It would be a mistake to say that every great wine have a great label. Also, a flashy label doesn’t certify the quality of the drink. However, an innovative label can lead you to try some new and interesting options you wouldn’t have thought of.

May 1st, Labor Day, is a holiday and to celebrate nothing better than a glass of wine... A great way to discover new flavors along with a wide range of cuisine! Pair the wine with a snack or a special meal and enjoy this day with your loved ones. 

The Albariño grape is a white variety grown mainly in Galicia and more specifically in the area of the Rias Baixas appellation. It is also widely used in the northern Portugal area of Vinho Verde.

Many of you have commented on the previous post on Twitter, missing some white grape types. As discussed, the post was talking about some white grapes. However, since your wish is my command, here are some more, so you can buy wine knowing what flavor you seek:

Verdejo

The verdejo grape has boomed since the late years, when has jumped from Rueda, where it originated and was the “queen”, to many other areas now investigating and working it with relative success. Verdejo wines usually have a very light color, something that is taken as a merit, and a flavor somewhere between sour and bitter (sour at first, and slightly bitter aftertaste at the end). Hence, people identify the sour aromas of the grape with those from green apple, citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit), and even pineapple and banana. A good verdejo wine usually comes pretty inexpensive compared to other grapes, like the Afortunado 2010, which is really delicious.

Malvasia

Malvasia is a grape that produces intense golden yellow wines, with aromas of peach, litchi, pineapple... In the same manner verdejo is midway between sour and bitter, malvasia is halfway between sour and sweet, although the latter usually prevails. This plant is very delicate, so there are no great malvasia vineyards, but is often used to give a sweet touch to some white wines, except in the Canary Islands, producing great wines of this variety, for example, El Grifo Malvasia Seco 2011.

Macabeo (or viura)

The macabeo/viura is one of the most widespread grapes, since it resists the cold very well and is sensitive to Botrytis, a mold that is used to elaborate certain sweet wines such as Tokay. It produces a wine with delicate aromas of fresh grass, hay, white flowers and pale yellow color with green shades, slightly alcoholic. Ideal for white rice or gnocchi. It is widely used as a mixture for the production of cava. There are not many macabeo varietal wines, which tend to be very dry. Still, there are good white wines from macabeo such as Albet I Noya 3 Macabeus 2009, a special and delicate wine.

Muscat

We continue with the muscat grape, which can be both red and white, though normally used only in white wines. As the grape skin is what gives color to the wine, when using the red muscat grapes, the must has to be separated from the skin immediately, in order to avoid its coloration. Still, muscat wines tend to be amber or copper colored. As malvasia, it contains quite sugar, so usually holds up well over time, and the raisin can be used to make sweet wines (the muscat wines we have ever known). It has aromas of honey, peaches in syrup, candied fruits... A very good young muscat wine (less sweet) at a great price is Reymos, from the appellation of origin Valencia.

Riesling

Finally, although there are still many, we end, at least for today, with the riesling, a grape which produces wines with very light colors with bright highlights, and aromas of green apple, citrus and orange flowers. It is a wine with low alcohol and is used especially in cold areas, since otherwise it can be poorly aromatic. If you want to try a tasty wine from this grape, Sumarroca elaborates the Sumarroca Riesling 2011, which has very good value for money.

It's no secret that some of the most celebrated wine specialties are produced in the Bordeaux region. This is the case of the Barsac wine, a delight for your senses, made in white grape calcareous soils.

Among the specialties that comprise it highlights the Sémillon grape giving smoky hints, and Sauvignon Blanc, very fresh. We also found the variety of Muscadelle, with aromas of spices. The result is a wine of superb quality, among which are located world's best. Being a young wine, it's fruity and smooth, and eventually takes a peculiar personality with a smashing taste. Read more

Albariño wines are among the best-known wines, popular and appreciated.. We have several varieties ranging from excellence a bit expensive to others quite renowned at a very affordable price for all budgets.

