I dare say that no one in Spain drinks only red and white, because there are so many wines to explore and taste in Spain besides these two.
Penedés' Cava, which sells well in domestic and foreign markets, is the uncrowned king of Spanish sparkling wine; Sherry in the Jerez appellation, using the ancient Solera system, known as "Spanish sunshine in a bottle"; Although Málaga was once very popular and widely acclaimed, it can show a variety of styles depending on the age of the wine; Montilla-Moriles has a rich brownish-black color, did you know it was a sweet white wine?
Spain's wines are far more exciting and abundant than you might think.
Kava sparkling wine:
The uncrowned king of Spanish sparkling wine
Many people may say that cava sparkling wine is a substitute for champagne, but this statement is too simplistic to make people realize what makes cava really special.
In 1872, after learning the winemaking techniques in Champagne, Josep Raventós returned to Spain and successfully produced the first Spanish sparkling wine using the traditional method of making champagne using the grapes of Penedez. The earliest name for this sparkling wine was Xampán, which is "champagne" in Catalan.
In 1970, Spanish sparkling wine producers changed their name to Cava to distinguish it from Champagne, and cava officially became the DO appellation. Although cava and champagne are made in the same way as champagne, they are made by secondary fermentation in bottles, but the style is different. In addition to the differences in the natural environment, grape varieties are the main reason.
The main grape varieties for cava are Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, three white grape varieties that complement each other and are suitable for blending. Nowadays, rosé cava sparkling wine is also popular, and it is brewed using Pinot Noir, Grenache and Monastrell, which is refreshing and fruity, and is very drinkable.
In terms of sweetness, according to the residual sugar content, cava can be divided into 7 grades from natural very dry (Brut Natural) to sweet (Dulce), and according to many criteria such as vine age, harvesting method, yield and age time, it can be divided into 4 grades from entry level to single garden cava (Cava de Paraje Calificado). Because kava is not highly acidic and can be very balanced without adding sugar, most cava is naturally extremely dry.
In terms of quality, most vintage cava wines have a light body, delicate structure and bubbles, with aromas of yellow fruits such as citrus and lime, and notes such as roasted apples and nuts given by wine lees, and the taste is smooth and creamy. The flavor of vintage cava is even stronger, the taste is round, elegant and charming, with more dried fruit aromas, as well as yeast and toast aromas.
For hundreds of years, cava sparkling wine has been a well-deserved protagonist in the Penedez appellation. Compared to the price of champagne, which is often thousands of dollars, cava sparkling wine has an advantage in price and good quality, which is why it is so popular.
In 2021, the sales volume of wine from the Cava appellation reached 252 million bottles, and more than two-thirds of the total sales volume in foreign market stations, which shows its popularity in domestic and foreign markets.
Sherry:
Spanish sunshine in a bottle
As early as hundreds of years ago, sherry was already a favorite drink of many European aristocrats. Queen Elizabeth I once hosted a sherry dinner at court; Magellan, the Spanish navigator, carried 253 barrels of sherry on his circumnavigation of the world; Shakespeare praised sherry as "the sunshine of Spain in a bottle" and wrote in the play Henry IV: "If I had a thousand sons, I would teach them the first principle of being a man: to abandon the bland and tasteless wine, and to be faithful to the sherry." ”
What is so attractive about sherry that makes people so fascinated?
Sherry comes from the Andalusian appellation, located at the southernmost tip of Spain. Andalusia has several wine regions, the most famous of which is Jerez and Jerez is the Spanish word for sherry. In the Jerez appellation, Palomino is the main grape variety grown to make different types of sherry. But sweet sherry is usually made with Pedro Ximénez or Muscat of Alexandria.
Traditionally, sherry is fermented in oak barrels, but many wineries now also ferment in stainless steel barrels. The wine within a year of fermentation, called mosto, is a young dry white wine that can be drunk in the bars of the city of Jerez. MOSTO with low alcohol content and less acid will continue to age in new oak barrels, the wine is generally only 8 points full, and the barrel will not be completely sealed, so that air can enter the barrel, and after a period of fermentation, some wines will grow a layer of hops (flor) up to 2 cm thick on the surface. Hops not only isolate the wine from the air, but are also the key to making sherry.
According to whether there are hops or not, sherry can be divided into two categories: one is biological ageing, which refers to sherry matured under hops, including Fino and Manzanilla; The other is oxidative ageing, which refers to sherry with little or no hops, including Oloroso, Amontillado, and Palo Cortado.
Sorted sherry enters the strengthening stage, where distilled wine (usually brandy) is used to strengthen the alcohol content. Bio-matured sherry is generally strengthened to about 15.5%, at which time the hops can still survive, and the protection of hops can prevent the growth of other microorganisms; The oxidized maturation of the sherry is strengthened to more than 17%, when the hops cannot survive, the sherry is in direct contact with the air, and the high alcohol protects the wine from spoilage.
