The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly...

Yet as much as that sentence was crafted to help her correctly pronounce the English language, a meteorologist she ain't. Having just traversed some 1,000 kilometres of the Meseta Central or the Inner Plateau of Spain in the Castilla y Leon region just last week, I can confirm it hasn't rained on the plain since early June and it's likely when the rain does finally arrive the amount of precipitation will not add up to anything.

The golden brown tones of the Spanish countryside are broken only by the chaotic, irregular shaped mostly tempranillo vineyards of withering bush vines looking exhausted postharvest. Life is anything but easy for grape vines in northwest Spain. Even if Spain boasts the largest number of hectares under vine in the world, about 1.1 million hectares (compare that with B.C.'s 3,946 hectares), its total production in hectolitres ranks third globally behind France and Italy thanks to naturally low yields stemming from barely fertile, marginal vineyard sites coupled with a reduced water supply.

Castilla y Leon is the largest recognized constituency in Spain, or Europe for that matter, and its ability to foster quality wine is reflected by its nine Denominaciones de Origen, or DOs (wines with Designation of Origin), plus a further eight districts dedicated to superior wine production. Its best known DOs: Ribera del Duero, Cigales, Rueda, Toro, Bierzo, Arlanza, Arribes, Tierras de León and Tierra del vino de Zamora boast some 400 bodegas. Add to that some 200 wine-growing districts of

"Vinos de la Tierra" and you have an armada of Spanish wine.

The bad news is the vast majority of wineries do not sell any wine in Vancouver. It seems they can't see past Toronto and Montreal. In the classic chicken/egg scenario, we don't drink a lot of Spanish wine so we don't see a lot of Spanish winemakers, which is shame given what's going on in the New Spain. I'm loath to suggest grape names such as godello, mencia, verdejo, viura, tempranillo, tinto fino and tinto del Toro do not help, but surely those days are fading.

The facts are Castilla y Leon is overrun with 60-, 70-and 80-year-old bush vines that produce grapes for red wine that sells in Europe for five or six euros per bottle. They could all be here on the shelf for less than $15. The region's top wines, led by some amazing bottles from Bierzo grown at 600 to 700 metres where the flora and fauna of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean collide in a magical patchwork of old hillside vineyards, sell at equally moderate prices from between 25 to 40 euros ($28-$56).

This week we look at six labels that will at least give you a taste of the region and there will be more to come. As an aside, if I owned a Vancouver restaurant I'd bypass one trip to New York, San Francisco, London or Paris each year and instead spend a week in the Spanish countryside to see what simplicity in local food is all about.

The Esperanza 2010 Verdejo - Viura Rueda is a good example of the new Castilla-Leon white. Expect a medium-rich nose and palate with honey, mango, and lime rind aromas. The attack is slightly softer with more grapefruit, guava and lemon grass with bits of mineral. A great bet for simply prepared shellfish dishes.

The Telmo Rodriguez Basa Rueda 2009 is a delicious blend of verdejo, viura and Sauvignon Blanc awash in crisp, juicy fruit with creamy textures. Grapefruit, mineral, gooseberry, passion fruit, melon rind and green apple flavours mark its palate with a smoky jalapeno finish. And it is now under screw cap which pretty much guarantees it will deliver all the above in spades.

Avoiding the heat is key to getting the Santa Cruz de Alpera Verdejo 2010 fresh and clean. The fruit is night harvested and fermented cool. The attack is fresh and crisp with super bright acidity on the mid-palate and finish. Look for a crisp citrus hit on the front of the palate with bits of guava and melon fruit throughout. Should be well suited to mussels. Crazy value at $13.

Speaking of value how about La Mano Mencia Roble 2007 a 100 per cent mencia red from Bierzo. Look for smoky, tobacco, peppery, cherry jam nose with bits of cranberry and dried meat. Round, dry, slightly tannic palate with peppery, meaty, smoky, garrigue, dried cherry and tobacco leaf flavours and bright acidity. A solid, Euro-style food wine perfect with hearty stews.

Pétalos 2008 is all about its old vine, 60-year plus mencia grape that is biodynamically farmed on several small hillside plots. Its mineral, floral, violet character stems from the rocky slate soils and old vines that Alvaro Palacios and Ricardo Perez Palacios, his nephew and co-proprietor, work with. You will love the warm, earthy nose and dark berry fruit flavours. This is serious stuff at a very unserious price.

Eternum Viti 2008 is made from 30-to 40-year-old Tinta de Toro vines 50 per cent of which is aged in new French oak barrels. Expect an inky black, red wine with a dollop of vanilla on the nose and bits of earth and black fruits. The palate is smooth and warm with more blackberry/blueberry fruit flavours. This wine needs five years to really come around but lamb chops would easily tame its fine grained tannins if you want to drink it now.

Esperanza 2010, Verdejo - Viura Rueda, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price: $16

UPC: 812205000187

Score: 87/100

Remarks: A great bet for simply prepared shellfish dishes.

Basa 2009 Blanco Rueda, Telmo Rodriguez, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price: $19

UPC: 08420759900017

Score: 89/100

Remarks: What a delicious bottle of white wine.

Santa Cruz de Alpera Verdejo 2010, Almansa, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Price: $13

UPC: 8437006205139

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Should be well suited to mussels. Good value.

La Mano Mencia Roble 2007, Bierzo, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price: $14

UPC: 008437003286233

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Solid, Euro-style food wine.

Pétalos 2008, Bierzo, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price: $29

UPC: 008437004566270

Score: 91/100

Remarks: Pétalos is all about the old vine, 60-years-plus mencia grape.

Eternum Viti 2008, Toro, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price: $25

UPC: 008437002948153 Score: 91/100

Remarks: Eternum Viti is made from 30-to 40-year-old Tinta de Toro vines.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Only+Spanish+wineries+sell/5627817/story.html#ixzz1cCsfoE5A