WHERE TO DRINK

In Spain eating and drinking are things done together. The notion of going to a bar where only alcohol is served is foreign to the Spanish. Pubs, saloons, cocktail lounges, bars, and cervecerias (beer bars), all watering holes that are taken for granted in the UK, are rare in Spain. Many places called a bar are really tapas bars, although it is possible to stumble into a small, dark establishment serving little more than beer or sherry to a subdued audience of elderly men.

The best way to enjoy cider is in a sidreria, an establishment where cider is made, served, or both. Sidrerias are common in the Atlantic region and in the Basque Country. They are usually rustic places, with plain wooden benches and long tables. Huge wooden vats line the walls, with each vat named after a patron saint, or a sports hero, or a movie star.

Cider must be poured with ceremony and enjoyed in a prescribed fashion. If poured from the vat, a tube about the size of a cigarette is pounded into the vessel’s side at about shoulder height to act as a tap. The drinker, stands at the ready with a wide glass in hand. When the tap is opened it shoots a thin stream of golden cider out a distance of about five feet. This draught cider also comes in green bottles. In order to achieve the same aeration that the vat method provides, the cider server takes the bottle and holds it up as high as possible while holding the glass in the other hand as low as possible. In experienced hands, no cider ends on the floor.

If a tipple isn’t on the agenda, try establishments dedicated to the drinking of non-alcoholic beverages. Horchaterias serve horchata and little else, although the grander ones also offer horchata ice cream, coffee and soft drinks. The chocolateria is an institution in Spain, though at first glance it looks hardly any different from a cafe. You might think it’s something like a coffee shop, but the sign over the door says chocolateria. They usually stop serving chocolate by lunch time, but you can always get a soda or a snack. Except in Barcelona and parts of Madrid you won’t see much in the way of dedicated coffee or tea houses. Virtually every eating and drinking establishment in the nation serves coffee with few people drinking tea.

INTRODUCING WINE

Spaniards drink a lot. It is part of everyday life where most people consume alcohol every day. They may start the day having a coffee laced with brandy, take a bottle of red wine for lunch and sit in a bar all evening. But you only rarely see a drunken Spaniard. The prices of local wine, sherries and brandies are very cheap and, while whiskey, gin or rum may be expensive in comparison, the measures are extremely generous.

The Spanish are casual in their attitude to wine. They do not take it seriously, drinking mostly young table wines. At the same price as a bottle of water, a carton of milk, or a soft drink it is something that can be taken or left with a meal. In a restaurant frequented by workers having their lunch, half a bottle of unwanted red wine is frequently discarded. Wine is cheaper in Spain than in many other countries. A good quality Rioja costs 4§ only and it has not increased greatly over the years.

Spain has a long history of wine production with old stone wine presses still evident in the mountains. Storage in oak casks followed in the 15th century. In the 1960s Miguel Torres established the first stainless steel wine making equipment in his Catalan winery, maintaining precise control over the fermentation procedures. Most producers followed suit and now Barcelona is a world centre for the manufacture of wine making equipment. This forward-looking attitude has given rise to a new approach to Spanish wine making. After almost 2,500 years, we can now enjoy the best of Spanish wines.

The extraordinary diversity of wines produced in Spain is not only due to the skill of the winemaker, but also to the different climatic and soil conditions. There are three main soil types. Chalk, a bedrock called schist, and clay. Chalk and schist provide water retention during the driest part of the year, while clay is rich in trace elements such as iron.

There is a downside to Spanish wine. A lot of mediocre ‘plonk’ is still produced and it suffers from a poor international reputation. This has much to do with worldwide marketing skills as the quality of Spanish wines has improved enormously over the last few decades with the introduction of new grape varieties and more consistency in processing. International varieties of grape are now grown such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot, Malbec, Pinot Noir and Riesling. They have joined the native varieties of Garnacha Tina, Graciano. Tempranillo, Albarino. Moscatel, Parallada, Pedro Ximenez, Verdejo and Xarel-lo.

CLASSIFYING WINE

Wine is classifed by law and the classification is shown on the label. It makes it easier for customers to know what they are buying. There are three broad classifications covering Table Wine, Quality Wine and Ageing Wine. Table Wine is a European classification of basic quality of which there are four types.

• Vino de Mesa (VdM): a table wine blended from various regions. The label will state ‘Vino de Mesa, Produce of Spain’ and carry a brand name, but no regional name and no date.
• ‘Vino de Mesa...’ a table wine with the regional name inserted on the label, e.g.: Vino de Mesa de Toledo.
• Vino Comarcal (VC or CV): a regional wine. There are 21 such classified areas. The label states ‘Vino Comarcal...’ followed by the regional name.
• Vino de la Tierra (VdlT): Translated this is ‘Wine of the Land’, meaning country wine that is likely to apply for Quality Wine status in the near future. The label will say ‘Vino de la Tierra de...’ followed by the district name.

Quality Wines meet European standards of quality control with each wine-producing zone made up of a council of growers, winemakers, biochemists and government representatives. When a new Quality Wine is promoted from VdlT standard, regulations are established, approved by the regional government, followed by Madrid and finally Brussels. There are two levels of classification.

