I tried Abrazo Cariñena Gran Reserva 1996 and really liked it. Maybe for sentimental reasons because that was grandfather's homeland or is it a dog and my palate not discerning enough? The label read that Cariñena was one of the three varietals. I recognize garnacha and tempranillo, but am I confused? I thought Cariñena was only an appellation. By the way how much does it cost it Spain?

It's both. Cariñena, the grape, is native to Aragon and gets its name from the town and region. In English (and French, I believe) it's called Carignan. Many of you have probably tried Cariñena without knowing it because it is often used for blending in riojas; but there it goes by the name Mazuela or Mazuelo.

Old-vine Cariñena also plays a big role in the powerful and intense wines from Priorat in Cataluña.

The wine region of D.O. Cariñena,ironically less than 10% of the vineyards have this grape. Most use Garnacha and Tempranillo. Foreign grapes are becoming popular too. But it is making a comback.

Cariñena, the wine, traditionally was very a strong, rustic wine and not considered to be especially sophisticated. Wineries are now making some excellent wine for very low prices. Most wines cost less than 10 euros, and many go for less than 5. I've even tried a decent crianza for 1 euro.

So, if you liked the wine, it's probably because it was good. Trust your instincts!

I don't know what the Abrazo costs off hand, but I'll see if I can find the price. Do you know the winery?

I bought it at the local grocery store for about $12 bucks and hate to pay more here in the States for something that can be reasonably priced in the home country. I threw the bottle away last night so I can't tell you the winery. I'll get another.

I remember as a child by dad taking the garafa to the bodega and getting wine for the week--barely paying anything for it then filling the home barriles so they could take on the flavor of the oak.

I think I like that blend better than the Shiraz and Garnacha which is what I've been putting on the table for dinner lately.

I couldn't find the wine either in the Spanish guides, but I did track it down on the internet. It's made by Covinca, which is one of the many cooperatives in that area. Cooperatives have improved their quality a lot over the past few years, and normally their wines are among the cheapest.

Wineries will sometimes sell wines under different labels in the US for marketing reasons, so maybe that's what has happened. As for the price, it's hard to say what that would have cost originally. Mark-ups can be considerable for lots of reasons, and you have to figure in the exchange rate. This might have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-7 euros in Spain, but that's just a wild guess. Glad you enjoyed it.

The good thing about the American market is that people are more willing to try wines from different regions because they don't have any pre-conceived opinions about Spanish wine regions. That's why many unknown wineries search heavily for foreign markets.