Spain has several wine regions. Below you can find the list of the Wine regions of Spain with Denominación de Origen (DO & DOCa). (Denominación de Origen = Appellation of Origin).
1. Rías Baixas DO
2. Ribeiro DO
3. Ribeira Sacra DO
4. Monterrei DO
5. Valdeorras DO
6. Bierzo DO
7. Tierra de León DO
8. Cigales DO
9. Arribes DO
10. Toro DO
11. Tierra del Vino de Zamora DO
12. Rueda DO
14. Arlanza DO
15. Rioja DOCa
16. Txacoli de Álava
17. Txakoli de Bizkaia
18. Txakoli de Getaria
19. Navarra DO
20. Campo de Borja DO
21. Cariñena DO
22. Calatayud DO
23. Somontano DO
24. Costers del Segre DO
25. Terra Alta DO
26. Tarragona DO
27. Montsant DO
28. Priorat DOCa
29. Conca de Barberà DO
30. Penedès DO
31. Pla de Bages DO
32. Alella DO
33. Empordà DO
34. Binissalem DO
35. Pla i Llevant DO
36. Valencia DO
37. Utiel-Requena DO
38. Alicante DO39. Yecla DO
40. Bullas DO
41. Jumilla DO
42. Almansa DO
43. Manchuela DO
44. Ribera del Júcar DO
45. Uclés DO
46. Mondéjar DO
47. La Mancha DO
48. Valdepeñas DO
49. Méntrida DO
51. Ribera del Guadiana DO
52. Condado de Huelva DO
53. Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO
54. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO
55. Málaga DO & Sierras de Málaga DO
56. Montilla-Moriles DO
57. La Palma DO58. El Hierro DO
59. La Gomera DO
60. Abona DO
61. Tacoronte-Acentejo DO
62. Valle de Güímar DO
63. Ycoden-Daute-Isora DO
64. Valle de La Orortava DO
65. Gran Canaria DO
66. Lanzarote DO
67. Catalunya DO (Not represented)
68. Cava DO (Not represented)
In this map you can find where they are located within the Iberian peninsula and their extension:
Denominaciones de Origen (DO)
The mainstream quality wine regions in Spain are referred to as Designation of Origin (similar to the French Appellations) and the wine they produce is regulated for quality according to specific laws.
In compliance with European Commission Regulation (CE) 753/2002, Spanish wines are classified into two categories, which in turn are further classified into sub-categories depending on the strictness of the criteria applied in producing the type of wine in question:
1. Quality Wines Produced in a Specified Region (QWPSR) (Vino de Calidad Producido en Región Determinada (VCPRD) in Spanish)
- Denominación de Origen de Pago (DO de Pago): these wine regions aspire to the very highest standards with extremely strict geographical criteria, centering on individual single-estates with an international reputation. There are currently only 7 estates with this status: 4 in Castile-La Mancha and 3 in Navarre.
- Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) (Denominació d’Origen Qualificada (DOQ) in Catalan): regions with a proven track record of consistent quality. There are only 2 wine regions with this status: Rioja and Priorat.
- Vino de Calidad con Indicación Geográfica. A ‘starter home’ for wine regions climbing the quality ladder. There are 2 wine regions with this status.
2. Table Wine (Vino de Mesa in Spanish)
- Vino de la Tierra (VdlT) “Country wines” which do not have EU QWPSR status but which may use a regional name. There are currently 46 Vino de la Tierra regions in Spain.
- Vino de Mesa (Table Wine) is bulk-grown, usually drawn from a wide variety of regions and hence has no vintage or area designation on the label, apart from “Produce of Spain”. Production of this low grade of Spanish wine is falling year on year.
In 2006 a new Vino de la Tierra “super-region” was created called Viñedos de España which is permitted to blend wines from 11 different Spanish regions. This has yet to be ratified by the EU, however, and has been legally challenged by the regional governments of La Rioja and Castile and León.
Although almost all wine regions are confined to specific centres of production, some of the top designations (Cava and Rioja in particular) are the product of more than one Autonomous Community. This is in contrast to Designations of Origin de Pago, where the location criteria are very strict indeed, often centering on specific plots of land and admitting only those wines produced in their immediate vicinity.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
