Wine: Herbis Verdejo 2011, Rueda

FROM the 1970s until recently, if someone mentioned Spanish wines your first (and only) thought was Rioja.

Or, if you were adventurous, a bottle of Sangre de Toro. Rioja is Spain’s most famous wine region, but it is often outflanked these days (in price and star status) by wines from Ribera del Duero and elsewhere.

There is a bewildering array of obscure Spanish wine regions worth exploring. The three main red grapes are Tempranillo (sometimes called Cencibal or Tinta del Pais), Garnacha (Grenache) and Monastrell (Mourvèdre). There are small pockets of unusual grapes, such as Mencia, in Bierzo, in the north-west.