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
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Soils : poor, stony, diversified such as the white limestone of Andalusia or the glacis of debris of quartzite and slate of the Rioja vineyards,
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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,
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Main red grape varieties : tempranillo, garnacha (grenache), monastrell (mourvèdre), bobal, cariñena (carignan)
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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)