Spain

A wine giant with extensive and qualitative production. The sunny vineyards, mostly in altitude, present a rich array of varieties. Reds to be kept, sparkling white wines fortified wines contribute to the fame of the Spanish wine production.

Surface : 1 Mha             Production : 34,3Mhl           Consomption : 10 Mhl

Terroir 

  • Soils : poor, stony, diversified such as the white limestone of Andalusia or the glacis of debris of quartzite and slate of the Rioja vineyards,

  • Climate : mediterranean with oceanic influence in the North-East, continental in the the center, semi arid in the South-East, as well as montainous in the Sierras,

  • Main red grape varieties : tempranillo, garnacha (grenache), monastrell (mourvèdre), bobal, cariñena (carignan)

  • Main white varieties : airén, vuira (or macabeu), paralleda, xarel.lo (the last three used for the Cava, as well as chardonnay), albariño, pedro xime

Main regions 

Andalusia (DO Xérès), Aragon, Catalonia (DO Cava, sparkling wines; DO Priorat, DOCa Priorat),  Castile and León (DO Ribera del Duero, wines to be kept) , Galicia, Navarra and Rioja (DO Navarra, DOca Rioja, wines to be kept)

Legislation

The  « vinos de la Tierra » (Vdlt) correspond to « vins de pays »

The Denominación de origén » (DO), including DOCa ou DOQ in Catalan, have stricter requirements.

The « vinos de pago » (DO pago), is a recent designation for prestigious wines

Sites  www.winesfromspain.com (commercial), www.wineroutesofspain.com (winetourism) , www.fev.es (Federación Española del Vino)