Spanish wine

There is more to Spanish wine than Rioja. I always find Rioja to be a little bit of a disappointment. This is perhaps because they were the first wine producing area in Spain to attract global attention  in the modern era. Rioja wines were always well marketed and promoted. That is, perhaps, the reason behind my occasional let downs with the produce of Spain's most celebrated wine region. However, as I intend to write mainly positive things in this blog, I will just say that my wife, Cheryl and I once had a stunning red from Rioja called - if memory serves - Luberri. This was a few years ago now when we were on a trip to Bilbao.
If I was in an unfamiliar part of Spain in a restaurant I didn't know, I would almost certainly choose a red wine from the Ribera del Duero. I have had some really memorable wines from this region and I am not alone in  my enthusiasm: Winston Churchill had an appetite for Vega Sicilia - famous for being the most expensive wines in Spain. 
On a trip to Zamora I enjoyed the wines of Toro. If you want a description of the town I recommend "As I walked out one midsummer morning" by the incomparable Laurie Lee. I remember being surprised by the fact that wines labelled joven (young) were extremely full bodied and often had an alcohol content of around 14%. Some of them were really exceptional. 
I normally prefer red wine to white wine, but I do not wish to ignore vino blanco. Albarino (I can't get the tilde over the n when I am blogging - sorry.) from Galicia is the perfect accompaniment to fish and seafood in general. It can be difficult to get here in the UK, but it is well worth the effort if you can find it.
I do not generally believe in the shibboleths about what wine goes with which food. And I am going to resist dropping into a rant here, suffice it to say that I think most adults are perfectly capable of choosing food and wine combinations to suit their own palates. 
Certain things are sacred though, like the combination of barbecues and rose wine. I have had some great pinks from the Somontano DO. The summers in this part of Aragon are incredibly hot: the Spanish special forces do their desert training there. Argentina (to broaden the theme out a little) also has some great roses. 
Next up, the wines from my beloved Extremadura. When Cheryl and I lived in the region, we used to enjoy a meaty red called Valdequemao or possibly Valdequemado. This was only 3 years ago and the price per bottle was under 2 Euros. Corte Real Platinum from Vinexsa has won so many awards that it hardly needs me to publicise it. Great people at this winery and loyal friends when I lived in the regionn.
However, if I cast my mind back to the best bottle of wine I have ever had, I would have to go back to our honeymoon in Mallorca. We found that restaurants that offered Cuina Mallorquina (Mallorcan cuisine in the mallorquin language) had the best foods and usually had wines from the island to accompany them. The two main wine producing areas on Mallorca are around the town of Binissalem and also around village of Andratx. It is a dangerous thing to recommend wines, but if you like full bodied reds, you can't go wrong on Mallorca. Salud!