Spanish Wine Experience

It's almost Christmas! So to end off the year prior to this festive we are heading back to the big boy himself: La Rioja. Things have been changing in the last couple of years. So with a bottle of Brunes by Bodegas Vivanco in our glasses, we chat singular vineyards, village wines, intriguing grapes and bubbles!

A slightly differente episode today. We decide to celebrate International Cab Franc Day by diving into the life and history of this French grape. Or...is it French? We sample a bottle of Abadal Franc from the tiny Catalan DO of Pla de Bagès! 

Yee haw and giddy up! This week Roque and Luke head down to the depths of Almeria, towards the long coast of southeast Spain to a winery making a delicious red in the middle of cowboy country. Sierra Almagrera is a blended tinto from a region not usually famed for viticulture, so is it any good?

Today Roque and Luke talk vertical tastings, wine events, and enjoy a very rare bottle of one of the finest sweet wines they've ever tried. Dulce Salmor from the Viña Frontera COOP on the tiny island of El Hierro. Truly amazing stuff!

That's right, Spain has recently welcomed into the Denominación de Origen family another new regulated wine region. Eagle-eyed listeners might recognise the name as this used to be a VT. But not any more. So we crack a bottle of Phoenix by Quinta de Aves and talk all things DO!

Time for a weird grape double edition. Huelva, an episode we have been to before years ago, known for its sherry-esque wines and sweet vinos. We have a bottle of Líbero, a fascinating 50/50 blend of two grapes only found in this Andalusian hideaway: Zalema and Listan de Huelva. Enjoy!

Regions, grapes, statistics, numbers, facts and figures; over the last few years we've covered a lot. So, over a bottle of very alcoholic red wine (Loxarel OPS) this week we have decided to compile all the main stats of the Spanish wine world. ALL of them! Lots of pub quiz answers to be found.

Roque loves sparkling wines. Luke loves the Basque Country. If only there was a way to bring these two things together. Well there is! The Pais Vasco is famous for its crisp white wines, but a few producers are making reds, roses, sweet wines and bubbles. This week a bottle of Izar Leku accompanies a podcast full of wine, history, and the usual ridiculous jokes! 

Time for another episode of 'what the hell grape is that?!' Roque spent New Year in the Canary Islands, lucky bugger, but he still did his job and brought us back a bottle of something weird from Tenerife using a very rare grape from another island entirely: Forastera!

We. Are. Back. We have been away since March 2023! Why? Where were we? What have we been up to? All will be explained. Also, we enjoy an amazing gift from listeners Sheree and Ian; an Albariño aged...underwater??

A SHOCKING DISCOVERY! We never got round to recording a podcast about Malaga and its delicous sweet, fortified, aged, oxidised wines. We did Sierras de Malaga years ago, but not Malaga DO. After facepalming Roque and Luke get down to business with a bottle of Vino Maestro from Bodega Doña Felisa and chat all things boozy from the Costa del Sol!

Welcome to a new version of an old podcast that was lost. Sounds kind of mysterious right? Years ago Roque and Luke did a podcast all about the grape Garnacha. It was lost in the cloud and never uploaded properly. So, now with a shop full of that grape, they return to the wonderful world of the Garnacha grape!

We're back on the vermouth again! Not since back in 2018 have we focused on this amazing Spanish delicacy. And back then, prior to our shop, we didn't know what we know now and we didn't have our own vermut! This week we want to go over Spanish vermouth again, but with more knowledge and market experience. And, of course, we be drinkin'

So, you're visiting Spain, or perhaps you just fancy something español for dinner to mix it up a bit, but don't know what to choose. You like Cab Sav, or maybe a Chianti. So what would be a Spanish version of that? This week Roque and Luke dive into Spanish alternatives to most the main grapes and regions around the world.

FINALLY! After years of trying to locate this wine, painstaking effort of behalf of us pestering distributors, we managed to get one: a bottle of Tostado do Ribeiro from bodega Viña Costeira up in DO Ribeiro. It also, happily, timed well with a recent visit to the Galician wine region itself. So time to revisit a little this odlest of DOs and sample, for the first time, this mythical sweet wine!

Another year in the shop, another year in wine, and other year in the world of wine. What's changed? What have we enjoyed drinking and what have been the highs and lows of this most bizarre year! Roque and Luke have already been drinking as they dive headfirst into the 2022 round up. See you in 2023!

A wonderfully niche Vino de la Tierra this week. About as niche as you can get. Vino de la Tierra Sierra Sur de Jaen. Quite the mouthful! Deep down in the depths of eastern Andalucia is a tiny mountain viticultural area with only a couple of winemakers. The wine? Malaostia - great name - from Bodegas Cefrian. Also, there's a lot of olive chat.

