Spain $16 for 5 pours with 3 additional for purchase.

Spain sits among the world’s most important wine countries, with over one million hectares under vine across 139 wine-producing regions. But while Spanish wine is no longer unfamiliar to the U.S. wine trade and consumers alike, the sheer range of quality wines produced across this Iberian country is often underestimated.

To classify the wines of Spain under a single style or character would be impossible. This is a country of exceptional diversity, with vines planted across a huge range of climates and geographies. Vineyards stretch from the lush and rainy coasts of Green Spain to the extreme and arid plains of the Meseta, from the valleys carved by the Ebro River to the volcanic Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa.

The sheer number of grape varieties also widens the spectrum of Spanish wines. More than 200 grape varieties are grown here, from international favorites to the country’s many local specialties, like Tempranillo, Mencía, Albariño, and Verdejo. While local winemakers carry on the traditions passed down through Spain’s winemaking history, they also look to push their industry forward, experimenting with styles and increasingly focusing on organic viticulture.

Pardevalles 2024 Albarín Blanco Tierra de Leon $20 - Tierra de León (officially DO León) is a Spanish wine region in the southern province of León, specialized in intense, structured reds and unique rosés made from the indigenous Prieto Picudo grape. Located at 750–800m altitude with alluvial, rocky soils, this continental climate region also produces crisp white wines using Albarín and Godello. Albarín Blanco is a rare, indigenous white grape variety from Asturias and León in northwestern Spain, distinct from the more common Albariño. It is known for producing highly aromatic, crisp, and high-acid wines with prominent floral, pear, and citrus notes, sometimes displaying a slightly bitter, refreshing finish.

Bodegas Olivares Altos de la Hoya 2023 Monastrell Jumilla $15 - Jumilla is renowned for its old-vine Monastrell wines, whose depth and complexity and intense fruitiness convey the Mediterranean character of its land and history.

Rivarey Rioja Crianza 2020 $14 - With more than 600 wineries, 14,800 winegrowers, and centuries of history, Rioja is Spain’s leading wine region. Not only was it the first Spanish region to be awarded Denominación de Origen (DO) status in 1925, but it was also the first to be elevated to the prestigious Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) status, in 1991. Nearly 30 years later, there are still only two regions in Spain (out of 67) that have met the stringent standards for DOCa classification.

Rioja is most well known for its red wines, which are made primarily from the Tempranillo grape variety and aged in the region’s huge collection of oak barrels—a tradition tied to the long and winding history of Rioja itself. Many wineries are more than a century old, and quality winemaking techniques honed over generations have been passed down to today’s Rioja winemakers.

Vera de Estenas Bobal Utiel-Requena 2024 $18 - Recently, a handful of quality-minded growers, using artisanal farming and vinification, are producing highly individual wines with true complexity.

Bodegas Monteabellon 2024 Tempranillo “Avaniel Ribera del Duero $19 - One of Spain’s top red wine–producing regions, Ribera del Duero is located in the northwest of the country, about two hours north of Madrid, in the center of Castilla y León, Spain’s largest autonomía, or state. Ribera del Duero runs from the east of Aranda del Duero westward to Valladolid. 

Bonus Wines

Guimaro 2024 Ribeira Sacra Tinto $25 - Ribeira Sacra is probably the DO with the most dramatic wine-growing landscape in Spain. It is in the heart of Galicia, an autonomous community in the far north-west of Spain, within the provinces of Lugo and Ourense. The canyons of the River Sil are especially known for their breathtaking beauty and depth, a spectacular landscape of sheer, almost vertical walls and scattered plots of vineyards.

Pecina 2019 Rioja Crianza $27 - With more than 600 wineries, 14,800 winegrowers, and centuries of history, Rioja is Spain’s leading wine region. Not only was it the first Spanish region to be awarded Denominación de Origen (DO) status in 1925, but it was also the first to be elevated to the prestigious Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) status, in 1991. Nearly 30 years later, there are still only two regions in Spain (out of 67) that have met the stringent standards for DOCa classification.

Rioja is most well known for its red wines, which are made primarily from the Tempranillo grape variety and aged in the region’s huge collection of oak barrels—a tradition tied to the long and winding history of Rioja itself. Many wineries are more than a century old, and quality winemaking techniques honed over generations have been passed down to today’s Rioja winemakers.

Álvaro Palacios 2022 Priorat Les Terrasses $53 - The name Priorat derives from the Latin. The Priory of Scala Dei gives name to the region. There is an interesting story about why the Carthusian monks decided to establish in the Priorato de Scala Dei. It was around 1163. A shepherd told a priest about a vision he had: angels descended from a celestial ladder. Soon after the monks started the construction of the Priorato de Scala Dei: the priory of the stairway of God. A small village grew next to the Priorato to provide service to its needs and the region took the name of the monastery. Monks were gone a long time ago but the ruins of the monastery remained and are actually being restored. One of the wineries in Priorat holds the name of Scala Dei and its wines are actually produced at the old priory cellars.