Page 40 - Demo

Spain
Buying Spanish wine at the right price point is a challenge. It’s one of those countries that I believe is misunderstood and often very devalued with a few large brands that have swamped the UK market for many years. One of the major challenges for the novice buyer is confusion over Rioja being a region rather than a type of wine.
Rioja is a large area so wines from here can be quite varied. It is therefore important that you know where in Rioja the winery is from so that the style of the wine house is suited to your palette. One of the other most important elements of Rioja is to understand the ageing criteria. Below is a table, which explains the definitions of each of the ageing criteria and their names so that you know how much age is in the bottle you are buying. Winemakers must by law obey these criteria in Spain, which is not true in other countries.