Roque and Luke managed to find another of the rare Vino de Calidad regional wines. On a recent trip to the Leon area in the northwest, Luke picked up a bottle of Prieto Picudo red from the miniscule Valles de Benavente region. Bodega Otero's 2014 reserva in fact! The question is, where the hell is the region and who's there making wine anyway? Well, let's find out!

Another Vino de Pago here; one we've been enjoying for quite some time now as they do things a little different in this winery. Tucked away in DO Utiel-Requena is Pago Tharsys. They have a range of 'standard DO' wines as well as their own sparkling Cavas. But they also have a handful of DO Pago wines. In this case their rather accentric nocturnally harvested Albariño!

How old can wine be? Should we be buying wine and waiting? What makes a wine worthy of ageing? All these burning questions will be answered as Roque and Luke sampling wines from the 1960s! Yes, that's right, booze that has been sleeping for almost sixty years! Thanks to Toro Albala and their creations from D.O. Montilla-Moriles!

This week Roque and Luke try perhaps the most influential grape no-one's ever heard of and that you'll rarely find: Cayetana. Though, as you'll find out - hell, as they'll find out - it goes by many names and has been a historic figure hiding in the shadows for centuries.

Ah yes, terroir, that most mysterious of words. So vague, so pretentious, so winey, so French. But, credit where credit is due, it is a great concept, an important concept and a useful way to think about wine. This week we talk about the idea of terroir by trying a new project from a winemaker who likes to play. Three tempranillos, made in the same way, but from three different provinces in the same region. Will we taste terroir in action? 

It's party time in many parts of Spain! And why? Well, it's the vendimia, the grape harvest. And Roque is about to head down to one; we all hope he makes it back alive. This week we want to take you through some of the best and most alocholic wine-fiestas in Spain!

Happy Summer everybody!! Lordy lordy it has been hot here in Spain the last few weeks, and we are still way off the cool days. Roque and Luke are on their holidays, so, to celebrate the season, they have thought up their perfect Spanish summer boxes for you to enjoy!

This week bubbles! So you know Roque is happy. And not just any bubbles. It's not Cava, it's not CORPINNAT, it's not even from the peninsula! A sparkling wine from...Lanzarote! That's right; there's more to Spanish sparkling wine than you'd think at first glance. To dive into the theme the boys have a sparkler from Los Bermejos winery.

Betanzos? What's a Betanzos when it's at home? Well, it's a small town in the far north of Galicia near the crashing Atlantic coast, and not an area usually associated with wine. Yet historically there was wine there and a few winemakers created VT Betanzos in an effort to promote their vinos! Conexión Mandeo is the bottle they'll being trying; a white wine with a weird grape!

As with many Spanish regions, back in 2019, just before the pandemic, Priorat underwent some big classification and structural changes. So we thought, given it's been a while, it was time to head back to Priorat and see what's going on. To accompany us a Vi de Vila from Cims de Porerra! 

It's time for another grape-centric podcast. We have alreasdy covered Garnacha and Tempranillo and now it's time for the King of the white grapes Albariño. To dive into the history, flavours, styles and regions of this fantastic grape they sample a Valencian version from Bodegas Hispano-Suizas.

VC Cebreros - how did this region escape us for so long?! Just out west, over the Madrid border, is a high altitude mountainous Vino de Calidad wine region called Cebreros up in the Sierra de Gredos. Today, with special guest Rick Fisher SWS, we sample a bottle of Viña de Ayer Albillo from winemaker SotoManrique!

Maturana what now? Yes, that's right; we're back with another weird grape. This week it's a vitually non-planted and unknown white variety from Rioja. The crazy thing is that it's one of the oldest in the region! Roque and Luke are enjoying a bottle of Clipeo; an organic small production fancy pants bottle.

Sherry. That famously misunderstood wine; sometimes sweet, sometimes drier than bone dry. Always fortified. But what if a sherry winemaker decided to release a sherry...unfortified? Well that's what Luke and Roque have this week. A bottle of Socaire from VT Cadiz. 

This week Roque and Luke head back to Bierzo; one of their favourite DOs. Why? Well, since 2019 a lot of Spanish wine regions have been undergoing major changes to their rules and regs. So they plan to revisit and drink their way through the changes. This week Banzao's Godello Vino de Villa. 

What goes into a wine? Grapes? Sure. Fermented ones? That's right. And sometimes more than one type. The idea of a blended wine isn't new, but it's not often talked about. Bordeaux is a blend, Rioja traditionally is a blend. Today we wanted to talk about blending with an awesome little wine that puts the idea of the coupage foremost. Pasotismo from Aragon. ¡Nuevos episodios! / New episodes!

We have had only a few rose wines - or rosados - on the podcast over the few years. But something we've never really touched on is the idea of ageing a rosado. Can you barrel them and age them? Should you? And what do they taste like? This week they open a bottle of Huella de Aitana from Navarra to find out!

