5 BEST Spanish Wine Styles (Vermouth, Red, White, Cava, Sherry)!

I may be biased, but the wine in this country is mind-blowing. Spanish vino is plentiful, it's beautifully priced, and it tastes so good. I'm James Blick, co-founder of Devourer Spain, and in the last few months we've launched a bunch of tapas and wine tours here in Madrid and in Barcelona, Seville and Malaga. And while we were working on those, it made me realize that, well, I've never made a video about Spanish wine, something that's dangerously close to my heart. So on these tours, we introduce our guests to some of the styles of wine you have to try here in Spain, and that's what I'm going to do in this video. We're going to go to five fantastic Madrid tapas bars, and I'm going to introduce you to five styles of wine that you must try when you visit Spain. For our first wine, we're going to try something you'll have heard of before, but never probably given the credit it deserves. And we're going to try it in here at Casa Labra. This place has been open for over 150 years. We come here on our tapas and wine tour of Madrid, and the guests love it. So what the hell is this? It's brumuc. As I say, you've heard of it, but you're probably thinking martini when you think brumuc, and that's like the international brand of brumuc. It's not particularly interesting. But here in Spain, we drink Spanish brumuc. And in Madrid, we drink it on tap. Also drink it in Barcelona as well. And it's actually a white wine that's been fortified. It has about 15% alcohol. It's been colored and sweetened with caramel, and it's been aromatized with wonderful botanicals. And the upshot is a wine that's sweet, slightly bitter, and very, very boozy. Okay, now a personal favorite. This next place is the real deal, a true diamond in the rough, run by Mother Ana and her two sons. Public service announcement. When you think of Spain, don't just think red. This country is making incredible whites. It's not traditionally known for its whites, but more and more, particularly in the northwest of the country, there's some incredible whites being made. Here we are in Ricla, this wonderful bar we come to on one of our tapas and wine tours in Madrid. And the pairing of this wine, which is albarin, not albarino, from Leon, with Ana, the mother's famous anchovies, this is a match made in heaven. I could live here. I do live here. I've had a vermouth, I've had a white, I'm starting to get my groove on. I'm feeling it flooding my veins. Next stop, Spain's totally unappreciated sparkling wine, Cava. Move over, champagne. Let's hit it. Here's the rub. So many people, when they think of Cava, think it's poor man's champagne. It's so unfair to Cava. Spain's sparkling wine. You know, this stuff is made in the exact same method that champagne is made. Little tip, Prosecco is not made in that way. And what happens is it's made using native Catalan or Spanish grapes, but also it's made obviously in Spain. That's the only difference. So when you're in Madrid, Barcelona, anywhere else in Spain, make sure you try this stuff. This place is run by a couple of brothers, Mario and David, and it is fantastic for drinking wine. They have so many great wines by the glass from little regions all over Spain. Okay, next stop. It's time to right a wrong. People bitch and moan constantly about sherry, thinking it's just a sickly sweet wine for drunk grandmas at Christmas. Well, it's time to buck up your ideas. I'm going to tell you about sherry in this place, an Andalusian bar called Zaluca. Most of sherry is bone dry. It's not sweet. These are all dry, these wines here. Sherry is considered one of the kings of great wine. It's so complex. It's so interesting. It's so fascinating. And it's so reasonably priced. I've got three here, three different styles, and they're very, very different, all made from the same grade. Mantanillas are crisp and saline and light and perfect for combining with like fried fish. Imagine a really hot summer's day in Seville and you've got a plate of fried fish next to you. Oh, nuttier, little fuller, still crisp, still acidic, but it's got some sort of dried fruits and things like that. Boom. This stuff is big. It's rich. You could have this with stewed meat. It'd be perfect to have with dinner. You know, a lot of people also think about sherry that's only for before dinner, or if it's sweet, it's after dinner. These styles you can have with dinner. Go to your liquor store, go to your wine shop, buy a bottle of great sherry, and don't tell me you don't like it until you've finished that bottle. Next stop, the elephant in the room, red wine. The most common red wine grape in Spain is Tempranillo. You probably have heard of it before, but you would never walk into a bar in Spain and ask for a Tempranillo. Here in Spain, like in France or Italy, you order by the region, and two of the most common red wine regions are Rioja and Rivera del Duero. Now, both are made using majority Tempranillo grapes, but you have to walk in and ask for the region because they're actually quite different. This place, La Cisna, is in Madrid. It opened about six months, nine months ago, and man, these guys have an incredible list of wines by the glass from regions from all over Spain, because remember, there are 69 wine regions in Spain. Explore the variety. Double fist if you need to. And so, if you enjoyed the video, remember to give it a like, and if you want to see more videos from me, God forbid, about how we eat, drink, live, and love in Spain, then subscribe to my channel. And if you want to take a great tapas and wine tour while you're in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, or Malaga, then check us out at devourspain.com. Happy New Year, everybody.