Speaking of Albariño is thinking about Galicia, a noble land of wines and large areas of vineyards who has been able to sell and export these varieties, headed by the Rias Baixas.

Elegant, soft, well balanced and powerful at the same time offering a very distinguished white wine that goes perfectly for the season in which we are now. If you're traveling for tourism in Galicia during these months, please take a glass of Albariño and take some bottles home too.

This is the best investment for moments of leisure! Read more

When we speak about the wines best rated in the guides, we always have the same idea: small production, long stay in barrels, selected grapes and huge prices. It is the general idea, for example, among the 10 best wines of Spain in 2011, according to Parker.

Well this year Robert Parker scores have yielded a surprise to us: wine Rua Blanco 2010, of the Bodega Cooperativa Virgen de las Viñas, has been rated with 90 points, quite high score, especially having in mind that the wine at issue is worth ... 1 euro and fifty cents.

To give you an idea, you can check the best wines of Catalonia in 2011, according to Parker. The best rated white wine is Coma Blanca 2009, with 93 points, and it sells for around 36 euros. 30 times more than the cost of the Rua Blanco, who has become the revelation of the season.

Robert Parker's only values, by principle, wine with a distribution in the U.S., because although its influence is worldwide, its market is mainly the U.S. Over there the price of this White Rua 2010 is considerably higher (between 7 and $ 38) due to transport costs and customs, and it varies depending on the specific laws of each state. Still, the price is affordable compared to other wines. But in Spain the wine is sold at a dollar and a half, which caused an immediate flurry of orders to the warehouse.

In addition, another of the wines they make, the Tempestad Godello has obtained even a highest score, 92 points, and it also has an excellent price: Uvinum sells this wine at a great pice, just over 6 euros. So if you want to buy cheap wine, you know...

A few years ago, Robert Parker caused a similar effect when he evaluated the Las Rocas Garnacha Vinas Viejas 2003 vintage saying: "This must be the biggest breakthrough in my 25 years of work." He added: "Without doubt, the best value in Europe that I found in my 25 year career." Back Then the wine was sold between 1 and$ 3. Today Las Rocas Garnacha Vinas Viejas 2008 worth 11.50 euros, and still remains as one of the most popular wines in the U.S.

White wines of France are not, probably, the first- to come to mind when you think of our neighbor country. The red wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rhône are top rated in the guides and those who carry the greatest fame, but if we look at white wines you will notice that French white wines have enough quality and diversity to make out of France one of the countries with the best white wines in the world.

We will approach to some types of French white wines which are recognized worldwide: Read more

One of the most beautiful mysteries of wine is the constant evolution that suffers. The same bottle, tested several days apart, can develop different nuances. This is because wine is housed with a multitude of bacterial that changes and changes the characteristics of the beetled wine.

In the barrels significant changes takes place too, when the wine's contact with the wood of the barrel due to the particles that fall off from wood and mix with the liquid.

But one of the most important changes and less significance is the vine itself, which over the years builds up grapes with different characteristics. That means that each year the wine is unique and unrepeatable, because factors will never be exactly the same again.

Classic questions in those who approach to the world of wine tasting are on the aromas. How does this wine smell? What should you smell? The smell of one thing or another, is it good or bad?
If you've ever seen in movies the classic sketch in which an expert is able to reveal the vintage, type of grape, the origin, the make and even if the keeper of the wine cellar had cached a cold in October, you cannot help feeling frustrated, when then you go and smell a wine and you’re not able to identify any does things. However, it is normal at first not to know how does the wine you taste exactly smells. 

In my case, the transition has been far more natural than that. I tasted a wine, and if I liked it I would look at the label and tried to remember the name. Later, what type of grape was? In varietal wines, went gradually finding matches between a Chardonnay, for example, and a different grape. So I learned the aromas given off by each grape.
I could not name the aromas, but I knew the difference between a Macabeo and Riesling.
I always recommend start on tasting white wine, because the range of aromas are much different between each other (floral, fruit, herbs, honey ,...) than red wines, which can also include aromas of barrel aging .