Taking a gamble? Try Vicente Gandia’s Spanish wines

Buying wine sometimes feels like playing a game of roulette. You take a gamble and then hope you picked the right bottle. The location of the Wine Tasting & Lunch hosted by the Spanish Bodega Vicente Gandia is therefore well chosen. A selection of their wines is presented among the roulette tables of Holland Casino, accompanied by matching dishes. This is a winemaker that dares to take a little risk.

Less than a week after the German Prowein, Europe’s largest wine fair, a delegation from Vicente Gandia once again arrives on Amsterdam soil. To pour a Spanish glass for everyone who missed them at the fair. The Lido at Holland Casino may be a somewhat adventurous location for such a wine event, but it is nevertheless remarkably fitting. Because, just like the history-steeped Lido, Vicente Gandia also has a history to be proud of.

Bull’s-eye
The Valencian Gandia family has been active in the wine trade throughout Europe since 1885. In barrels. It was not until the 1960s that the winery decided to try its luck and start bottling its own wine. At the time, that was hardly a stroke of genius—the French, and in fact everyone else, had already been bottling away for years—but they were the first winery in the wider Valencia area to do so. The aim was less bulk and more quality. Today, they export their good value wines to 85 countries across five continents. Their bottled-wine venture proved to be a bull’s-eye, and many bodegas in Valencia soon followed their example.

No roulette at this winery. These guys know exactly what they’re doing.

Good value
At the Lido, Javier Gandia—the fourth generation already—talks passionately about his family’s wines. His bottles have long come from more than just Valencia. Today, they produce wine in almost all of Spain. Their first expansion was still right on their doorstep. They bought Bodega Hoya de Cadenas in Utiel-Requena, about 100 kilometres west of Valencia. An ecological paradise with vineyards as high as 800 metres. The exceptional microclimate and extreme temperature differences between day and night produce intense, aromatic grapes. The red Generación 1—featuring the typically Spanish Bobal grape—is a fine example.

But there is more on the table today: a wonderfully fresh Albariño from Rias Baixas, an elegant Verdejo from Rueda, a juicy 100-percent Bobal from Utiel-Requena, an oak-aged Tempranillo from Rioja, and a surprisingly subtle, sweet Muscatel from Valencia.

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All from Vicente Gandia. And each and every one is simply a perfectly good wine. At prices ranging from five to fifteen euros, they taste even better. Take that Verdejo. Wine made from the Verdejo grape—somewhat the Spanish Sauvignon Blanc—can sometimes taste a little flat and bitter to me. But this Nebla 2015 is fresh and floral at the same time. Its name refers to the morning mist in the vineyards before the sun drives away the chill of the night. Those dewdrops practically sparkle a little longer in your glass.

And then there is the Raiza Reserva Rioja 2011. This is clearly not a heavy, oaky Tempranillo powerhouse, but a beautifully and modernly crafted glass of wine. More refined and polished, with a touch of spice and earthiness.

This is a winemaker that dares to take a little risk.

Misty Verdejo & a game of roulette
Well. What do you do if you accidentally end up in a casino on a weekday? Try your luck, of course! A lucky hand brings an unexpected multiplication of my stake. A little later, I leave the premises with a lovely bottle of misty Verdejo and € 100,- more in my pocket. I would rather spend my winnings on the wine I just had, than on another game of chance. No roulette at this winery. These guys know exactly what they’re doing. They simply make a tasty glass of wine at a good price.

The wines of Vicente Gandia are available, among others, from Wijnservice.nl & Wijnenwereld.nl

Importer: Oud Reuchlin & Boelen