Wine

Since most of you seem to be experts in the matters of food and drink, I was wondering what type of wine you would recommend bringing home to the States?

It depends what you like reds, whites, roses, sherries.

When I was in Madrid I bought two large bottles of Licor 43 both for under $10.00, and two bottles of Campo Viejo(Rioja), a Torres' Sangre de Toro, and Santa Digna Rose(a Chilean wine I was unable to find here in Wash,DC)

Some of the wine regions are:
Rioja
Penedés
Ribera del Duero Valdepeñas Rueda
Cava
Jerez(sherries)

Have you thought about purchasing aceite de oliva too?

Good luck in your search.

Paco,

I lived in Greater Washington area -- Fairfax, VA. There is a wine store located in Baclick near Springfield mall called Total Wine Beveridge and they do carry Spanish wines like Rioja (Campo Viejo) and jerez (from cheap to expensive). They also sell imported Sangria direct from Spain. I am trying to find liquor de huerba and still unsuccessful. Let me know when you do find a store that sell liquor from Spain.

MClarke,

Thank you for the information. I will try Total Wine Beveridge when I get over to Virginia. PacoM

Information on Spanish wines, etc.Wines

Ideally, the wines of Spain are the best accompaniments to the regional dishes. Rioja wines from north-central Spain are considered premium in quality. Another area that makes top-notch wines is Penedes, near Barcelona. All regions, however, have vines under cultivation.

The making of wine in Spain dates back over 2000 years, but the production of quality wines is a more recent development, dating back to the last century. Enterprising Frenchman came to Spain to renew their wine production when Phylloxera hit the French vineyards. They found these areas met their requirements and as the French prospered, the Spanish learned new wine-making techniques.

Climate and grape variety are two of the components that make Rioja wines unique. The third is the laborious process of barrel aging, and the wines spend many years in bottles in the bodegas before being released for sale.

A third region is Valladolid, where Vega Scilia produces the most expensive Spanish wine on the market today.

Sherry takes its name from its place of origin, Jerez, in southwest Spain. Its history goes back thousands of years, when Phoenician settlers introduced grape vines to the area. Only Jerez has all the optimum conditions for sherry production with the complex interplay of air, sun, soil, aging and tradition.

Sherries are blended and fortified wines and fall into several styles: Fino -- very dry or dry; Manzanilla -- very dry; Amontillado -- medium dry; Oloroso -- medium sweet; and Cream -- sweet.

Spanish brandies made by the French Cognac process are of exceptionally fine quality. Most come from Jerez, although the Torres company in Cataluna is producing excellent ones for export.

Sparkling Spanish wines are also made by French methods, developed in Champagne. Codorniu is the top name in the field; another firm, Freixenet, is widely distributed.

I like to bring home Cavas that are not easily available in So. Cal. But aside from wine, I absolutely must bring home a bottle of Pacharan, as there is no way I can find it here...Pacharan is a licquor that is made from a berry in Spain, I can't describe to you the taste, you may want to ask for it as an appartif after a meal while in Spain to see if you like it...It is soooo yummy.
Anyway, you will have a huge selection of which to choose from as far as wines go!!!Happy shopping!!!

IMHO, the best beverage anyone can bring back is something unique to the area. For me, it's always some fino. Fino does not normally travel well in commercial quantities--so what you get in Spain will usually taste better.

I figure you can get good varieties of red, white and rose wines anywhere. But only Spain produces genuine sherry. It's also been my impression that Spaniards do not normally speak of sherry as wine, or "vino," reserving that word for the ordinary, unfortified still wines.

Can anyone either confirm or deny that bit of trivia for me? I'd hate to be a repository for innacurate trivia.
Cantabene


[This message has been edited by cantabene (edited 02-23-2001).]

In going back through my journal from my trip to Spain in 1990, I found my notation that our tour guide, Fernando, bought my friend Laura and me each a glass of "fino malaga" in Sevilla. I wrote that Fernando had said that it was "a lovely sweet sherry for the ladies." What do you think we were drinking? It was quite nice and I would love to order it again when in Spain!

Fino and sweet--when talking about sherry-- are contradictions. I usually think of malaga as a sweet wine. Perhaps this was a kind of dry malaga. I'd be suspicious about the credentials of a guide who described this wine in this manner. It seems doubtful that it was sherry.
Cantabene

MClarke:
Try Central Liquors in Washington D.C. When I would visit D.C. on business I would often stop there and buy some wines from Spain.

I, for one, don't bring back wines that are readily available in the U.S. And I would never, ever bring back bottled Sangria. Sangria is a wine 'punch;' there are many recipes for making it yourself. ¿Why use imported wine to make a punch?

If I visit Galizia, I bring back Albariño or Rosal. If I visit Andalucia, I bring back Manzanilla from Sanlucar de Barrameda. Last September I brought back Orujo de Liébana (Aguardiente). You will find none of these wines (liquors) at the airport Duty Free' shops. And I have not found any of them in the U.S. I can buy Rioja Reserva and cavas from Catalunia at the liquor stores here in N.J.

Eddie,

Thanks so much. Last weekend, I visited liquour stores in my area and not one carries liquor from Spain.

Manzanilla has got to be my favorite wine but then again I'm hooked on Sanlucar. Is all Sanlucars wine Manzanilla though? I remember seeing a few BIG barrels of it in a resturant near the Bull Ring at Cordoba but can you buy it anywhere else?

Hi, cantabene--
It's pretty likely I misunderstood our tour guide--perhaps he said "not sweet sherry" or "not sherry" or SOMETHING else! I had only been in Spain for two days at the time and understood less than half of what went on. I'm pretty sure it was sherry, but perhaps not sweet. All wine tastes bitter to me, so sweet/dry/whatever generally doesn't tell me much. It was good, though--perhaps I'll try a few drinks this weekend in Spain and see if I can come up with something similar.

Tara