There are more and more Spanish wines in the Chinese market, and the price is getting more and more expensive. Vinexpo believes that Spain will be one of the top 3 fastest growing countries in China's wine import market over the next 5 years, and may grow exponentially. At a time when Spanish wine is becoming more and more popular, why don't you come and learn Spanish wine terminology?
A
Anada: Year.
Anejo: Matured wine. Refers to wine that has been aged in oak barrels and/or bottles for at least 3 years.
B
Blanco: White wine.
Bodega: Winery, cellar or company that produces wine. This term is used by many wineries in Spain, such as the name of the Spanish wine king Bergasecilla Ciria, bodegas Vega Sicilia.
Bodeguero: The owner of the winery or the head of the winery.
C
Cava: Kava. This is a Spanish sparkling wine, which is re-fermented in a bottle with Champagne, and has a fresh and sour taste and complex flavor levels. Spain's kava has 6 major appellations: Catalunya, Aragon, Navarra, Rioja, Basgue Country and Valencia, while sparkling wines made in the same way elsewhere cannot be called kava. However, 95% of Spain's kava comes from Catalonia.
Consejo Regulador: Wine Regulatory Commission. Refers to the law enforcement agency of a wine region, including delineating the appellation area, setting the legal grape variety, limiting the maximum yield, etc., and its function is similar to the French Origin Nomenclature Authority (INAO). In Spain, each DO appellation has a wine regulatory commission.
Cepa: Grape varieties.
Cosecha: Refers to the vintage of a wine, often appearing on the label. It said that 85% of the wine grapes in this bottle came from the vintage indicated on the label.
Crianza: Good wine. This is the base wine produced by Spanish wineries, and this grade is divided according to the length of time the wine ages in oak barrels and in bottles. National law requires good wines to be aged in oak barrels for at least 6 months, but each DO AOC and DOCa premium AOC usually sets higher requirements. In the Rioja region, for example, local wine laws require that fine-grade red wines be aged for at least 2 years before they can be marketed, including a minimum of 6 months of barrel ageing, while fine-grade white and rosé wines are matured for at least 18 months, with no requirement for barrel ageing.
D
Denominacion de Origen: Do, refers to the legal wine region. The Spanish DO system was established in 1932 and is equivalent to the French AOC. The DO-level appellations have regulations on viticulture management (legal grape varieties, planting density, yield limits, etc.) and winemaking processes (control of aging time, etc.) to control the style of wine. There are currently 70 DO-class appellations in Spain.
Denominacion de Origen Calificada: DoCa, which refers to the premium legal wine region, is the highest of the Spanish appellations. There are currently only 2 DOCa-grade regions in Spain – Rioja and Priorat.
▲ Preolato appellation
Dulce: Sweet wine.
And
Elaborado por: By... Brewing, the English equivalent of "Produced by".
Embotellado por: By... Bottling, equivalent to "Bottled by" in English.
Espumosa: Sparkling, usually referred to as sparkling wine.
En Rama: Literally "unfiltered" and usually appears in sherry labels, denoting virgin sherry. In fact, the native Shirley is not completely unfiltered, it will be slightly filtered to remove large solid particles (mainly hops), but still retain more flavor substances and pigment molecules. The taste of the original sherry is very lively and fresh, but the shelf life is only a few months, so it needs to be drunk as soon as possible.
Extra Sec: Extremely dry wine, generally used in sparkling wines.
F
Flor: Sherry hops. Hops are a yeast membrane that grows on the surface of the sherry during barrel aging, which is naturally produced by a special yeast strain in the air of the sherry region combined with the local humid climate. The main role of hops is antioxidant (can isolate the wine from air, protect the aroma of the wine from oxidation) and produce aromatic substances (bring yeast, chalk, nuts, overcooked apples, herbs and other flavors).
G
Gran Reserva: Premium Collector's Wine. This is the highest grade of wine produced by the winery, generally only in particularly excellent vintages and after a very long period of maturation. Spain's national liquor law stipulates that Grand Prix must be aged in oak barrels for at least 2 years. However, DO and DOCa appellations tend to have higher requirements, such as in the Rioja appellation, Where Premium Red wines are aged for at least 5 years, including at least 2 years of barrel ageing, and Grand Prix and Rosé are ripened for at least 4 years, including a minimum of 6 months of barrel ageing.
J
Joven: New wine, refers to wine that has not been aged or has almost aged. Although new wines are more common, they are not in the grading set by the Spanish wine law.
L
Licoroso/Vino de Licor: Fortified wine. Known as the "Spanish Sunshine in a Bottle", Sherry is the most famous fortified wine in Spain, with an alcohol content of often between 15-18% ABV.
P
Pago: Means a single vineyard or winery. In Spain there is a very special classification, Vino de Pago (abbreviated VP, meaning single winery wine). VP can be said to be on par with DO, but it pays more attention to the ultimate quality of the wine. If a winery (which can be located within or outside the DO region) produces a particularly good wine, it is possible to earn the VP title. However, it should be noted that although a winery is VP qualified, this does not mean that all the wines of the winery are VP, and it is very rare for a winery to have all its wines VP. The VP rating was established in 2003 and there are currently 14 wineries in Spain that are VP qualified.
▲ Some wineries that have obtained VP qualification
R
Reserve: Treasure Wine. The grade of the collector's wine is between the aged wine and the grand collector's wine, and the level is lower than the grand collector's wine. Rare wines are generally produced only in fine vintages, and Spanish wine laws require that collector's wines be aged in oak barrels for at least 1 year. Similarly, do and DOCa grade regions are more demanding, such as the Rioja Appellation's Collector's Grade Red Wines, which require at least 3 years of maturation, which includes at least 1 year of barrel ageing, and The Collector's And Rosé wines require a minimum of 18 months of maturation, including a 6-month barrel ageing period.
Rosado: Rosé wine.
S
Seco: Dry wine.
Semiseco: Semi-dry wine.
Solera: Sorella aging system. The Sorella aging system is mainly used in the aging process of sherry, where groups of oak barrels are stacked in layers, and a sorella aging system can contain thousands of oak barrels.
▲ Sorella aging system
T
Tinto: Red wine.
In the
Uva: Grapes.
In
Vendimia: Year
Viejo: Old. If a bottle of table wine (regional or everyday) has been aged in oak barrels for at least 3 years and has a pronounced oxidizing flavor, the term can be labelled on the label.
Vina/Vinedo: Vineyards.
Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica: VC or VCIG for short, which literally means "a premium wine with regional identity". Regional label wine is theoretically of better quality than regular table wine, but it is not yet DO level.
Vino De La Tierra: Short for VT or VDLT, the regional wine.
Vino De Mesa/Vino: Vino De Mesa can be referred to simply as VDM, which, like Vino, can represent daily table wine and is the most basic wine in Spain.
VOS: Refers to aged sherry with an average age of at least 20 years. Because the plasticization time is long and the wine evaporates a lot, the production cost is very high.
VORS: Refers to aged sherry with an average age of at least 30 years. This type of sherry is even rarer.