"SABOR" is a food & wine and lifestyle series that savors Latinos' zest for life and passion for home and family.   

If you have visited Spain, you can attest to its flavorful wines and tapas pairings and relish in its impressive varietals that seduce and reawaken your taste buds to savor la vida buena (the good life).

Having studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, this writer has also been seduced by the charm of Andalucía and the flavors of Spain overall -- Manzanilla during La Feria (the Seville Fair in April), Rioja or Tempranillo by the Torre del Oro (Spanish military watchtower), and the signature sherry in the town of Jerez de la Frontera.

It turns out that this desire for Spanish wines has caught on in the U.S. and beyond, especially over the past decade. Spanish wines have been on the rise in the U.S. with wine exports soaring 22 percent in 2014, exceeding Italy and France. Now, Spain is being celebrated as the top wine exporting country.  

Also within Spain itself, the country is celebrating the fruits of its own labor as the growth and popularity of the wine industry is making waves through Spain's economy.

With a shared love of Spain, its wine and tapas, Latin Post had the opportunity to sit down with Director of Wines from Spain Katrin Naelapaa whose worldly palate has savored some of the best Spanish wines and tapas throughout its richly cultured regions.  

While smelling, tasting and savoring Ludovicus Blanco, Melior Rosado and Marqués de Riscal Reserva 2010, Naelapaa beamed with excitement as she recalled the evolution of her love affair with Spanish wines over the years.

The longtime wine enthusiast discussed the many offerings of Spanish wines, describing the fruit and sweetness levels, body profiles and finishes of these three impressive and reasonably priced wines that are accessible to all, starting at $15 and beyond.

Naelapaa loves the fact that you don't have to be a "wine snob" to enjoy Spanish wines with your tapas, your paella, or any meal of your choosing.

"I think one of the trends is that younger people are drinking wine and they are adopting wine almost immediately when they become of age to drink. That certainly didn't exist 20 years ago," she said. "Spain delivers better value at every price point."

When comparing young versus old wines, Naelapaa said something that might surprise new and old wine enthusiasts.

"When you drink wine in a cellar when its aged in perfect condition, it's quite remarkable how it's not radically different. Yes, it starts losing color, the fruit notes start disappearing. You get a lot more of those tobacco and leathery characteristics, but there's still acidity, there's subtle notes of fruit, but they are much more stewed. ... I think unfortunately the palate for that style of wine a lot of people are losing it, or they never have actually experienced it. I think our culture today and even in Spain they make the wines to be released young."

The three delicious Spanish wines that Naelapaa suggests to kick off the summer are as follows:

Ludovicus Blanco is grown in Terra Alta, south of Barcelona, overlooking the Mediterranean where Garnacha Blanca was born. It hails from estate owned vineyards and is organically grown. It's "full of spice and body and a beautiful layer of minerals that makes the wine extremely complex."

Melior Rosado is made with Tempranillo grapes from the vineyards in Cubillas de Santa Marta. "It is a young rose wine of a great aromatic expression, with significant fruit tones, the result of a temperature-controlled fermentation." It has "great aromatic intensity, with a wide range of fruit aromas (strawberry, peach, pineapple and blackberry), with floral touches of fennel."

Marqués de Riscal Reserva 2010 wines are made from grapes from Tempranillo vines planted before the '70s, grown in the best clay-limestone soils of the Rioja Alavesa. "This variety withstands oak- and bottle-ageing well." It has "spicy, balsamic aromas of great complexity, with notes of ripe dark berries and light toasted nuances." (Marques de Riscal Reserva is widely distributed and available all over. The Melior can be ordered online at GetWineOnline.com and the Ludovicus is available at Shop-Rite.)

Born in Mexico City, Naelapaa completed a semester in Madrid while she attended Georgetown University and then later moved to New York City.

"I came back from Madrid wanting to drink Spanish wines. This was a lot of years ago, and there were no Spanish wines. Marqués de Riscal was one of the few Spanish wines that was on the market here when I came back from Spain. You could count them on one hand."

At the time she recalled local retailers saying that Spanish wines weren't that good, but she couldn't help but think of how much she enjoyed them while in Spain. 

She ended up working in finance for several years and exposed her palate to wines from around the world. Yet the past, negative reaction to Spanish wines had been "kind of gnawing" at her for years until she decided to transition into the wine business.

"I really wanted to see Spain succeed," she explained.  Now I can't even keep track of the number of Spanish importers - over 700 wineries that export to the U.S."

Naelapaa also launched stand-alone programs like "Great Match: Wine & Tapas" and has also spearheaded the publication of "Wines from Spain: Far from Ordinary Wine Guide." 

Wines from Spain, the trade association responsible for the promotion of Spanish wines around the world and Colangelo & Partners Public Relations launched a new campaign that will focus on educating and promoting the diversity and quality of Spanish wines to trade, press, and consumer audiences.

"This promotion comes at a time of real appreciation for Spanish food, as well growing interest in indigenous Spanish varietals, and experimentation with new styles," explained Angel Martín Acebes, Senior Trade Commissioner of Spain.

"Through our educational programs and planned participation in wine events around the country, we hope to help continue the incredible growth in value of the Spanish wine category, particularly with consumers that are interested in discovering new wines, new grapes and new regions," Naelapaa added.

"We want wine lovers across the United States to know that our wines are incredibly diverse and unique, and with this program, we hope to highlight the breadth and depth of what Spain can offer."

Recalling one of her first trips to Rioja, Naelapaa reminisced of her favorite wine memory being surrounded by "a great group of journalists" on a beautiful day drinking wine and eating little, tender lamb chops on the back patio of a beautiful old Spanish vineyard.

"I totally get what goes with this wine," she said. "Grilled lamb chops!"

Besides the taste, the complimentary pairings and soothing buzz, "the wine kind of gets to you," Naelapaa said. "If you are at all around vineyards, or the wine industry, or the people, you do kind of get sucked in. ... Once you're in, you're in -- it's the lifestyle side of it."