Spanish Wines and Spirits
For wine lovers Spain is paradise. Throughout the country wine is produced ranging from the full blooded reds of Rioja through to the sweet whites produced in some parts of Andalucia. The first real surprise is how inexpensive wine can be when it is not subject to the swingeing taxes imposed on wine in the UK. The price can range from less than £1 per bottle for basic everyday 'plonk' up to many euros per bottle, but even 'expensive' wines can be a lot less than the equivalent of £10 per bottle, and that will buy you exquisite examples of the winemaker's art.
The other real surprise which awaited us was Cava, the well-known Spanish sparkling wine made by the champagne method. Purists might disagree but the taste of a good Cava is almost indistinguishable from the taste of Champagne and many ordinary individuals would be hard pressed to tell the difference. The real surprise was the discovery that perfectly drinkable, everyday Cava can be bought for less than two euros a bottle in some of the hypermarkets. Cava comes in two varieties, brut and dulce. The former is the one which tastes most like champagne.
If you like a tipple of the harder stuff, spirits are also surprisingly cheap compared to British prices, with litre bottles of gin, whisky, vodka and brandy at around five or six Euros. Sherry, which is of course produced in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucia, is also very reasonably priced. One surprise is that, unlike the UK tradition, sherry in Spain is drunk chilled.
