Where to buy Spanish wine?

[jane]

I'm loving Spanish whites (especially txakoli) during this hot weather, and I've found a few at K&L and some others at the Spanish Table in Berkeley. Anybody know where else to find some good bottles? Thanks.

[zenki]

I think Ledger's Liquor at 1399 University in Berkeley carries Sspanish wines. It is a good store that looks like it carries only Thunderbird.

[Robert Lauriston]

Ledger's has an impressive Belgian and Belgian-style beer selection. Don't remember having been very impressed by their wine selection, but it's a short drive from the motherlode at Spanish Table, so easy to combine on one shopping trip. Vintage Berkeley also stocks a high percentage of Spanish stuff with occasional bottles you won't find elsewhere.

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Ledger's Liquors
1399 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

Vintage Berkeley
2113 Vine St, Berkeley, CA 94709

[Chuckles the Clone]

Almost forgot, I went by Odd Lots a month or two back and picked up five random bottles of Spanish reds, all different. They ranged from "eh" to "not overly bad". None was over $9. Selection changes pretty fast, so further guidance is impossible. The guy who runs the place is real helpful though; he tried to steer me away from all five of them but I was on a mission.

Definitely worth a shot if you're at the Spanish Table since it's just a mile or so norther on San Pablo.

Place linking is still broken for me, but here's the address if
someone else wants to add a placemark:

1025 San Pablo Avenue
(between Buchanan St & Marin Ave)
Albany, CA 94706

[lmnopm]

I had a nice basque white at the wine bar @ Solano Cellars in Albany recently. Although I haven't been there for ages, you might want to check out the Sabor of Spain (store next to the restaurant) in San Rafael.

[abe stein]

you never know what you might find at Giovanni's in El Cerrito. a lot of
their wines are in and out of stock quickly but lately I've seen a decent selection
of Spanish. mostly reds though.

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Giovanni's Produce & Grocery
1600 Liberty St, El Cerrito, CA 94530

[squash]

The Wine Club is a great places to get Spanish Wine

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Wine Club
953 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94107

[Robert Lauriston]

Wine Club stocks only a handful of Spanish whites. They have a good selection of reds.

[squash]

I heard about a wine shop in the Outer Richmond called Blackwell's Wines & Spirits

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Blackwell's Wines & Spirits
5620 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

[Chuckles the Clone]

The Spanish Table is about as good as it gets. One reason you're not seeing a
lot of white activity there is because there really isn't a lot of Spanish white. And
for the most part, what there is is mostly fermented garbage. And that's in Spain.

Spain is a deeply red country. Most whites are carbonated and sold as cava (which
can be very, very good) or fortified into vermut. Txakoli's a bit of an oddball; I'm not
sure I've ever seen it available in Spain outside the Basque country. The other
drinkable white is albariño from Galicia, which is the standard good Spanish white.
But in neither case is there really much depth to the style. If you've found something
you like, you might be best to just stick with it; there's unlikely to be anything better.

Now, if you're really looking for a traditional Spanish summertime drink, you can't
do better than a kalimotxo. Take a bottle of cheap but hearty red. Chill it. Put a couple
of ice cubes into an 8oz glass. Fill half with the wine, half with coke. Stir, add a lemon
twist. Guzzle. Repeat. Mmmmm!

[Robert Lauriston]

I've gotten dozens of good Spanish whites from Spanish Table, which must have a few hundred to choose from. I started a topic on the Wine board to discuss them:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/417620

[zin1953]

Chuckles, this post is factually incorrect is so many ways . . . .

>>> . . . there really isn't a lot of Spanish white. And for the most part, what there is is mostly fermented garbage. >> Most whites are carbonated and sold as cava <<<

CAVA is a méthode champenoise / méthode traditionelle sparkling wine, produced in the same, time-honored techniques employed at Chandon, Schramsberg, Korbel, etc. These are NOT "carbonated"; indeed, it is illegal to sell carbonated wines under the name CAVA.

Cheers,
Jason

[Chuckles the Clone]

I realize that. I guess I was unclear. I meant carbonated as an adjective, not a noun.

Rather than that, I was hoping someone would pick up on the "fermented garbage"
part of my note. Having lived, worked, visited family, eaten, and most of all drank
("drinked"?) in Spain for a considerable part of the past decade and a half, I don't
come to that characterization lightly. I can count the really great whites I've
had there on my left thumb. I was vaguely hoping that maybe all the good stuff
gets exported and someone could lead me to something worth finishing.

[Chuckles the Clone]

"as an adjective, not a noun."

verb, obviously.

[grinch]

I don't know much about Spanish wine, so can't say if the wines are 'good', but Trader Joe's alway has a selection.

[kramos]

How about the Jug Shop? Have ya checked there?

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Jug Shop Wine & Spirits
1590 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94109

[swag]

Jug Shop I'm sure can *get it*. But as typical of my experiences there, they won't *have it*. So special order it...

[whiner]

In SF proper there is always San Francisco Wine Trading Company. They aren't the cheapest and don't have the broadest selection, but they have a very well thought out selection and the staff there is incredible.

[Robert Lauriston]

Aka Mr. Liquor. Good place. Spanish inventory:

http://www.sfwtc.com/?option=com_cont...

[whiner]

Wow... It seems like last time I was there they had a MUCH broader Spanish selection. Hmmm...

[Lori SF]

good find thanks

[5 and Dime Eater]

San Francisco Wine Trading Company

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San Francisco Wine Trading Co
250 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

[Robert Lauriston]

Nobody has a selection as broad as Spanish Table's. That's the only store where I've seen the red txakoli.

Farmstead in Alameda has a very large Spanish selection for a store its size and some unusual bottles.

http://www.farmsteadcheesesandwines.com

[jane]

Thanks, Robert! Another excuse to visit Alameda, because I've been wanting to go to Speisekammer, that you mentioned a while ago.

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Speisekammer
2424 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[5 and Dime Eater]

Here's the location for Farmstead Cheeses & Wines

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Farmstead Cheeses & Wines
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

[jane]

Linking to K&L and the Spanish Table....

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K & L Wine Merchants
638 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Spanish Table
1814 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702