Spanish White Wine

Spain has traditionally been best known for its indulgent, ageworthy reds, but it also produces a surprisingly wide range of white wines, from textured and weighty to bright and zippy. The white wines of Rioja have come markedly back into fashion, with many producers now putting much more focus on this style, generally made from the Viura grape and often – but not always – in a rich, oxidative style. The equally in vogue Albariños of Rias Baixas couldn’t be further away from such a profile, offering the very definition of zesty, summertime, seaside drinking. Elsewhere, look for fruity Godello and a new wave of indigenous varieties from the volcanic soils of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, while the finest examples of Cava and other sparkling wines of Penedès are offering an increasingly sophisticated form of fizz. And that’s before we’ve even got onto the wondrous world of Sherry…