Read Decoding Spanish Wine A Beginner Guide to the High Value World Class Wines of Spain Andrew Cullen Ryan McNally 9781722643881 Books

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The only thing I knew about Spanish wine is that I liked to drink it. So, I ordered this book wanting to know more. I found "Decoding Spanish Wine" to be a nice concise guide that provides some historical context to my random Spanish wine choices. Additionally, the chapter on Spanish wine regions provided information that I doubt I would have found elsewhere. However, my favorite chapter, although I wish it had been longer, was the one pointing me to the 10 value bottles to look for in Spanish wine. My search begins.
My "a ha" wine moment more than a decade ago was a bottle of Hacienda Monasterio Reserva Especial in a restaurant in Denver. None of the wine I'd had before tasted that great and thus begun my wine obsession.

Understanding how they make wine (and label it) in Spain is pretty daunting, probably second only to Burgundy in complexity. A couple years ago, I took a trip to Spain with the wife to figure it out for myself. We were there for a week and post-trip, I felt like I finally had a grasp on the grapes, the regions, the techniques, the rules and the labeling of Spanish wine.

While I wouldn't trade the memories made (and the wines we experienced) for the world, most of what I learned relative to the ins and outs Spanish wine can be found in this book. It's a terrific primer to take away the complexity involved in figuring out what you're getting when you peruse the "Spain" section at a wine store.

Recommend it to beginners and enthusiasts alike.