How Spain Has One of the Best (and Most Affordable) Wine Scenes in the World

And not just because of the Spanish wine

An essay for my paid subscribers today. If you’re planning a trip to Spain this year, this might just be the motivation you need to buy those flights.

As a reminder, paid subscribers get access to everything The Sauce has to offer, from essays on Martha Stewart to recipes to in-depth food and drink travel guides (so you’ll actually know where to go for the great value wine I’m about to tell you all about).

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Nowhere makes me happier than Cork bar in Bilbão

It looked fancy, the restaurant. All white tablecloths and suited waiters. The menu wasn't cheap either, seafood never is.

But it wasn’t the price of the food that worried me as we sat down in a Málaga restaurant famous for its great seafood and great wine. It was how expensive the wine might be.

I sat down, positioning myself across from the wine wall, as is my MO. You want to see what you’re dealing with before that list hits the table. Within 10 seconds I’d figured out this was going to be a good wine list. If all I could afford was the house wine, it would be a sad day indeed.

I didn’t need to worry. Once I got my thirsty little hands on the list and scanned the prices, I grinned at my husband Sam, eyes lit up.

I know that face! This is a good value list, eh Charlie?

Of course it was, because this was Spain. Every time I visit (which right now is about once every six weeks) I marvel at the value of good quality wine in this country.

Not only that but they are unafraid to sell good — no, great — wine from other countries alongside the local offering.

I would go so far as to argue that Spain has one of the best wine scenes in the world. It’s affordable and wide-reaching. That doesn’t just go for large, wine-soaked cities like Madrid or Barcelona. It goes for smaller towns and cities too (although arguably not all of them).

When it comes to wine scenes, Spain is my kind of country.

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I hope you enjoy reading The Sauce as much as I enjoy writing it. This is a reader-supported publication. Your paid subscriptions mean I have the time to research and write about food culture as an independent entity. No #sponcon, just a whole lot of commentary about how food and drink fit into modern society.

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To know why Spain is such good value, you have to know how wine markups work. I don’t want to assume you know — as much as I don’t want to assume you don’t know —so I’ll skip through wine markup economics 101 in three quick points. Bear in mind I’m talking about wines by the bottle here, not by the glass: