Cheap Wines in Spain

[BENIDORM]

Well of course most wines in Spain are much cheaper than UK, and we have tried 100's of different varieties and prices , over the years..Some of the really cheap wines are fine when mixed with Casera etc, and we have found some good wines at around 1 euro a bottle which have been really good..The other day a Spanish friend told me about a wine on offer in the Dia supermarket....Castillo de Velasco, so we tried it yesterday and it was good, not the best we've tried but fine...the price 49 cents ! !...I'm going back for some more, before they sell out..

[swerve]

You would think the bottle, cork, and label would cost 49 cents.We have tried some from mercadona at 95 cents and were very nice ideal if your just going to make a jug of sangria or something.

[laclotte]

EUR 0.49 per bottle!!! Benny, you do surprise me every time......as a worldly guy .....you surely don't fall for this trick!!! I'm sure you wife just loves this wine ....under the given circumstances perhaps I would also!!........NO Benny....not tonight.....I have ANOTHER headache!!!
Maybe worth trying a little more 'upmarket' bottle? No headaches and perhaps more enjoyment...wine of course I mean!

[BENIDORM]

No Headaches in this household I can assure you, but thanks for your concern....
....We do have a good stock of wine purchased from all over Europe, and we have paid quite high prices , but I'm not always impressed with them. For instance, not so long ago we bought some German Red wine in Berlin, 30 euros a bottle, thought it would be really special, but it wasn't, however we did get some excellent White wines at the same place for about 5 euros...What wine can you recommend ?...any price....

[laclotte]

I have travel led a lot but never came across vineyards in the Berlin area!!! I would never spent EUR 30m on a bottle without having recommendations and tasted bottles of certain years. Wine, being a natural product, can and does change in taste considerably from year to year. We have had some really great years (2002 for example) and we have also had years where we have only produced dreadful wine. My only hint to a wine buyer would be taste and buy on that taste - never just go by a 'label'....every year will be quite different. If you can still find a french 2002 table wine it should be good. 2006 looks to be pro missing - just in the bottle - but still to early to tell.

[nevada smith]

germany is renowned for its white wines -
red wines have always been hard to produce and
although germany has made a temporary detour into red production
i look for my reds elsewhere...

as far as any wines to recommend -
i wouldn’t be looking for them under the current title...

[BENIDORM]

LACLOTTE ,
Thank you for your informed reply, the German red wine we bought was from a trial vineyard , not anywhere near Berlin, but I can't recall the region...The wine merchant did explain about the reasons Germany doesn't produce red wine, and after tasting it, I can understand why..We were at a wine tasting, but by the time I got round to tasting the red wine, I think my 'taste buds' were affected, anyway back home it didn't taste so good...
Although we don't drink much white wine, we do like some of the better German whites, and the white wine produced in Galicia,...... France and Spain definitely for red wine though....

[BENIDORM]

NEVADA,
Yes , you have confirmed what I was told,.... do you like any of the New World wines, I notice them on sale here in Spain , which surprised me.

[Colinm]

Have you noticed the way some wines don't 'travel' too well. Several times I have had a nice wine somewhere, bought some bottles to bring back home, and it really tastes completely different.

Last October I brought back 12 bottles of Barberilla (?) its Spanish White, Andalucian if I remember. Anyway, drink it in Spain and its very nice, drink it back home and it tastes salty!

i think french reds travel ok, and new world wines. My favourite wine is a French Merlot, which is produced and bottled by an australian winemaker (in France) at €6 a bottle. It's called Fox Mountain Merlot, very nice!

[katy]

Is it Barbadillo? I don't drink white much but it tasted very good in summer. It's from around Cadíz area. Wine never tastes as good when you get back home because its the different ambiente.

[laclotte]

Colinm - Fox Mountain....very good they also have a great Syrah. Our vineyards produce two of the old French classics - white being Macabeu and the reds being a Grenache Gris. The Macabeu has an unusual, fruity taste and can have a sugar content of up to 16% (!) the Grenache is blended with other grape types for the typical table wine. I believe there is also a lot of Grenache in Spain....maybe known under another name.
My call is always a white!

[Colinm]

Katy, Barbadillo, that's the one! I think it's not only the ambient but also the social atmosphere!

laclotte - I'm not too keen on Syrah (isn't that what new world calls Shiraz?) it's a bit too peppery for my taste buds. What Grenache Gris would you recommend? As its St Patrick's Day on Saturday I need to maintain the Irish viewpoint on the world, and have a drink or three

[Retro P]

Many Spanish wines, red and white are in my opinion on a level with and sometimes superior to overpriced and overmarketed French wines and given the choice I will usually buy Spanish produced wines.

Many people are unaware that a large percentage of Vines were introduced from Caifornia into France in the early part of the twentieth century!

[laclotte]

Colinm, It would be so difficult to make a recommendation...wine drinkers all seem to have their own preferences. Anything that I may recommend would only be based on my 'on humble' opinion...and I prefer white! However I would never buy just a cheap bottle to have a glass....rather pay more and have a good glass. I enjoy the wines with a fruity flavour and find the private 'caves' in the South East of France have a fantastic choice. My favourite caves are Betrand Berge in Paziols and Domaine Grand Arc in Cucugnan (he wins many prizes). The sweet wines of Rievsaltes are also wonderful.
Happy St Patricks Day....and have an extra one for me!

