Spanish wine guide

Spanish wine is created with the passion of Spain and its people, and comes from a long wine growing history. Spain has developed some great wine growing regions with strong traditions.

Today the country is probably best known for its red Rioja wine, although the range and variety of other areas is immense and Spanish wines have also advanced to provide some remarkably diverse styles.

With so much to offer this wine guide will hopefully enlighten you to the superb choice of fine wines the that Spain has to offer.

Included is information on wines by region, grape varieties, the classification system and notes on some of our personal favorites discovered during the past 10 years of living and travelling around the country.

Spain has a long history of producing fine wines, 50 percent of all the EECs vineyards lie in Spain and offers an excellent and memorable selection of Reds, White and Rose wines, which thankfully, are still for the most part inexpensive for the quality on offer.

Spain is recognised as a world-class producer of wines both in quality and quantity and has produced wines for more than two thousand years. It has the highest area of land under cultivation for wine. The country has dedicated more than 1.17 million hectares of its territory to viticulture the most significant of any nation. Spain is the 2nd greatest global wine producing country, just behind France and ahead of Italy, and with a growing reputation, the country appears to be amid what amounts to a revolution in wines.

Spain has originality and diversity in abundance and it's wines are created utilizing many different grape varieties. However frequently the same grape type will have an alternative name as determined by the different wine producing regions.

Spanish wines are aged for at least three years for red wines and two years for white and rosé wines. Spain is also a major producer of distilled spirits and fortified wines, probably the most famous of which is Sherry. Also growing in popularity is the champagne like wine known as Cava.

Regional wines are an ideal accompaniment to all Spanish meals and delicious tapas which themselves include many local specialities.

A Spanish wine tasting holiday is a magnificent way to take in the country's gastronomy, culture, climate and scenery.