Spain has the largest area devoted to vineyards of any country in the world, and has a long and rich history of wine production and produces a very diverse range of wines. As with other EU countries, there is a system of classifying all of the wines according to their region of origin, method of planting grape growing, vinification and aging. Table wine is either Vino de Mesa, Vino de Mesa followed by a place name, Vino Comarcal (a county designation), or Vino de la Tierra (similar to a vin de pays). Quality wine is divided into 54 regions called Denominación de Origen or DO. Rioja has opted for a higher level of classification (Denominación de Origen Calificada) that has stricter controls. These rules are formulated by the regulatory counsel or consejo regulador.
 The country also recognizes several levels of aging:
- Vino Joven, sold with little or no aging in the year following the harvest
- Crianza, aged for two years, with at least six months in cask
- Reserva, aged three years with at least one of them in cask
- Gran Reserva, aged at least five years with at least two in cask
It is easiest to think of these regions as falling into seven basic areas. The first of these is the Northwest. This is the area bordering the Atlantic, essentially from the French border near Biarritz to the Portuguese border. Here the climate is wet and relatively cool (for Spain, at least). The best-known DO in this area is definitely Rías Baixas, producing its characterful Albarino (the same grape as the Alvarinho of Vinho Verde).
South of this area lies the large province of Castile y León, and running through the center of this area is the Duero river, which is the Spanish end of the river that becomes the Douro in Portugal. Rueda (known for Sauvignon Blanc), Toro, and Cigales (both D.O.s where Tempranillo dominates) all lie along this river. The best-known DO, however, is Ribera del Duero. The leading estate of the region is Vega Sicilia, founded in the 19th century.
Here they produce legendary wines blended from Tempranillo, Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec. Pesquera is another property, whose wines based on Tempranillo are also quite well-known. The wines of Ribera del Duero are often more fruit-driven and jammy in style than those of Rioja. They have an almost “New World” style to them that makes them quite popular in the U.S.
 East of this region lies the Ebro River valley, made famous by the wines of Rioja. The area produces both red and white wine. The white, made from Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Bianca is much less common than the red, which is made from a blend dominated by the Spanish variety Tempranillo, along with Garnacha (Grenache), and small quantities of Graciano and Mazuelo.
Rioja is divided into three sections, Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Baja. Rioja Alavesa produces the Tempranillo with the most fruit, Rioja Alta gives grapes with more structure, and Rioja Baja produces mostly Garanacha. Most Riojas are a blend of grapes from all three subregions. These wines show a broad, somewhat diffuse aroma of red and black berry fruit with an earthy, leathery note. The wines are often aged in American oak, and can therefore show the dill and coconut aromas typical of this treatment. Other regions in this north central area of Spain include Navarra, Somontano, Calatayud and Campo de Borja. Many of the wines are also blends of Tempranillo and Garanacha.
In the northeast of the country lie several wine producing regions, the best-known of which is Priorato. Grenache is the main grape grown in this region, and fantastic wines are produced, with deep, very ripe fruit, full body, supple tannins and generous alcohol. The northeast is also the region where most of the Cava is produced in Spain, although technically it can be produced throughout the country. More information on Cava is available in the first chapter. Other regions in the northeast include Penedes and Ampurdan-Costa Brava.
 The center of Spain is referred to as the Meseta. This is a very hot region, and vast vineyards are planted, although the density of planting is very low. Some quality producers are now beginning to export their wines, particularly from Valdepenas, but the majority of the wine produced is of less than thrilling quality. East of the Meseta is the Levant, and the same can be said of this vast area. Some quality wines are being made in Jumilla and Yecla, although much of the wine is relatively ordinary in character.
The famous regions of Sherry, Montilla, and Malaga are found in the southernmost part of the country. Here the Palomino grape is used for most wines and the Pedro Ximenes is cultivated mostly as a sweetening agent, while Moscatel is used to add a grapey character to the nose. The grapes are planted in chalky soils that provide the vines with the perfect amount of water in this arid region.
Albariza is the best kind of soil, and these are classified into what are called Pagos of various sizes, including Anina, Balbaina, Carrascal, Macharnudo, Martin Miguel, Miraflores, Los Tercios and Torrebreva. Barros is another type of soil, composed mostly of clay with some chalk. These areas are not as well suited to production of fine wines. The final type of soil is called arenas. These areas are very sandy, and are usually planted to Moscatel.
In the production of Sherry, the grapes are destemmed and pressed, although the free-run juice is vinified separately. The vinification takes place at a fairly high temperature, giving wines with low acidity and a lot of extract. The wines are fermented to dryness, and fortified only at the end of fermentation. This fortification takes place with a mixture of young wine and distilled alcohol at 95% alcohol.
The higher quality wines are fortified to a lower degree so that a special yeast called flor will grow and protect the wine from oxygen during aging.
- These are the wines destined to become finos and manzanillas, and they are characterized by the yeasty, almondy smell imparted by this aging.
- Manzanilla is the lightest and freshest. It develops a thick flor since it is aged in relatively cool environment
- Amontillado sherry is essentially an aged fino. This is a deeper color than the finos and Manzanillas and has a more pronounced nutty aroma. The best Amontillados can be aged for 50 to 60 years.
- Oloroso sherry is aged completely exposed to oxygen, giving it a tangy character. This is the richest style with the most body and the deepest color.
- Palo Cortado is a unique style of Sherry that starts out as a fino, but the flor dies, and it finishes its aging as an Oloroso.
Sweeter styles of sherry are obtained through the addition of sweetening wines made from the Pedro Ximenes or Moscatel grapes. The grapes are first dried on mats in the sun to concentrate the sugar. This causes the fermentation to stop before all of the sugar is used up, resulting in a sweet wine that is added after the fortification, and results in Cream sherries of various types. These are given various names (Cream, Pale Cream, East India, Brown, et cetera), but these are not officially recognized types, but rather proprietary names.
These various wines are all aged in a solera. This is the term for a system of fractional blending, where a series of barrels are used. Wine is drawn from the barrel containing the oldest blend of wines (no more than one third of the volume of the barrel). This barrel (also called by itself the Solera) is topped up with wine from the next oldest cask, and this continues until the wine in the youngest cask is refreshed with wine that has aged just one year (Añada). Sherries are then blended, with wines of different characters being used to give complexity to the blend. It is at this point that sweetening wine and/or coloring wine is also added to the blend.
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Wine Regions of the World
