Spain

Until recently, the Spanish fine wine scene could be summed up in one word: Rioja. Rough-and-ready red wines were churned out by cooperatives but the Spanish wine scene has undergone a revolution following the demise of Franco, the country’s entry into the European Union, and a growing middle class with a taste for quality not quantity.

Rioja continues to lead the Spanish wine hall of fame, offering its traditional oak-aged Tempranillo as well as more modern, fleshy styles, while neighbouring Ribera del Duero produces powerful expressions of Rioja’s signature variety at altitude.

The Spanish red scene has become far more diverse, however: in the 1990s, a group of ambitious growers harnessed the potential of the schistous slopes of Priorat in Catalonia, finding internatinal fame with their fulsome but firm blends.

Other previously obscure areas are producing exciting wines including the cooler sites of Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra in the country’s northwest, which are gaining recognition in the fine wine scene for their perfumed, precise reds, mainly from the native Mencía. In Sierra de Gredos, in the heart of the country, producers such as Comando G are earning a name for alt expressions of Garnacha grown at high altitude, some of which are incredibly fine-boned and aromatic.

While the country may be most admired for its fine reds, there are several important white wine regions including Rías Baixas on the Galician coast, which has become a firm favourite for its crisp, saline whites wines produced using the Albariño grape, while Sherry is once again enjoying a loyal following among wine collectors, particularly those bodegas that produce limited bottlings such as en rama.

The sparkling wines of Cava continue to lie in the shadow of Champagne, but there are a handful of producers that are working sustainably in the vineyard, producing single variety Xarel-lo-based sparkling wines, as well as leaving wines on lees for lengthy periods to give more complexity. Many of the top producers have broken away from the Cava appellation, creating the Corpinnat group, which is founded on quality.

Despite consuming more gin that almost all other European countries, it is another spirit the Spanish are famous for producing: Brandy de Jerez. The Spanish – or Sherry – Brandy, hails from the Sherry triangle and is aged via Solera in casks that have previously held the fortified wine.