The fortified sherry is ready to enter the Solera system! Although this ageing system has a long history, it was not until the 19th century that it began to be used on a large scale to produce wines with the same style and quality. It takes decades or even hundreds of years to establish a Solera system, and once the flavor is formed, it is unique, so the quality of a Solera system in a winery is also an important criterion for judging its value. Some people also call the Solera system the "stacked barrel method" because from the appearance, it is indeed a pyramid made of oak barrels.
The Solera system is generally divided into 4 layers (but there are more than 10 layers), the lowest one is called Solera (Spanish, translated as ground), and the barrel contains the oldest sherry that is about to be bottled and put on the market; Standing on top is called Criadera (Spanish translation as nursery), from bottom to top, the first layer contains the second oldest wine, the second layer contains the second oldest wine, and the top layer holds the latest vintage.
Every year, the winemaker bottles no more than one-third of the wine from the bottom and leaves the factory, then extracts an equal amount of wine from the second layer to replenish the Solera barrel, then draws the same amount of wine from the third layer to replenish the second layer, and so on, and finally injects new wine from the top layer, each layer is eight points full. This cultivation method has many advantages, such as: because of the mixture of different vintages, the taste of sherry is richer and more balanced, and the style is basically the same every year.
Some distilleries' old wines are hundreds of years old, but because of the dilution of a hundred years, the proportion is already very low, but the sherry mixed with old wine still has a sense of history to drink.
The advent of sherry also gave birth to an ancient profession: the Venenciador. The sommelier will use a special glass (Venecia) to scoop out a certain amount of sherry from the plug hole of the oak barrel, raise it above his head, and let the wine flow from the air to the small tulip glass in his hand, so that the wine can fully contact the air, and when it collides with the glass, it can further release the flavor, and the taster can better determine the quality and taste of the sherry in the glass when tasting.
This traditional way of tasting can still be seen in some wineries in Jerez today.
Malaga wine:
Overlooked top dessert wine
On the other side of the Andalusian appellation, there is an area known as the Costa de Sol, with 320 days of sunshine a year, which is a sanctuary for the cold in Europe. Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol, and in addition to the tempting weather, there are delicious Malaga wines.
In the Renaissance of Queen Victoria or earlier, traditional Malaga wine was once very popular and enjoyed a high reputation. This is a sweet white wine aged in oak barrels for a long time, with an amber color, and winemakers usually intensify the liquor to ensure that the wine will withstand the grind of time.
To increase the sweetness, the grapes are also sun-dried after harvest to make the fruit more concentrated. Malaga wines also use the Solera system as a way of aging and blending to make the wine more rich and balanced.
Traditional Malaga wines are made only from Pedro Jiménez and Moscatel, and are famous for their sweet fortified wines and natural dessert wines.
Mala fortified wines have an alcohol content of between 15% and 22% and range in color from golden yellow to dark brown. Young Malaga is full of floral and fruity aromas, while older Malaga wines have complex and intense flavors, showing a completely different style depending on the age of age, as well as dry and sweet types.
Today, although there are not many wineries that make Malaga wine, the quality and performance of the wines produced can also be among the best in the world.
Monteia Morriles:
Black sweet white wine
Those who see Montilla-Moriles for the first time may wonder: Can this brown-black wine really be called white wine?
Montilla-Moriles DO in the Andalusian region is famous for producing this dark white wine, which is the most grown Pedro Jiménez region in the world, and the wine produced is also made from this grape.
After the grapes are picked, the winegrower places the grapes directly on the straw mat and after a week in the sun, the grape skins quickly turn brownish-black due to oxidation, and the sugar is extremely concentrated. After the sun-dried fruit is pressed, the grape juice is thick and sticky, the color is very dark, and its sweetness is so high that even yeast can hardly survive, and can only barely ferment to 2%-3% alcohol.
Therefore, the winemaker will directly add alcohol to strengthen the liquor to 15%, but because the sugar is still there, the wine at this time is too sweet to eat, and it needs to be aged in oak barrels to balance the body. The aging period ranges from six or seven years to decades. Some wineries use the Solera system to add new wines every year, and when the quality of the wine is good enough, the right amount of wine is taken out and bottled for sale.
Although Monteia-Morriles is not as famous as Sherry, its character should not be overlooked. Next time, if someone brings you a glass of black white wine, don't be surprised to savor the time-brewed bar, it's not something you want to drink!
I often have a lot to say about Spanish wine. Whether it's red or white wines, or any of the wines mentioned above, you will be fascinated. If you feel that there is a moment in your life that is worth celebrating, open a bottle of cava sparkling wine; If life feels too bitter, open a bottle of sherry or mulled wine.
There should always be a bottle of Spanish wine in the wine cabinet, and there are so many reasons to open it!