• Denominacion de Origen (DO): this is the main quality wine classification in Spain. There are 54 DO zones all tightly controlled. Regulations relating to a DO region include the type of grape that can be used, yield per hectare, minimum alcohol strength, permissible amount of natural sugar, the maturity process and period, bottling and labelling. The classification also has two labels. On the front is a label stating the name of the wine zone with the additional words ‘Denominacion de Origen’ On a small back label is the official seal, a small map and the serial number of the bottle.
• Donominacion de Calificada (DOCa): this is a higher quality of wine applicable from 1991 to the Rioja region. It guarantees wines that have performed to a high quality over a number of years through lower yields and grape selection. Labelling is the same as the DO category.

In addition to the classifications of brand name, producer’s name, DO zone and the official seal, Spain has its own system of classifying wines by age. The definition of age is time in an oak barrel plus time in the bottle before being released for sale. There are five classifications.

• Joven: young wine – harvested one year and on sale the next – light and fruity.
• Crianza: six months (at least) in the cask and two years maturing.
• Reserva: three years maturing –with a minimum of one in oak and one in the bottle.
• Gran Reserva: from finest vintages –five years in cellar of which two years are in the cask and three in the bottle.
• It should be noted that the time for age classification differs from red to white and rose. White and Rosado require six months in oak and can be released a year earlier than the red.

Spanish wine regions fall into four main areas. The north, where the best Spanish wines are produced, contains the regions of Galicia, Castile y Leon, Navarra, Aragon, Rioja, Catalonia and the Balearics. The central zone includes La Mancha and Extremadura. Andalusia, the birthplace of Spanish wine, and the Canaries. The coastal region of Valencia and Murcia, containing almost half of Spain’s total vineyards. Spain has three climatic systems. Green Spain to the north, the climate of the Meseta and the Mediterranean coast. The best vineyards however are situated in microclimates, mixed soils or well-drained sheltered slopes.

The most famous Spanish red wine is Rioja, a strong wine with a distinctive oaky flavour gained from the time it spends maturing in an oak barrel. Few international wines can match Rioja. or its near neighbour Navarra. for price and quality. Pick up a wine list with offerings from all over the world and the name Rioja will appear.

The words ‘Catalonia’, ‘Penedes region’, ‘microclimate’, ‘the Torres family’, ‘outstanding commercial success’ and ‘good young wines at sensible prices’, say it all. Penedes is renowned for its white wines, although it also produces fine reds and much of Spain’s premier sparkling wine.

Spanish sparkling wine is called cava. It is said that it is as good as French champagne, but much cheaper. But more correctly it is a quality, young sparkling wine in its own right. Cava is classified by sweetness or dryness and all cavas come under the same DO irrespective of where they are produced.

SANGRIA, SHERRY, BRANDY AND OTHERS

Sangria is a summer drink. It is a fruit and wine punch diluted with lemonade. On occasions it may have the addition of some brandy to give it an extra kick. Care has to be exercised in buying sangria for it can be a way to use up poor quality red wine. There is no way of knowing this, but exercise care by always buying a branded product or drinking it at a reputable restaurant.

Sherries have always been popular. The English dominate the sherry trade in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia where it is produced. Many of the brands, such as Harvey’s and Sandeman, are foreign. Sherry is matured in oak barrels and produced from a variety of vintages by progressively blending young and old wines. There are various types of sherry to suit most tastes and occasions. Classic sherry is fino (dry) or seco (sweet). Amontillado is deeper in colour and taste and usually drunk chilled as an aperitif. The very dry manzanilla is a fortified wine which has a slightly salty after taste, attributed to the salty soil of the area where it is produced.

Brandies make a perfect end to a meal. Some prefer anis, which is a Spanish aniseed drink rather like Pernod. But many more prefer the popular after dinner drink called sol y sombre (sun and shade) a combination of brandy and anis. It is not for the faint-hearted.

Beer is not generally what people think of when they think of Spain. They think of wine, sherry and sangria. Get ready for a shock. Spain’s sales of beer surpassed sales of wine in the early 1990s. The most famous branded beer is San Miguel. It is quite strong (5.4%) and has a light, slightly sweet fruity taste to it. Cruzcampo is the closest you’ll get to light beer without asking for it. It is a light and dry brew with a somewhat sour flavour.

Atlantic Spain grows a great quantity of apples that are fermented in chestnut barrels to produce a tangy, light, and mildly effervescent cider. Mass-produced, it is available in dry and semi-dry varieties but natural cider, more like a ‘home brew’ is cloudier, fruitier and drunk young.

VISITING A BODEGA

Many people buy wine from the supermarket and hypermarket. The quality and range is good and, after all, there is always a ‘special offer’. Supermarkets stock few imported wines. A bodega, which is a store selling only wine and drinks, usually has as large selection. Look for a string of parked cars outside bodegas attached to a wine-producing unit. Large quantities of wine are sold straight from the barrel at ridiculously low prices.

CORK

Where does cork come from? Answer, from the evergreen cork oak tree which grows in the south of Spain. Cork is used as a stopper in wine bottles. Growing to a height of 15 metres the cork oak lives for 600 years. It takes 20 years for the first bark to appear and when cut a further seven years to regenerate. When the cylinders of cork are removed by axes the tree immediately starts to bleed resin, protecting it until a new bark grows. The cut cork bark is left in the sun for a year, then boiled to soften it prior to processing at a factory.