![]() Albariño made in the coastal region of Galicia is particularly excellent, citrussy with a touch of saltiness.Ĭava is the original alternative to Champagne. White wines are made using a vast variety of indigenous grapes, some of the most popular include Airen, Macabéo (aka Viura), Grenache Blanc and Albariño. Tempranillo is the backbone of most wines of Rioja, the famously classic red wines which are revered the world over. Red wines are dominated by Tempranillo and Garnacha which are among the most popular varieties to be grown in Spain. ![]() The DOC category is awarded to the top producers in DO areas, you’ll find many of these in the prestigious Rioja region. Types of Spanish WineĪs with other European winemaking countries, much Spanish wine is produced under strict DO rules where laws dictate what grapes can be grown and where. Wine is made all over Spain from the Upper Ebro to the Catalunya region and the Duero Valley. However, due to the arid climate and older vines, the crops usually yield much smaller quantities than other regions across the world, but what it may lack in volume is certainly made up for in highly-concentrated and refined wines. We hope that if Iberian Wine interests you at all, you’ll pick one up and let us know what you think.Spain’s wine production may not be as large as European powerhouses in France and Italy, but it has more area under vine than any other country. We’re very excited about this and feel VERY privileged to have Iberia be the first map of the series, a testament to the importance of this rich and exciting wine region. Also, if you have a wine shop and would like either English or Spanish versions of this map, just send us a note at map(at)Catavino(dot)net, and we’ll tell you about additional opportunities to buy larger quantities. We are considering translating it into Spanish and Portuguese if we find enough interest. Hence, this is just the start of a much bigger plan to cover the planet with quality wine resources – something that is SORELY needed! We hope that this first map is a resource that we can not only learn from, but can also use when reading about Catavino’s adventures throughout Spain and Portugal.Īnd best of all, if you click here and buy the Iberian wine map through the Catavino website, a small portion of the sale will come back to us – something we would appreciate! Also, if you are in Spain and want to see this in Spanish, please let us know. Catalunya and the Basque Country, which both overlap France and Spain, are just two examples. In reality, the wine regions reflect the regional differences that underlie the country borders. The one very simple thing that distinguishes these wine maps from others is that the wine regions don’t stop at the border. What makes this map different from other wine region maps? ![]() Then on to Italy, and finally, the New World! We’re working on France and Germany right now, which will be available early next year. There wasn’t a good map available (for France there are a few) 3. ![]() It’s the most dynamic (and constantly changing!) area in the wine world – but you already knew that! 2. We started with Iberia for three main reasons: 1. I asked him a few questions about how this map came about: Now, we can’t claim much in the way of contributions to this map, but we did make sure he included some important landmarks and we worked with him to make some editorial decisions on how to handle certain place names and regional identities. Smart guy! The best part for us is that he asked us to help him out. Having encountered way too many inaccurate regional wine maps around the world, Steve decided to fix the problem by making his own map. And considering that there is little consensus among differing governmental maps, it is clear that one concise and accurate map was desperately in need to be created.Įnter the DeLong wine company, creator of such treasures as the Wine Varietal Table. That said, Portugal is no better, and I have yet to find a map that accurately sums up the many nuances in a very confusing set of regional wine laws. We had to steal a few copies from a regional government’s office, and while we use them occasionally, in truth, they are worthless. I had a prominent tour guide friend of mine once ask to buy a few copies to give to her clients, all of which were on wine tours, and she was told it was not possible. Wines of Spain, the bureaucratic agency in charge of promoting Spanish wine, does have an outdated map, but you can’t get a copy of it. Interestingly, there are no good maps of the peninsula we call Iberia, or at least as it relates to wine. Seems like a simple request, and if I couldn’t have one of Iberia, at least you would think that there would be one of Spain and another of Portugal. Since day one, I’ve wanted a map of the wine regions of Spain and Portugal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |