Wine Regions : Spain
Spain is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest being Italy and France.
Spain also has the largest amount of acreage dedicated to wine production in the world. It has been said
that the grapevines spread through the Mediterranean thanks to the Roman empire. Spain was Romanized by
the first century B.C., and as a consequence, has a long tradition in winemaking.
Located in southern Europe, Spain has a warm, dry climate, influenced by proximity to the Atlantic ocean
and Mediterranean Sea. This climate results in high yields for Spanish grapes and wines. The harvest occurs
from August through October.
Spain has a relatively large number of distinct wine-producing regions, more than
half having the classification Denominación de Origen (DO) with the majority of the remainder classified
as Vinos de la Tierra (VdlT). There are two regions nominated as Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) —
Rioja and Priorato — the flagship regions of Spanish winemaking. In 2006 the Spanish government
passed a new law permitting Vinos de Pago, a method of identifying and regulating individual estates
reputed to be among the finest in the country. Since it embraced the
EU-sponsored QWPSR (Quality Wine Produced in Specific Regions or Vino de
Calidad Producido en Región Determinada in Spanish) regulatory code, production of Vino de Mesa has
declined and geographically-verifiable production has become the norm.
Vinos de la Tierra
- Andalucia
- Aragon
- Catalonia
- Castilla y León
- Castilla La Mancha
- Extremadura
- Galicia
- Levante
- Rioja
- Balearic Islands
