Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Posted by : John Ross on Dec 28, 2007 - 11:17 AM FoodAndDrink

While I was researching the Map of Wine Regions of Spain, I did a comparison of the different Spanish wine DOs in terms of value for money - the Aragonese region Somontano came out best. I also took a look at Robert Parker's top-rated Spanish wines and where they come from. In this case, the winery Bodega Artadi in the Alavese Rioja is a clear winner, which directly conflicts with the value for money rating, in which the Rioja region came in unimpressively at position 34. Read more about Spanish wine regions.

In the value-for-money rating, the top 15 denominaciones de origen were:
1. Somontano
2. Alella
3. Calatayud
4. Rueda
5. Toro
6. Pla i Llevant (on the island of Majorca)
7. Campo de Borja
8. Jumilla
9. Ribera del Duero
10. Bierzo
11. Jeréz-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda
12. Alicante
13. Navarra, province of Navarre
14. Pla de Bages, province of Barcelona
15. Penedès

But Robert Parker's Top 50 Spanish wines includes only these 7 wine DOs, in order of frequency of appearance:

1. Rioja
2. Ribera del Duero
3. Priorat
4. Jumilla
5. Toro
6. Jeréz-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda
7. Cava

Four of these regions have already appeared in the value-for-money list:

Ribera del Duero
Jumilla
Toro
Jeréz-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

It is at interesting how Sherry maintains its place, and that the wine regions of the north of Spain, Old Castile, remain at the top of most rankings. And significant that Rioja has moved from being a bargain quality wine to simply a quality wine.