Vermentino Nero White Blend White Rhone Blend Spain Galicia Ribeiro

The Rhone region of France has been producing superb quality white blended wines for centuries, and is a region highly respected and esteemed around the world, with plenty of New World countries keen to emulate the styles and techniques displayed by the historic wineries and skilled vintners of the area. The secret to the Rhone's success when it comes to blended white wines is the careful and expert selection of certain grape varietals, which each lend special features to the blended wine and bring balance and harmony to the bottle. Most commonly, blended white Rhone wines feature no more than two grapes of either the Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne or Grenache Blanc varietals, and are renowned for their exceptional flavors and highly aromatic, floral character.

Ever since the Phoenicians and Romans brought their knowledge of vine cultivation to Spanish soils, the country's culture has grown alongside wine production, with wine being a vital part of Spanish identity and Spanish traditions. Each region of Spain has a wine quite distinct from the others, and it is produced by smallholders and families as much as it is by large companies and established wineries. From the relatively mild and lush regions of La Rioja to the arid plateaus that surround Madrid, grapes are grown in abundance for the now booming Spanish wine industry, and new laws and regulations have recently been put in place to keep the country's standards high. By combining traditional practices with modern technology, Spanish wineries are continuing to produce distinctive wines of great character, flavor and aroma, with the focus shifting in recent decades to quality over quantity.

The northern Spanish wine region of Galicia is a fascinating one indeed, and is most definitely a wine region to keep your eye on today and in the near future. Once an important center of viticulture and wine trade, Galicia suffered from a huge and devastating economic depression in the 19th century, leaving many of the vineyards untended and useless. However, the 20th century saw various organizations pour money into Galician wine making, thus rebooting the wine industry of this relative wet and windy region on the Atlantic coast. Today, the region is being celebrated for its superb and flavorful blended white wines, made from native grape varietals such as Albarino and Caino Blanca, and is continuing to rebuild itself and regain former glories.