GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY WINE!
*GUÍA DEL VINO COTIDIANO Los Mejores Vinos Por Menos de 10€
Over the years I’ve been chastised several times by readers who are frustrated that, having read about a certain wine, they’d like to know how much it costs, and I haven’t given this information in my article. I understand, but the fact is that I am usually generously sent the wines directly from the bodegas, gratis (told you this wine stuff is tough!) and therefore, I don’t know the prices.
When I am informed about the prices I do try and include them, to everybody’s advantage – but I admit that this isn’t as often as readers might like. Well fear not, even if you don’t speak Spanish so well, the *‘Guide to Daily Wine, The Best Wines for Under 10€’, is the ideal answer!
There are a number of Spanish Wine Guides – I often refer to the most famous and certainly the most comprehensive, The Peñin Guide; as well as to the excellent Guía Proensa. The former no longer lists the prices of the 10,000+ wines included in the guide; and whilst the latter does, this is a guide to ‘Los Mejores Vinos de España’, ‘The Best Wines of Spain’, and therefore might be considered by many as somewhat exclusive.
It depends what you are after – and let’s face it, the continuing poor economic outlook for many translates to us having to be careful re how much money we spend on wine. This guide, written under the auspices of MiVino/Vinum (available from www.mivino.es) concentrates solely on those Spanish wines that retail at under 10€ per bottle, which is probably the figure that most of us are prepared to spend for, as it says on the tin, our daily wines.
If you are like me (Heaven help you, if so!) you perhaps enjoy a glass (or more) of wine on most nights. Well, as we all know, this can add up to a significant monthly outgoing, so any guide that suggests wines under 10€/btl and includes a write-up has to be useful.
All of the contributing Denominaciónes de Origen (it seems not all of the DOs of Spain are represented, though most are) are listed on the opening pages along with a very useful explanation of the Gastronomic Symbols placed next to the wines (such as: recommended with olives, smoked meats, etc) and the marking system, and how this relates to other marking systems. Also, and this is particularly pertinent, a quick and easy to understand symbol that tells you that the wine is, for example under 4€, and so on.
Plus, if you are looking for a wine from this group, perhaps for a special occasion, there is a section for easy reference that lists the top wines (those which earn over 8 points out of 10).
I’ve read every page of the book and was delighted to confirm that, contrary to what some critics believe (that is that I personally live exclusively in the rarefied atmosphere of the very expensive wines) many of the wines included in this guide are well known to me.
But where to start, re some recommendations to Cork Talk readers? Well, firstly I highly recommend this guide, ‘GUÍA DEL VINO COTIDIANO Los Mejores Vinos Por Menos de 10€’ as a perfect Christmas Present for the wine buyer in your house! You’ll find that you are obtaining far more out of your wine choices whilst simultaneously saving money as your decisions will be better informed and you won’t have wasted money on a wine that in fact is not to your taste.
It is true that the wine descriptions are written in Spanish – so initially, this may be a hindrance for some, but look at this way – it’s an ideal opportunity to polish your Spanish, at least that which is related to Wine! So another advantage of the guide!
Considering firstly, the wines that attract the ‘hasta 4€’ (up to 4€) symbol – amongst those listed, I can recommend:
The Homenaje, white, rosado and red from DO Navarra – are consistently good quality, punching above their weight in terms of aroma and flavour delivery. Borsao from DO Campo de Borja have other wines in the higher brackets in this guide (so don’t forget them when considering those wines that retail at 4€ – 7€ and those from 7€ – 10€) but their Tinto Seleción 2013 is a good buy at under 4€. The Estola range from DO La Mancha has several entries at this level and I know that many readers will be well aware of this range, but look also for Torre de Gazete, from this DO – amongst others.
From DO Jumilla there are entries here from the Casa de la Ermita bodega which I’ve visited on a number of occasions. Of the more famous areas, DO Ribera del Duero has one entry with a few also from La Rioja. Plus there are lots more in the guide.
If we up the ante and go to the next bracket, the 4€ – 7€ range you won’t be spoilt for choice, from almost all the DOs represented as there is a plethora of red, white and rosado, as well as Cava and Sherry. This includes the amazingly popular Verdejo ( and blends) plus Sauvignon wines from DO Rueda – Cuatro Rayes, Bornos, Mantel for example, all of which I’ve tasetd and enjoyed, plus many more. You’ll find a lot of Ribera del Duero wines in this bracket and I’m often being told that readers are currently, generally, buying more Ribera del Duero wines than they are Rioja, though Spain’s oldest and most famous producing area is also very well represented in this bracket.
In the top bracket, where many, but certainly not all of those in the ‘Cuadro de Honor’, the best wines of the guide, are listed, you’ll find a host of wines which really do deserve your attention.
And this is another of the advantages of the ‘Vino Cotidiano’ Guide – it gives you an instant recommendation, as well as price guide, of wines that you may see on the wine shop and supermarket shelves which you don’t know and from areas of which you perhaps have not even heard. So, you can start to take of those blinkers and experiment in your wine buying, without it being a gamble anymore!
And don’t forget – if, whilst contemplating a purchase, you are also wondering with what food you should drink the wine, well that’s covered in the guide too! Happy *Christmas!
*Which reminds me, if you are looking to start celebrations a week before the big day, and are based near enough to Moraira, you may like to attend a tasty Gourmet Tapas/Spanish Wine Pairing event on the 18th December at The Venue Bar/Restaurant where I’ll be presenting wines of the above calibre to match some super tapas. There are some seats left, please contact me: colin@colinharknessonwine.com or by phone 629 388 159.