We love the weird grapes episodes. It's always fun for us to take you a world of wine that is marvellously off the beaten track in the hope we fuel your interest in discovering new varietals. And this week it's not one, not two, but five grapes all in one wine from the Canary Islands. Bimbache from the El Hierro island!

Yes, you read that correctly! Over the many years of giving winetastings we have been asked countless times 'Is supermarket wine any good?' or 'how do I choose wine in the supermarket?'. So we thought, we should talk about that, as it's a huge part of the wine industry. To dive deeper Roque has brought a supermarket wine to put Luke to the test!

Have you heard of Tempranillo? Of course you have. But do you really know about it? It is Spain's premier red grape of course, but most people only know it in realtion with Rioja. Tempranillo is the superstar, but why? Where is it from and where is it planted? To dive into this mythical grape Roque and Luke are drinking a bottle of Palacio de Villachica from DO Toro!

Yes, you read that correctly, Juan Ibañez. Could be the name of a Spanish bloke; but no, it's a grape! Actually it goes by many weird names and hails from the Aragon region of Spain. This week we try a bottle of Anayón Parcela 65 from DO Cariñena made from said grape. But what's it like and is it any good?

This week something a little different. Four different wines! Four?? That's right. But not the usual glass-bottled, labelled, from the wine-shop variety, no. Vino a granel, or 'bulk wine' is all the wine that is not bottled. Roque was down in Murcia and brought back a red, a white, a vermouth, and a sherry, all siphoned off into plastic containers. But what is the truth behind vino a granel really? And is it any good?

Well aren't we all lucky that Roque had a little alcohlic jaunt with his family to the paradise island of Menorca recently. Fortunately, being always attentive to the needs of our audience, he brought back a bottle of wine to try! And try we will, for we've never had one before! A bottle of red from Bodegas Binitord; one of only a handful on the island.

¿Qué deberías hacer si eres una famosa bodega de culto de la Ribera del Duero? Dirigirse al sur de La Mancha y empezar a hacer un vino de Pago... obviamente. Esta semana Luke y Roque se beben una botella de tinto Pago Florentino VP. La pregunta es: ¿deberían haber dejado el Duero en primer lugar?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Following a few weeks off - due to Christmas, New Year, Three Kings and a lot of craziness in the shop, Roque and Luke are back to toast the new year. On this episode they go over what happened in 2021 and highlight some of their standout wines of the year. Also they have lots of juicy plans for 2022, which they discuss we the usual seriousness they give these topics.

Another week and yes, another Vino de Pago! They've been popping up on our radar and we've been snagging them when we are able. This week we take a trip the middle of nowhere in Albacete province and try an intriguing 100% Merlot from Pago Guijoso! Enjoy!

This week Roque and Luke are bringing you a wine that is the niche'st of the niche. You may have not heard of the region Almeria; it's a small province in the east of Andalucia. Not traditionally wine country, it's more famous for cowboy movies and vast beaches. There are wine areas though, but this isn't from one of them. Sierra Almagrera is a range of hills facing the Med and there's one winery doing their own thing there. So this is that wine! 

What's that? Two weird grapes in a row? Well yes! There are so many in this wonderful country and we just got one in the shop that we just had to try with you all. Forcallat is an almost extinct Valencian variety that we have never tried in its pure form; and this week we have a bottle of La Forcallà de Antonia to help educate our palates! Enjoy!

We are back again at this Halloween time of the year with another weird grape; an island grape at that. Mallorca has a few local varieties that nobody has ever heard of. Today Roque and Luke sip at a bottle of Mantonegro red wine. Supernova from Bodega C'an Verdura!

Another week, another yummy wine, and another return to the wonderful world of the Vinos de Pago. This week Roque and Luke have a bottle of Petit Hipperia from one of the country's newest Vino de Pago zones. She's big, she's boozy, and she's got a horse on the label. 

This week Roque and Luke talk animals, specifically those of the vineyards. From the bugs and bichos to birds, bats and beasts of burden, there is a lot of animal life involved both directly and indirectly in the vineyards. To lead them into this topic they have a couple of wines from Bodegas Enguera in Valencia. Enjoy!

This week Roque and Luke dive into the geeky world of wine qualifications as both of them are embarking on their SWS course. But of course there's a variety of options out there for the interested alcoholic. Also, during a tête à tête about course rules Roque gets a special guest on for help!

Have you ever heard of pitarra wine? No? Well we hadn't either until quite recently. Vino de pitarra is a type of very localised wine from Extremadura. Fortunately Luke just spent a few days over there and brought a bottle back. But what is it and how is it made? What does pitarra even mean? And is it any good!?

Here's a new one for you. Vino de la Tierra de Murcia. Things are changing down south, and also changing for our old friends at Bodega Casa Rojo. They've moved away from their initial DO Jumilla wines and are now flying the flag for the far more unknown and new VT Murcia. So this week Roque and Luke crack open a bottle of Enemigo Mío and see what's what in Roque homeland!