The wine most associated with Spain may not be Rioja at all, but rather, Sherry (a corruption of Jerez, the city at the epicenter of Sherry production). Sherry starts life as any other wine, crushed and fermented to 12 to 16 degrees alcohol. But then neutral spirit is added to raise the alcoholic strength another couple of degrees. At this point, some casks develop a growth of floating yeast called flor. This protects the wine from oxidation, and these are destined to become fino, the lightest and driest of all Sherries. Other casks don't develop this flor, and oxidation renders   More

The wine most associated with Spain may not be Rioja at all, but rather, Sherry (a corruption of Jerez, the city at the epicenter of Sherry production). Sherry starts life as any other wine, crushed and fermented to 12 to 16 degrees alcohol. But then neutral spirit is added to raise the alcoholic strength another couple of degrees. At this point, some casks develop a growth of floating yeast called flor. This protects the wine from oxidation, and these are destined to become fino, the lightest and driest of all Sherries. Other casks don't develop this flor, and oxidation renders them darker and heavier; these wines form the broad category oloroso. Sometimes an outlier style may develop, one that combines the depth and breadth of an oloroso with the finesse and elegance of a fino. This rara avis is known as palo cortado. A fino that has been allowed to mature beyond the lifespan of its flor, deepening in color and developing nutty aromas, is called an amontillado. "Cream" sherry is a sweetened oloroso drunk with, or as, dessert. A similar wine, but even denser and more viscous, is produced in the Montilla-Moriles region from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Finally, it should be noted that Spain is a formidable source of sparkling wine (called Cava here). Catalonia, more specifically Penedès, produces 95% of it. Much of it is forgettable, but there is a handful of producers making "serious" Champagne-method bubbly.   Less