Revolution in a glass

Madrid — For three days, Spain's capital bubbled, gurgled and, yes, foamed during the third annual Madrid-Fusion conference two weeks ago. Enjoying its exalted position at the pinnacle of cutting-edge gastronomy, Spain put its most renowned chefs on the kitchen stage, culminating in Ferran Adria of El Bulli using liquid nitrogen to make pea soup balls (they were frozen outside, with a warm liquid center) and showcasing ingredients like the bone-marrow-ish spinal fluid of tuna.

But for the first time in its three years Madrid-Fusion also featured wine. A high-profile tasting of the "100 definitive wines from Spain" demonstrated unequivocally that, as extreme as the revolution in Spanish cooking may be, the revolution in Spanish wine is no less dramatic.

Selected by the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade and the Union of Spanish Wine Tasters, the lineup featured plenty of stalwarts from the likes of Jerez (sherry), Rioja and the Ribera del Duero. But what really caught the eye was the presence of regions that, until a few years ago, no one had ever heard of: Jumilla. Bierzo. Toro. Rueda.

Welcome to the new Spain. Sparked by the rejuvenation of ancient vineyards and fueled by plenty of European Union investment, new must-try wines are being released faster than Apple geeks can come up with snazzy new I-gadgets. Remember, it was only in the last seven or eight years that people started raving about bright, racy Albarino whites and indelible Priorat reds. Hardly seeming new anymore, both wines are now part of the canon.

Spain's revolution has been an effort to hit the top end of the market rather than produce a lot of inexpensive, uninspiring wine, as Chile did in the late '80s and early '90s. Happily, that doesn't mean there aren't terrific bargains -- there are plenty. But the quality is high. These new regions caught many tasters by surprise at Madrid-Fusion, generating lots of buzz.

As Spanish winemakers from more established regions scoured the countryside for new regions to develop, they discovered neglected old vineyards that California winemakers would kill to have. Properly tended, the low-yielding old vines are capable of producing blockbuster wines from the get-go. So although some of these new wines may be only a few vintages old, they have instant cachet, based on the age of the vineyards and the pedigrees of their winemakers.