top of page

SPAIN WINE REGIONS

​

Spain has the biggest vineyard surface in the world.

 

There is an extremely varied climate with lots of smaller 'micro-climates' across the country, each perfect for growing different kinds of grapes. This means that Spain has a huge variety of distinct and different beautiful vineyard landscapes to explore.

 

Of all the wine regions of Spain, the Rioja wine region located in North-Central Spain near the Ebro River is the most famous. Rioja wines usually have fruity and earthy flavours with a very smooth taste.

​

Joven (young) wines are released without any oak ageing. Crianzas spend one year ageing in barrel and one year in bottle. Reservas spend one year in barrel and two years in bottle. Gran Reservas age in barrel for no less than two years and three more years’ ageing in bottles. This produces elegant Riojan wines.

 

The Penedès wine region is located in Catalonia, North-East Spain. Set amidst the coastal hills of Serra del Garraf, this is considered one of the best of the Spanish wine regions and one of the oldest.

​

The most famous of the Penedès wine is Cava, a sparkling white wine worthy to challenge Champagne and Prosecco as the best European sparkling wines. Most of the grapes grown in this region are white varieties, though there are a few red grapes that produce particularly excellent oak-aged red wines.

 

Ribera del Duero is one of Spain's top wine producing regions. Located on the elevated plateau in the southern plains of Burgos province, it stretches along the Duero river.  The area receives moderate-to-low annual rainfall and has long, dry, hot summers followed by harsh cold winters.

​

The grapes grown in Ribera del Duero are almost exclusively red - only one white grape (the Albillo) is grown here.  Most of the wine produced in this region is Tempranillo (known locally as Tinto Fino).

 

The Valencia wine region is one of the oldest in Spain. Grapes have grown in Valencia since the Neolithic Era. Most of the wine produced here is exported around the world. The ageing process in Valencia is different than that of Rioja or Ribera del Duero.  Crianza wines are only cask-aged for three months, while Reserva wines are aged for no less than six months.

 

La Mancha is located in Central Spain and is the world's largest continuous wine growing region.  There are more than 300 wineries and 22,000 grape-growers in the region which is known for producing delicious Tempranillo and Garnacha wines.

 

Navarre is one of the most famous Denominaciones de Origen in Spain. There are many wineries which produce wine belonging to the Navarra DO, but also wines which are part of the Rioja DO.

This increasingly popular region is most famous for its Rosado and (Rosé) red wines, which account for 95% of local wine production.  The winters are cold and the summers are long, hot and dry, producing a smaller yield than the larger wine regions but consistently high quality.

 

Located in Castilla y Leon, the Rueda wine region is famous for producing crisp, flavoursome white wines using the Verdejo grape.  With a continental climate and high concentration of sunlight it produces quality white wines.

 

The Jumilla wine region occupies a great deal of Murcia and stretches into Castilla-La Mancha.  With 3,000 registered grape-growers occupying 32,000 hectares of arable land, Jumilla produces a lot of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Moscatel grapes.

 

Jerez/Sherry is one of the most historic and famous wines in the world. The word ´Jerez´ means ´sherry´ in Spanish, meaning that the name of this wine region reflects its best produce.  Jerez makes wines that are unique to the world: vino fino, amontillado, oloroso.

bottom of page