Society and Culture
Spanish Wines
Modern Spanish winemaking was started in the middle of the 19th century by the Marqués de Murrieta and the Marqués de Riscal, after returning to Spain after years of exile in France. They had learned about winemaking in France and set about planting vineyards in La Rioja to make Bordeaux-style wines. Thus introducing the aging process, unlike the previous Spanish wines, which had bee locally whilst still young.
By aging the wine in oak casks, the wine was able to survive long sea voyages to the Americas. Spain is the largest wine-producing country and consumes 60% of that production, exporting only 10% to USA, with the largest expanse of vineyards in the world spanning more than 14,000 square kilometers. However, until the 1980s Spanish wines were considered cheap and cheerful.
Spanish wine today - young or aged reds, fresh, original whites, rosés, champagne style Cava and the fortified wines of the Andalucia are gaining an enthusiastic international following and have a deservedly high reputation.
In 1932 there were only four regions (Rioja, Jerez, Málaga and Montilla) designated as Denominación de Origen areas, the Spanish equivalent of France's Appellation d'origine controllée. Today there are over fifty-seven.
The prestigious DO designation has risen to about 25% of the total production of Spain's wine, with over 20 regions newly classified in the last 15 years.
Increasing prosperity in Spain gave rise to an affluent domestic market for wine, and with Spain's membership of the European community the door was open for export. The technological revolution in wine making, in particular the introduction of temperature-controlled fermenting methods, enabled the renovation of old wineries and the establishment of new ones.
Rioja
Rioja continues to be the premier winemaking region, with an annual production of nearly 400 million bottles. For decades Rioja was known for its smooth, mellow Tempranillo reds aged in old wood casks. The star product of the Spanish wine scene is red wine aged in oak casks (called crianza, reserva or gran reserva depending on the length of its stay in the wood). However, today Rioja wineries are also making reds which are still aged in wooden casks to give the distinctive flavour but the cask are of new wood and the result is more in keeping with modern tastes. La Rioja, is known to produce top quality wines and have strict official regulations concerning the origin of the wine to ensure the continuing prestige and to prevent fraud.
Manilva Bodegas
The Manilva Bodega is located as the name suggests in Manilva, a white village on the southwesterly edge of the Costa del Sol.
In 1970, local vine growers formed and associated which began by selling their grapes and then progressed onto producing muscatel wine. It wasn't until a well-known wine producer José Luis Sanchez arrived, that they started to branch out into dry white wines made exclusively from the Alexandria variety of Muscatel.
Interest created in the high quality wine resulted in an agreement José Luis Sanchez for further production and the radical modernisation of the original Bodega.
The dry and sweet white wines produced have a distinctive taste due to the exclusive use of 30 year-old plants producing quality Alexandria Muscatel grapes, the sun and the proximity to the sea. High quality wine is the main priority and only the best fruit are selected. Harvesting is done manually and the grapes are transported in boxes of 20kgs or less and fermentation is constantly monitored.
The company produces and sells three types of wine:
Castillo de la Duquesa
Castillo de la Duquesa is a fruity white dry wine. Recently it was awarded a Gold Medal at the first International Wine Exhibition of Marbella, the Bronze Bacchus and listed as the best white wine of Andalucia (within its category). Señorío de Atienza Señorio de Atienza is the traditional sweet wine of Manilva. Perfect as an aperitif and as a dessert wine. Señorío de Atienza Crianza en French Oak Señorío de Atienza Crianza is also the same Manilva sweet wine elegant character, the perfect match between oak and Muscatel. A small quantity of red was also produced from Cabernet Sauvignon
Cava
Cava is a Spanish "sparkling wine", considered to the Spanish equivalent of Champagne and is produced using the same method as Champagne, using Spanish grapes and is in northern Spain and not the Champagne region of France. (For example, Cava made in the traditional methode champenois are aged for a minimum of 18 to 24 months prior to releasing).
Ninety-nine percent of Cava in Spain is made in the northwest region - in the Penedès area of Catalonia and the other 1% randomly dotted throughout the country.
The grapes traditionally used for Cava - Macabeo, Xarello, and Parellada - make Cava a light, white, fruity, perfumed wine. There are approximately 250 Cava producers in Spain, with most falling within the boundaries of the defined region legally able to use the 'denomination of origin' Cava designation on their labels.
Catalan Cava, produced in the Penedes region in Cataluña, is a popular sparkling wine, which has allowed it to compete with French champagnes on the international market. Cava from Cataluña has now become the world's largest exporter of sparkling wines.
One of the most popular sparkling wines in the United States, Freixenet is a Spanish Cava. Out of the 130 million bottles of Cava produced each year, Freixenet accounts for over 60% of the volume.
Brandy
In the 17th Century, the wine trade was very important to many shippers. Some shippers began to bring cheap Portuguese wine to Britain, to sell it for a profit. They did not want to 'waste' valuable cargo space with it, though, so they boiled out all of the water before loading it, and on the other end simply added water back in. At some point, someone tasted the distilled liquid, and decided it tasted even better than the end result wine!
The first brandies were mostly made with the ugni blanc grape - the ones being used in the original wines. Now, however, there are a vast variety of grapes used in brandy, depending on where the brandy comes from.
Jerez, Spain is known for their Brandies, made in the solera system, where younger wines are added to the older ones in a cascading barrel arrangement. There are also many fruit brandies in production around the world.
In Spain Brandy is usually enjoyed after a meal. They are an excellent accompaniment to nut and apple desserts, or on their own. Different to the UK, it is believed that it should be served in a thin glass, which should be held by the stem - not the bowl. Warming the glass causes the alcohol to evaporate too quickly, drowning out the fruit aromas