Spanish Wine

More info about Spanish wine: viticulture is an age-old tradition in Spain. It is the largest wine producer in the world after France and Italy. Every wine lover has certainly heard of Rioja & Cava but Spain naturally has much more to offer. There are many wine regions spread across Spain. On this site we limit ourselves to the prestigious Priorat from Catalonia, Ribera del Duero from Castilia-León and - the most prestigious and well-known Spanish wine area on the banks of the Ebro - Rioja. Just like Italy, Spain applies a control system to guarantee the origin: DO or DOCa/DOQ. DO stands for Denominación de Origen. DOC or DOCa stand for the stricter Denominación de Origen Calificada, also shortened to DOQ in Catalan (from Denominació d'Origen Qualificada). So you can expect a higher quality from DOC/DOQ. The most popular and well-known grape variety (especially for Rioja and Ribera del Duero) is of course Tempranillo. Garnacha (Grenache in French) & Monastrell are also used frequently for red Spanish wine. The grape varieties Albariño, Airén and Macabeo (Viura) are often used to produce white wine. For (white) sparkling wine from Catalonia - Cava - Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada are used. There are also hundreds of other grape varieties planted, but their use is less common.