Spanish Wines for all Budgets and Palettes: Deciphering the Labels and Describing the Wine

If you’ve ever wondered what all that stuff meant on a wine bottle, you’re not alone. In the past, when I would purchase bottles of wine, I felt like I should bring the Rosetta Stone to interpret the label. Before you purchase a bottle of wine, look for the following information:

 

Bodega:	This is the name of the vineyard (where the grapes where produced)
Region:	The location where the grapes were grown in Spain (Rioja, Extremadura etc.)
Varietal:	This will tell you the kind of grape used in making the bottle of wine.
Vintage:	This tells you the year the wine was made.

 

 

In addition to deciphering the labels, it will also help to know what kinds of Spanish wine there are and the terms you need to know to read the Spanish wine bottle label. Later, I include information about quality levels of Spanish wine, and how to distinguish between them.

A. Vino tinto: red wine
B. Vino rosado: rose wine
C. Vino clarete: light red wine
D. Vino blanco: white wine
E. Cava: sparkling white wine

 

As with all products, there are distinct quality levels of Spanish wine from the very basic table wine to great reserve wines. Let’s take a look at the five distinct “quality levels” of Spanish wines:

 

Vino de mesa:	Table wine is perfect for every day at the dinner table. Many people scoff at table wine, but there are some extraordinary table wines.
Vino Joven:	Young wine from a qualified DO region is a great alternative for those who are on a wine budget. The wine has been aged a bit, but not long enough to be considered “crianza.”
Crianza:	Aged for a minimum of two years (at least 6 months in oak) coming from a qualified DO region, crianzas are delicious wines, perfect for most occasions.
Reserva:	Reserve is a quality wine, aged at least three years and one year in an oak cask – add another two years in the bottle! Reserva is made from top vintages.
Gran Reserva:	Great reserve wine is aged at least two years in oak plus another three in a bottle. This wine could be older than your Great Aunt June! All great reserve wines are made from exceptional vintages.

 

 

 

When purchasing a sherry (the sweet, wine from Southern Spain) or a white wine, it will help to determine which one is the right one for you, according to its level of sweetness. Here are the typical ways Spanish white wines and Sherries are described.

 

• Dulce: sweet
• Seco: dry
• Semi-seco: medium-dry
• Brut: very dry
• Fino: light, dry sherry
• Manzanilla: (Take care; it’s not an herbal tea!) Very dry sherry
• Amontillado: an aged, light dry sherry
• Palo cortado/Montilla: dark, high grade sherry
• Oloroso: dark, full-bodied sherry
• Pedro Ximenez/Montilla: dark, sweet sherry
• Cream: very sweet sherry