Seven of the best: Spanish wines in the world's top 100 list
Sunday, December 2, 2018 @ 10:31 PM
ANYONE who lives in, or regularly visits, Spain will have no doubt about why it's practically impossible to find imported wines – why bother selling coal to Newcastle, or oranges to Valencia? With just about every grape variety on earth, prices ranging from 99 cents to several hundreds of euros, and wine regions in almost every province, whatever your palate and however much is in your pocket, you'll find the perfect homemade tipple.
But why does Spanish wine have such a poor reputation beyond its own borders, especially compared with those of France, Italy, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa? The answer is purely marketing. If you're in the UK, you might occasionally see 'Spanish wine' – unbranded – on the shelves, and if asked to name one, would probably hesitate and then say 'Rioja'. If you're in France, 'Spanish wine' is also undefined when it's on sale, is cheap, and sold purely for cooking, and not gourmet, either. In either country, it's synonymous with budget plonk that needs mixing with lemonade and doubles up nicely for cleaning blocked plugholes.
Spanish wine is screaming out to be recognised, valued and understood. It needs to clear its name and rise onto the pedestal of the world's top brands. And although seven types have reached the world's top 100 list, only one is in the top 25, according to the global booze bible Wine Spectator in its 2018 edition.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com