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Spanish Wine: Types
"Vino Blanco"
 Within the category of white wine you will find several other subtypes of wines with varying shades of white and much different tastes. This makes them all very different from each other and certainly from a white wine itself-but, still, they are made using types of white grapes and therefore are placed under this type. It is important to understand this difference when choosing a wine. For example, the same is also the case for the Spanish Rosado wines. These wines have a very light shade, are generally sweeter than red wines, but were still born from red grapes and therefore classified under the "reds."
Amontillados:
Amontillados are white wines which undergo a long oxidizing aging process giving them very particular tastes, aromas, and color. Amontillados tend to have aromas reminiscent of raisins, coffee, wood, hazelnuts, almonds, and even chocolate. They have a rich amber color ranging across the spectrum sometimes dropping to a greenish olive. You can expect most amontillados to have a very dry but smooth and potent taste.
Some Amontillados to try:
- Amontillado 51-1ª (+3.000 pts)
Palomino, 19% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
Pedro Domecq. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz)
- Boabdil (+3.000 pts)
Pedro Ximénez, 20% vol.
D.O. Montilla-Moriles (Andalusía)
Aragón y Cía. Lucena (Córdoba)
- Faraón (1-3.000 pts)
Pedro Ximénez, 18% vol.
D.O. Montilla-Moriles (Andalusía)
Delgado. Puente Genil (Córdoba)
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Finos and Manzanillas:
Produced largely from the same grapes these white wines are very similar to each other with a few general distinctions. Manzanillas tend to have a more intense straw yellow color while the Finos have a more golden clear yellow usually accompanied by greenish hues. Similar tastes and aromas tend to apply comprising of dried or fresh fruits, almonds, and a characteristic saline after-taste. Both are "prickly," dry, but light and pleasing. The finos tend to have a more intense somewhat deeper and more powerful taste while the manzanillas are lighter and fresher. The flavors of both are owed to a particular yeast that, upon coming in contact with oxygen, produce a protective shield which then floats on the surface of the wine preventing oxidation as it undergoes the process of aging and maturing.
Some Finos and Manzanillas to try:
Finos:
- Tío Pepe (around 1.000 pts.)
Palomino Fino, 15.5% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
González Byass. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz)
- La Ina (around 1.000 pts.)
Palomino Fino, 15.5% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
Pedro Domecq. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz)
Manzanillas:
- Solear (around 1.000 pts.)
Palomino Fino, 15.5% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
Antonio Barbadillo. Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz)
- La Gitana (around 1.000 pts.)
Palomino Fino, 15.5% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
Vinícola Hidalgo y Cía. Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz)
Olorosos:
Having a very close kinship with the amontillados, the olorosos are another famed Andalusían wine that tend to be overshadowed by the latter as the amontillados are more well known. The tastes are fairly similar as they are made using the same long oxidizing process but are said to be (once you are more of an expert) easily distinguishable. Sharing among them a sort of mahogany color at times combined with shades of rust-the olorosos, like the amontillados, are very dark and rich white wines. There are both dry and sweet olorosos.
Some dryer ones to try:
- Emperatriz Eugenia (between 1-3.000pts.)
Palomino Fino, 20% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalusía)
Emilio Lustau. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz)
- Royal Corregidor (between 1-3.000pts.)
Palomino Fino y Pedro Ximénez, 21% vol.
D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalucía)
Sandeman-Coprimar. Jerez de la Frontera
Sweets:
These wines are hard to classify as they can range in color from a brilliant golden yellow, sometimes pale, down to a dark ruby color, all the way to a dark mahogany with iodine hues. They can even look like coffee, so dark, that light does not pass through-almost black or opaque. But, as the name describes, the flavor is almost always sweet. The process of making these wines sweet is actually very interesting. Once collected, the grapes are left to naturally dehydrate out in the sun in large glass trays. After, they are taken to a large press where highly concentrated drops of juice are extracted from the dried grapes. It is almost impossible to make such a sweet juice ferment so the juice is soaked in a liqueur before acquiring a 15 to 17% alcohol content.
Some sweets to try:
- Casta Diva Cosecha Miel (around 2.000 pts.)
Moscatel de Alejandra, 14% vol.
D.O. Alicante (Valencia)
Gutiérrez de la Vega. Parcent (Alicante)
- Fondillón Salvador Poveda (around 3.000 pts.)
Monastrell, 18% vol.
D.O. Alicante (Valencia)
Salvador Poveda Monóvar (Alicante)
Whites:
Spain is of course better known abroad and nationally for its rich stock of red wines but the country also has both its own white wines and a great selection of imported grapes such as Chardonnay all found in great abundance along the Northern regions of Spain.
Some whites to try:
- Antea (between 1-3.000 pts.)
Viura and Malvasía, 12% vol.
D.O. Rioja (La Rioja)
Marqués de Cáceres. Cenicero (La Rioja)
- Marqués de Alella Allier (+3.000 pts.)
Chardonnay, 12% vol.
D.O. Alella (Catalonia)
Parxet. Santa María de Martorelles (Barcelona)
- Viñátigo (around 1.000 pts.)
White Listán, 12.5% vol.
D.O. Ycoden-Daute-Isora (Canary Isles)
Viñátigo. La Guancha (Tenerife)
To go on to read about the different classification levels of wine, click here.
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