Traveller S Wine Guide To Spain

Spain has more land under vine than any other country in Europe, and over the past thirty years has transformed its wine industry into one of the greatest in the world. Using a unique combination of native and imported grape varieties, Spain now produces a wide range of quality wines. Yet its wine regions and villages, many of which are located in unspoiled and remote areas, remain relatively unknown. The authors introduce the wine-loving traveller to these regions providing a background to their wines and leading bodegas, or wineries.

Spain has more land under vine than any other country in Europe, and over the past thirty years has transformed its wine industry into one of the greatest in the world. Using a unique combination of native and imported grape varieties, Spain now produces a wide range of quality wines. Yet its wine regions and villages, many of which are located in unspoiled and remote areas, remain relatively unknown. The authors introduce the wine-loving traveler to these regions providing a background to their wines and leading bodegas, or wineries.

Describes each of the wine regions of Spain, offers background information on the history of wine making in Spain, and offers practical tourist information

¡Vino! explores the history and identity of Spanish wine production from the mid-nineteenth century to today. Nineteenth-century infestations of oidium fungus and phylloxera aphids devastated French and Italian vineyards but didn’t extend to the Iberian Peninsula at first, giving Spanish vintners the opportunity to increase their international sales. Once French and Italian wineries rebounded, however, Spanish wine producers had to up their game. Spain could not produce only table wine; it needed a quality product to compete with the supposedly superior French wines. After the Spanish Civil War the totalitarian Franco regime turned its attention to Spain’s devastated agricultural sector, but the country’s wine industry did not rebound until well after World War II. In the postwar years, it rebranded itself to compete in a more integrated European and international marketplace with the creation of a new wine identity. As European integration continued, Spanish wine producers and the tourism industry worked together to promote the uniqueness of Spain and the quality of its wines. Karl J. Trybus explores the development of Spanish wine in the context of national and global events, tracing how the wine industry has fared and ultimately prospered despite civil war, regional concerns, foreign problems, and changing tastes.

Spain has been popular as a holiday and retirement destination and has become important as a focus for commercial life. This second edition has been updated and revised to provide information for anyone planning to live in Spain, either on a temporary or permanent basis and whether for business, professional purposes, study, leisure or retirement. The book offers an account of Spain's variegated lifestyles and how to cope.