Wine For Normal People Radio: Episode 39 -- Spain

After some fabulous shout outs (thank you so much for the awesome feedback) and a great listener question on "why do wines go on sale? (a little inside the industry on this one!), this week we cover Spain.

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• First we brush up on history, covering how the Phoenicians, Moors, and a Facist dictator affected Spain's wine industry
  
• Then we talk about the different quality levels -- we explain the differences from table wines to the top quality designation, all of which will appear on the bottle.
  
• We talk about how 80% of the country's wine is made from 20 grapes, including reds: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Monastrell, Cariñena, and whites: Albariño, Palomino, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Airen.
• Finally, we do an overview of what you can get expect from some of the top regions. Here's a summary of the regions we review:
  
  
  
• Rioja: Red from Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano grapes, Whites from the fresh, fragrant Viura grape
• Navarra: Rosado/Rosé from Garnacha, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo
• Cava/Penedes: Sparkling wine (Freixenet and Cordiniu are main producers)
• Calatayud: Reds mostly from Garnacha and Tempranillo with Cabernet Sauvignon
• Somontano: Reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and whites from Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer
• Bierzo: The fruity, spicy, red Mencia grape
• Ribera del Duero: Reds from Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)
• Rueda: Whites from Verdejo
• Toro: Reds with Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Cabernet Sauvignon
• Jumilla and Uclés: Bold reds from Monastrell
• Monstant: Reds of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cariñena, Garnacha
• Priorat: Reds of Garnacha, Cariñena with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
• Rias Baixas: Whites from Albariño
  

If you're interested in Spain, but don't know where to start, this podcast is for you!

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Thanks for listening! We can't wait to hear from you!

Podcast music: "Café connection" by morgantj / CC BY 3.0, ©2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0).