White Rioja -wines guide white wines of Spain

Spanish winemakers have everything going for them. As we know, the climate is superb, the rainfall moderate and there’s a long tradition of quality grape growing. Yet the white wines of Spain have long failed to excite the palate of even the most undemanding consumer. Why is this?

One answer is that red wines really do take centre stage in Spanish cuisine. White wines are seen as fun, entertaining, fairly insignificant, when compared with great Rioja or Ribera del Duero reds.

One of the problems for Spain has been the lack of strong brands for wine lovers to identify immediately as Spanish - where is the Spanish equivalent of Blossom Hill or Jacobs Creek, we ask?

At present, only white Rioja is easily identifiable: made with the delicious Viura grape. These wines used to be aged in oak and taste rather heavy to the modern palate. Thanks to modern cool fermentation technology, most of them are now much fruitier.