Dinner at Home

Spain's most important indigenous red grape is the Tempranillo. It is grown all over the country and is the backbone to the red wines of Rioja.

Tempranillo has a scent of light red fruit and is well suited to producing a full-bodied, but gently textured, style of oak-aged wine. In the past it was hardly ever noticeably tannic, but in an attempt to compete against the Cabernets and Merlots, modern producers have beefed it up a little by emphasizing the tannin.