Spain has a long history of producing fine wines, inparticular the red wines of Rioja. However, this famous name is just one small region among many producing equally good wines. Some of the Spanish wine regions are huge, in fact that Spain has the largest area of land dedicated to viticulture of any country in the world.
Spain has a similar classification system to France and Italy, with all classified wine regions regulated under the Denominación de Origen system. Red wines are often labelled as Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva. In Rioja and the Ribera del Duero, Crianza wines are two years old, with at least twelve months spent in cask (elsewhere the oak ageing may legally be restricted to just six months). Reservas are three years old (at least one year in cask), Gran Reservas five years old (two in cask, three in bottle).
Murcia has 100,000 hectares of vineyards which gives you a rough idea of the importance of wine in the ancient kingdom. Unfortunately, quantity and quality are often contradictory factors!
The Andalusian wines, those from Jerez, from Montilla-Moriles, Malaga, and Condado de Huelva, belong to a line of "old" wines that were born in the 16th and 17th centuries at the time of the great seafaring adventures, like port, marsala and madeira. These were wines that could cross oceans without losing their qualities. Wines rich in alcohol, vigorous and delicate, complex, full of subtleties.