[laclotte]

Retro P
Yes - I certainly know that as there was a sickness that killed off almost all the vines in France about 100 years ago--- hence often we (in France) call the new vine Le American!
I am not trying to sell French wines (on the contrary) and when I am in Spain I would normally drink a Spanish wine......when in Rome.....!
The topic was about wine in general and certain points were discussed....nothing more nothing less. I still would neither buy nor drink wine that costs 0.49 a bottle.....just not my style!

[Campo Kenny]

For a good cheap everyday white we just stock up with Albali White.....the dryer the better for us.
One other cheapish Spanish White that the Mrs. really likes is Analivia.

Problem is just nowhere near us (inland from Nerja) seems to stock it, it's just not available, yet some bars sell it as their house white.
A mate picks some up from a store in Marbella when he knows we're going across......anyone else tried this or seen it for sale?.

Kenny

[BENIDORM]

Some interesting views, and I do agree with most of it..however if I see a wine on offer I will 'have a go', if I don't like it , my wife will use it for cooking with, or it will be served as a long cool drink with Casera...

While we are on the subject of 'drink', what about Cava and Champagne, again we've tried some expensive labels in both and have mixed views.. I do have a Nephew in London who is a wine buyer, and have had quite a few 'samples' from him, I enjoy them even more when they are gifts !

[peteroldracer]

I still would neither buy nor drink wine that costs 0.49 a bottle

Quite right, laclotte - far too expensive. The litre boxes at 0.45 are quite good enough - equivalent to 30 cents a bottle. Mind you, we do drink it mostly as a tinto de verano, and I refuse to put lemonade/La Casera into a glass of good red!

[nevada smith]

beni,
i have scattered the following through other threads:
2 of our house whites: 1.50 euros/btl
berberana cosecha, blend, 11% vol
vina del mar, xarel-lo, macabeo, parellada, 10.5% vol
2 of our house reds: just over 3 euros/btl
navarra, tempranillo, merlot, cab sauv, 12.5%
mesquiriz, cab sauv, unk - currently out of stock
the only problem i have with the ‘new world’ wine is
the same problem i have with the ‘current world’ wines -
high alcohol content...
yes, the wines have tremendous aromas and flavors
they just don’t seem to last longer than the first glass...
so, while the ‘basement’ is primarily home to spanish wines
we have something from each of the new regions and
one rack devoted to smoking loon wines from california -
but what else would you expect...

[katy]

We like wines from Ribera del Duero, too many seem to take advantage of the Rioja name now. Couldn't drink wine from a plastic carton as I can taste the plastic also hate to drink out of a plastic cup. Do use the 95 cents a bottle for cooking sometimes and I agree I would never use a good wine for tinto de verano. I think its ok to drink what you are happy with. I mostly drink red and I do like French wine as it seems more mellow and smoother and you don't get a thick head. Had some good Australian wines and New Zealand too. The Chateux deux charmes that I have mentioned before (Canada) is really good.

[Retro P]

To be politically and geographically correct Champagne can only be produced in the original area of it's conception ie, Champagne France, but, before making my own (humble) views public I would be interested to hear comments from others regarding the comparisons between origina French Champagnes and similar sparkling wines from other regions notably Spain!
Any thoughts opinions?

[Grouser]

Kenny you can get the Albali at Eroski and also a quite drinkable white Rioja.

[BENIDORM]

Cheers !..
.Thanks for all the recommendations, I've made notes and will see what we get on our next 'Big Shop'expedition.

After all the talk about vino, I think I will now have to go and get a nice Gran Reserva from my cellar...MMmm

[Campo Kenny]

Grouser, thanks for the reply, it's actually the Analivia wine that we can't find, we stock up with the Albali white 30 minutes after plane lands

Just can't find it anywhere yet as I say some bars use it.

Another point...before we bought in Spain we used to enjoy Frexinet Negro brut. After buying it a lot in Spain, the stuff you buy over here just does not taste the same ......I think the same with San Miguel beer too...........must just be me but I'm not sure. Anyone else found this?

The Frexinet in the white bottle is a nice drink too.

Kenny

[nevada smith]

moving on to cava -
relatively simple for us: codorniu
the pinot noir rose
and the chardonnay non-plus
my wife and i split a benjamin every day at lunch
(i should point out that we only drink wine with meals... )

yes, retro,
only champagne
grown & bottled in the champagne region of france
may be called champagne -
(brought to you by the treaty of versailles)
much the same as with cognac
(although cheaper and perhaps better is armagnac)

[Grouser]

I'd go for the armagnac too or a ten year old malt, but every time I do it slips down so smoothly I live to regret every drop the next day.

[Retro P]

If ever I need to use Champagne (not often) I prefer the Freixenet Cordon negro, in my opinion an equal to many champagnes although the wine snobs (if there are any here) will probably be howling at my remarks, ce la vie!

[Colinm]

Kenny, if you goooooogle Analivia you get to the vineyard details, which seems to be the same vineyard as the Albali!

Might be worth an email or call to ask for local suppliers?

[Campo Kenny]

Cheers Col

[laclotte]

Champagne, as we know it, is just a sparkling (and can be very expensive) white wine from the Champagne region.
The first sparkling white wines actually came from the South East of France - a place called Limoux. This area has produced wines much more superior to 'Champagne' for decades. Actually the Champagne area just copies the idea from Limoux!! Yes...I agree ... they had much better marketing skills!
I ever you get the chance....buy a bottle of 'Blanquette de Limoux'..... sit back and savour it........ delicious!
All this talk of wine has suddenly created a dreadful thirst! Pröschtli (Cheers!)