Nothing plain about Spain
The chances are that the Spanish section on your wine list needs attention. It is not just that UK sales of Spanish wine increased by 32% in volume in 1993 over the previous year. The better Riojas, white and red, and the excellent Penedés wines of Torres may be a familiar starting point, but they are no longer the only Spanish wines you should be thinking about.
Spain now has as rich a choice of restaurant wines from its many wine-growing regions - at all prices and qualities - as any country in the world. This was efficiently demonstrated earlier this month by the 1994 Wines from Spain Trade Fair, at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London. Value for money applied at every level.
One or two recommendations: for an up-and-coming region, Navarra, next door to Rioja, is worth watching. Try the beautifully made wines of Bodegas Juli n Chivite, a family firm that makes more wine from its recently planted Chardonnay (not yet available in the UK). This will be a national landmark of enterprise and quality by the end of the decade.
In the meantime, it is a shining light in Navarra. Among its range of red wines, the Gran Fuedo Crianza 1990 is outstanding value at a basic trade price of £31.68 from Geoffry Roberts Agencies.
The 1989 Reserva at £39.60 is appropriately more structured and rounded, while the Gran Reserva "125 Anniversario" 1985 at £98.88 - with a deep concentration of Tempranillo fruit and balance - is outstanding.
All are unmistakably Spanish wines made with finesse and sensitivity to the tastes of native grapes.
Navarra differs from the Rioja in not restricting the use of grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.
The argument against the use of these varieties is that traditional local grapes and their distinctive flavours will be sacrificed to a uniform, international style.
The argument in favour of their use is summed up in the Bordeaux-like wine of Vi¤a Magana and I would like to recommend its 1985 Reserve. It is a luscious balance of fruit and gentle tannins, a classic combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and French oak which is as much a winner in Navarra as it is elsewhere. It costs £55.75 a case from the Bodega Wine Company (081-551 9521).
Finally, there's Albari¤o, the white wine from the comparatively cool and damp region of Rias Baixas in Galicia in the north-west of Spain.
Named after the grape, Albari¤o at its best is a powerful, complex mouthful of fruit and fresh acidity and is invariably expensive.
The Albarino of Bodegas Chaves has pleasing oak undertones and is available from Bodega Wine (£59.95). No more than 30,000 cases are made in the 10-acre estate.
