Wine Atlas

The Spanish revolution, in the qualities of its wine, started more than 30 years ago.

Modern wineries, modern winemaking techniques and a drive for high style have given Spain and its artisans (old and new) a lot to offer.

Along with its neighbor Portugal, Spain is offering more variety and bang for the buck than any European country.

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First they rehabilitated the metal screw cap. Long despised as a sure sign of cheap, nasty "brown-bag" wines, the new-and-improved screw-off closure is winning wide recognition as a sound alternative for sealing even the finest wines without the risk of "cork taint" that afflicts a non-trivial portion of wines closed with natural tree-bark cork.

What's next? Try the much-maligned glass jug.

The familiar glass-handled bottle has been part of the English language since 1538, and it has been widely used to carry liquids in quantity from spring water to Appalachian "mountain dew." As a wine container, though, its image is decidedly downscale, so much so that "jug wine" has become a dismissive synonym for inexpensive table wine of such low merit that wine snobs wouldn't even consider it.

But now come Charles Bieler, Joel Gott and Roger Scommegna, the self-described "three thieves," also known as "the liberators of fine wine." In 2003 they took advantage of California's wine glut to acquire a quantity of decent Zinfandel in bulk. They put it in jug bottles (with screw caps, of course), labeled it "Three Thieves," and quietly moved it into the market in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles...

Source : wineloverspage.com