Spanish Wine and Sherry: Regions, Pairings and What to Drink with Tapas

A plain-English guide to Spanish wine: the main regions, sherry from fino to PX, cava for the holidays and what to drink with jamón, Manchego and tinned fish.

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Spanish food and Spanish wine grew up together: fino with ham in Andalusia, Albariño with seafood in Galicia, cava with everything in Catalonia. You don’t need to be a wine expert to get it right — you need a few rules and the right bottle for the plate.

Spanish wine regions, explained

Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat, Rías Baixas, Rueda, Jerez and Cava: what each one makes and how to read the label (Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva). → Spanish wine regions explained

Sherry, explained

The most misunderstood wine in the world, and the best partner for ibérico ham. Fino, manzanilla, amontillado, oloroso, Pedro Ximénez. → Sherry explained

What to drink with Spanish food

Jamón, Manchego, tins, olives, tapas: the pairings that work, in one table. → Spanish wine pairing

Cava for the holidays

Spain’s traditional-method sparkling wine: sweetness levels, age categories and why it’s the best fizz for salty food. → Cava explained

Buying Spanish wine in the US

Amazon only delivers wine to some US states, through third-party sellers, so we don’t link to wine here. Take these guides to your local wine shop: the names of the regions and styles are all you need. The food, on the other hand, you’ll find linked throughout.

Please drink responsibly. You must be 21 or older to buy alcohol in the US.