{"id":269,"date":"2008-02-24T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-24T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=269"},"modified":"2008-05-13T07:58:55","modified_gmt":"2008-05-13T14:58:55","slug":"spanish-wines-gaining-in-popularity-and-availability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=269","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Wines Gaining in Popularity and Availability"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Opening a bottle of Spanish wine is sometimes a bit like being Forrest Gump with a box of chocolates \u2013 you never know what you\u2019re going to find inside.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019re hesitant about giving wines from Spain a try let me assure you that there are some exceptional choices available locally. Spanish wines also come in a myriad of flavors and styles and there\u2019s the potential for much greater variety than what you might find among domestic wines. To put thing in perspective \u2013 Spain is home to almost 150 wine producing grape varietals while in Washington State the bulk of our wine production comes from less than 30.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vivinum.net\/penedes-cava-dagusti-torello-aliguer-brut-2003-1002292_tn.jpg\" alt=\"null\" \/>Cava, the sparkling wine of Spain, makes a great choice to serve when guests arrive. Try the <strong>Augusti Torello Aliguer Cava Brut Vintage 2004 <\/strong>(pictured at left, about $12) for starters. Made primarily from the macabeo grape and two other white varietals, it\u2019s slightly yeasty with hints of apple and citrus and a crisp, bone-dry finish.<\/p>\n<p>For another refreshing change of pace, the <strong>Lagar de Castelo 2006 Albari\u00f1o <\/strong>(about $14) is an incredible white wine. It has a gentle floral aroma, beautiful honeydew melon and lime flavors, well-balanced acidity and a bit of herbaceousness. Serve it well chilled with salads, seafood or shellfish.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Casa de Illana 2006 Tradici\u00f3n<\/strong> (about $12) is both an outstanding red wine and an outstanding value. This blend of bobal, tempranillo and syrah is loaded with cherry and berry flavors, followed by touches of licorice and sweet oak. Although it\u2019s a fairly big wine with good structure, the fruit component and softness on the finish really shine through. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll find these wines at local wine shops and grocers, and if not in stock they can be special ordered for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opening a bottle of Spanish wine is sometimes a bit like being Forrest Gump with a box of chocolates \u2013 you never know what you\u2019re going to find inside. But if you\u2019re hesitant about giving wines from Spain a try let me assure you that there are some exceptional choices available locally. Spanish wines also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}