House Wines in Spain

While I am writing about a specific wine here, this post is about a general topic. And the topic is that house wines in Spain suck. They do. House wines in some parts of Europe, Italy in particular and to a large extent Hungary, tend to be good. In Italy I have tasted house wines at rock bottom prices that were better than many on the wine list. In fact, it is really hard to get a bad house wine in Italy, north or south and for a casual lunch and even for dinner, I would highly recommend going with this inexpensive option.

This is not the case with Spain. I have yet to have decent house wine in Spain. Admittedly they are cheap, but they taste like it too. Case in point is the table wine (Vino de Mesa) named Donate from the cellar Cosecheros Embotelladores. I tasted this wine in Toledo, the former capital of Spain, just outside of Madrid, along with lunch. The lunch was the daily menu of three courses at 10 euros, including a half bottle of red wine. Now I admit at these prices (essentially free) I should not expect Vega Sicilia, but I would prefer that the wine was a bit better and the menu was 12 euros. Spain, look at how Italy is working this one! You guys produce some of the best wines in the world, please make sure your house wines also meet at least minimum quality standards. That’s it, I just needed to get this off my chest.

Name: Donate, Cosecheros Embotelladores, NV

Rating: 5 out of 10

Body: Light

Price: Almost Free

Got it at: Restaurant in Toledo, Spain