wine growing in Spain began around 4000 BC. Significant wineries have long been established in the Spanish wine regions to produce red wines of the top class. Spain may call itself rightly "first-class red wine country". The area under vine covers over 1,018,000 hectares and is home to more than 250 grape varieties. Under Andalusia's sun, plump grapes ripen, whose juice is the main ingredient for exquisite Spanish red wine. Tempranillo sets the tone!

Spanish red wine and its flavours

The holiday in Spain is over. The taste of the seductive sweet red wine in the bodega remains unforgotten. There is no need to be melancholy: At Vinello you can buy red wine from Spain online and then celebrate a feast of delights with your loved ones!

The tastes of Spanish red wines are as fundamentally different as the people. A sweet red wine of the top class has a completely different character than a dry quality red wine, which also explains the different taste of the red wines of Spain. Sometimes woody and spicy notes dominate, while other wines taste strongly of fruit or slightly acidic.

In our online wine shop you can also buy Spanish red wine , whose flavors are very refined. For a romantic, Spanish red wine evening we have on offer:

• semi-dry red wine from Spain's best wine regions
• red spanish country wine sweet and fruity
• sweet red wines
• Quality red wine from spanish winegrowers
• special wine accessories for wine lovers.

And believe us Spanish red wine can be enjoyed even more pleasantly in pairs. Romantic by candlelight in the garden, on the terrace, in the bedroom - wherever. Lovely red wine from Spain stimulates the senses and makes you want more!

Grape varieties of Spanish red wines

The Spanish wine-growing regions offer the best possible conditions for the ripening of plump and fruity grapes, which, when nibbled from the vine, already provide a great taste experience. In the wine-growing region of Rioja, the following grape varieties are predominantly found:

• Grenache
• Graciano
• Mazuelo
• Tempranillo

Connoisseurs like to buy Spanish red wine like the famous "Rioja wine". The red "Merlot Reserva DO Pendes 2012" from the growing region Catalonia is also popular among wine connoisseurs. It is fruity, fresh and fragrant. You can buy this well-known wine from Spain in our wine shop and enjoy it at home in peace!

Spanish red wine and its quality levels

You want to buy DOP red wine from Spain? Congratulations, you have made an excellent choice! In 2009, the EU wine market regulation unified the quality system for red and white wines originating from EU countries. Since then, the following quality levels apply to Spanish wines:

• DOP (Denominación de Origen Protegida)
• IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida)
• and Vino (no longer Vino de Mesa)

DOP quality red wines are also sensory tested. However, Spanish winemakers are allowed to indicate the DO and DOCa quality labels (former quality designations) on red wine bottle labels. Provided that the red wines of Spain meet all relevant criteria.

With us you can buy Spanish red wine of the top class online, which comes from strictly controlled wine-growing areas. We say only: Pure pleasure!

Red wine from Spain: The best vintages

What are the best vintages for red wine from Spain? Or let's ask it differently: Is there any vintage at all that did not produce an excellent Spanish wine? 1994 once went down in Rioja winemaking history as the "vintage of the century". However, the 1995 Gran Reserva is considered to be much more important. Insiders speak of a "drinkable" excellent red wine from Spain. 2008 was a good vintage, from which finally comes the exquisite dry red wine Rioja Gran Reserva Epulum. This excellent vintage red wine from Spain seduces with its strong dark red colour. It is spicy in taste, wonderfully aromatic and impresses with a pleasant woody note.

Cups up to the Spanish red wine!

Please don't take it too literally, because the divine drink should be served in style. Tall red wine glasses are the best option for Spain's top red wines. In order for the aromas to fully develop and the ingredients to be preserved, a pleasant drinking temperature is recommended. In layman's terms, this is called "room warmth". What goes well with an intense red wine from Spain? Strong food, roasted meat, pizza, pasta, steaks from the grill and of course tapas! Do you like fish? Then you should avoid a tannin-rich red wine. There is nothing wrong with a fruity red wine from Spain, whose tannin content is in the lower level, with the fish dish.

Buy Spanish red wine at Vinello

Vinello - your wine trade from Dresden - invites you to an inspiring "wine journey". In addition to exquisite red wines from Spain, we offer an extensive range of regional and international wines with cork guarantee in our online shop. We take time for wine connoisseurs and advise them competently. Our experienced sommeliers are happy to pass on their wine knowledge by telephone, so that the enjoyment of red wine becomes an experience for the taste buds. Enjoy Spain's red wines and delicious tapas and enjoy the beauty of life with Vinello!