The major grape varieties of Spanish wine
Spanish wines contain hundreds of grape varieties.
Indeed, most wines are blends – there are few
varietals (single grape wines) to be had.The big stars
of French vines – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and
co – play an important role in modern Spanish wine,
but there are still some important native grapes to
acquaint yourself with:
Garnacha Tinta
Spain’s most planted red is big (15% abv) and lasts
ages. A regular contributor to Rioja.
Graciano
Low yield, high quality old man of Rioja and Navarre;
ideal forgran reservas.
Mazuelo(also called Carineña)
Makes balanced, tannic wines that mature well;
another Rioja constituent.
Monastrell
Gives big yields and excellent fruity wines.
Particularly prevalent in Murcia.
Tempranillo
Spain’s best red grape makes pungentjovenes
but is best known for spicy Riojas.
REDS
291
- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Ahead of its time
Tempranillo gets its
name from the Spanish
for early (temprano)
because it ripens before
most red varietals. While
it may be the local hero
of Spanish wine, some
claim it descends from
French Pinot Noir vines.
The fat vat
Until relatively recently
some Spanish wines
were fermented in
largetinajas, enormous
earthenware pots
that could probably
accommodate a small
family. They were
designed to minimise
oxidisation – their scale
meant proportionally less
wine was next to the lid,
and therefore the air. A
few southern wines are
still developed intinajas.
