Andalusia GUERRERO Normandy VALUE! Victoria Spirit
Andalusia, in the south of Spain, is surely the quintessential Spanish wine region. Here we find all the color and passion of this ancient country, the streets ringing with flamenco music, and wines being enjoyed with gusto at every pavement cafe. The viticultural history of Andalusia is so old, that nobody really knows when it began - it could have been started by the ancient Greeks, or by the earlier Phoenicians who certainly used the peninsula as a trading post. Whoever got it started certainly did a good job, however, as by the time the Romans moved in, the wine industry was already well established, and it has barely faltered since.
Today, the most famous wines made in Andalusia are surely the Sherries, those beautiful, aromatic fortified wines, which come out of the city of Jerez and which are made from the characterful native Palomino grape. Sherry is not the be all and end all of Andalusian produce, however - the region is also highly appreciated for the sweet dessert wines of Malaga and Montilla Moriles, as well as the beautifully refined dry red and white wines from the region’s other DO (Denomination de Origen), Condado de Huelva which are quickly gaining popularity outside of Spain.
The Australian region of Victoria is the country's most historically significant wine region, with vine cultivation and wine production going on there since the mid 19th century. In those times, Victoria produced over half of all Australia's wines. However, today, despite having a huge number of wineries, Victoria has begun to focus on quality over quantity – many of the six hundred wineries based in this region produce wines made from lesser known grape varietals, often producing fascinating wines full of character, but made from vines with far lower yields and a considerably smaller audience. Today, most of the viticulture in Victoria takes place near the cool, coastal region around Melbourne. However, recent years have seen irrigation projects help wine makers grow vines in the more arid parts of the region, with a wide range of grapes now being grown.