Ah, Spain . . . land of bullfights, football and flamenco. The current trend to celebrate all things Spanish means that we can be bound a little by stereotypes: Not all Spanish are hot-blooded, football mad, paella eaters. When it comes to wine too, we can be constrained by preconceptions, but there's more to Spanish wine than the cheap stuff that's splashed into a glass of Sangria or the country's most famous top-class tipples of Rioja and Cava.

This month I'd like to step outside the box and explore the growing variety of reasonably priced wines produced in Spain.

Since Spain joined the European Union in 1986, there's been much improvement in the medium range of Spanish wines, meaning that the amount of affordable quality wine has risen considerably over the past few decades. In addition to the existing regions designated DO and DOCa, which produce some of Spain's best wines (the latter being the highest quality classification), the Spanish government has recently recognized that individual bodega (wineries) outside these zones are also capable of producing exceptional wines.