Spain is one of the world's great wine countries, yet most of us in Britain meet it through a handful of bottles: a Rioja on a restaurant list, a cold Albariño in July, a sherry that only appears at Christmas. It is a fine starting point, but it barely scratches the surface. Between the wet Atlantic north-west and the baked plateaus of the interior, Spain grows an extraordinary range of grapes in conditions that would finish off most vineyards elsewhere.

What follows is a working map of the regions you are most likely to meet on British shelves, with notes on how they taste, what to look for on the label, and how to drink them at their best.

Rioja: still the best place to start

Rioja earned its reputation honestly. Tempranillo, the region's workhorse grape, gives red fruit, leather and a gentle grip, and it blends happily with Garnacha for warmth, Graciano for perfume and Mazuelo for backbone. The three subzones, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, produce subtly different wines. Alta and Alavesa tend to be fresher and more structured; Oriental riper and fuller.

The style divide matters more than the map. Traditional Rioja ages in American oak, which brings vanilla, coconut and a dill-like lift. The modern school uses French oak and less of it, keeping the fruit in front. Neither is better. They suit different moods and different food.

Labels carry an ageing shorthand: Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva signal increasing time in barrel and bottle before release. A well-made Crianza from a good producer is often better value than a cheap Reserva padded out with oak. White Rioja, usually Viura, ranges from crisp and lemony to rich and nutty, and the richer style is one of Spain's great food wines with roast chicken or grilled fish. Serve reds cool, around 16°C, not straight from a warm kitchen.

Ribera del Duero: Tempranillo with more muscle

Head north from Madrid onto the high plateau and you meet Tinto Fino, the local name for Tempranillo, growing at altitude where days are hot and nights are cold. Thick skins, ripe tannin and a darker, denser style result: blackberry, liquorice, and a firm structure that asks for food. Roast lamb, chorizo, aged Manchego, a slow-braised shin. This is a region built for a table.

Younger examples, often labelled Joven or Roble, are fruit-forward and ready to drink; Reservas and Gran Reservas need time. If you open a young Ribera tonight, pour it into a jug or decanter for half an hour. The region also makes a small amount of white from Albillo, worth trying if you spot one.

Rías Baixas: Albariño and the Atlantic

Galicia's north-west coast is damp, granite-edged and cool, and Albariño grows there as if it were designed for the place. Expect lemon, green apple and white peach, with a saline finish that makes the wine taste like it has already been near the sea.

Drink it young, within a year or two of the vintage, at 8–10°C. Shellfish, grilled fish, octopus, sardines, even a decent fish supper: this is the bottle to reach for. Bottles from Val do Salnés are a sound benchmark. Avoid heavily oaked Albariño unless you know you like it, because oak tends to flatten the grape's charm.

Sherry: the most underestimated wine in Spain

Sherry comes from a small triangle of Andalusia around Jerez, where Palomino Fino grapes grow in chalky albariza soil. The wines are fortified and aged in a solera, a stack of barrels in which younger wine is blended into older, year after year. Fino and Manzanilla develop a layer of yeast called flor that keeps them pale, dry and savoury.

The styles differ enormously, so one disappointing glass should not condemn the whole region:

• Fino and Manzanilla — pale, bone dry, yeasty and saline. Serve very cold with olives, jamón, almonds and fried fish.
• Amontillado — amber, hazelnut and orange peel, still dry. Excellent with consommé or mushrooms.
• Palo Cortado — the awkward, wonderful middle ground between Amontillado and Oloroso.
• Oloroso — rich, walnutty and dry, higher in alcohol. Try it with game, aged cheese or oxtail.
• Cream and Pedro Ximénez — sweet, unashamedly so. PX poured over vanilla ice cream, or sipped with blue cheese.

Buy from a shop that turns its stock over, and once a bottle is open keep Fino and Manzanilla in the fridge and drink them within a few days. Oloroso and PX will hold for weeks.

Five more regions worth seeking out

• Priorat — slate hills in Catalonia, Garnacha and Cariñena, powerful and mineral.
• Rueda — Verdejo, crisp and herbal, the house white of countless Spanish restaurants.
• Bierzo — Mencía, light-bodied and perfumed, somewhere between Pinot Noir and Syrah.
• Valdeorras — Godello, textured and waxy, a fine alternative to white Burgundy.
• Penedès and Cava — sparkling wine made by the traditional method, and often excellent value.

How to buy well in the UK

A few habits separate a lucky bottle from a reliable one.

1. Read the back label for the importer. Specialists in Spanish wine tend to bring in bottles with character rather than volume.
2. Check the vintage on reds from Ribera del Duero and Priorat. Rioja is blended for consistency, so it matters less.
3. Be sceptical of very cheap Reserva and Gran Reserva. Extended ageing costs money, so corners get cut somewhere.
4. Buy Albariño, Verdejo and Txakoli as fresh as you can find them, and drink them young.
5. Ask in an independent shop for a producer rather than a brand. Small bodegas rarely have marketing budgets but often have better vineyards.

Where to start this weekend

Pick three bottles rather than one. A Crianza Rioja and a Rías Baixas Albariño will cover most of what you cook in a week; add a Fino or an Amontillado and you have something to open before dinner. Drink them at the right temperature, in ordinary glasses rather than thimbles, and alongside food.

Spanish wine rewards curiosity more than loyalty. Once you know you like Rioja's savoury side or Albariño's salty edge, the labels start making sense and the shelf stops looking like a wall of unfamiliar names. As with any alcohol, keep it slow and sensible, and follow current guidance if you are driving, pregnant or on medication.

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