Spain is the third largest producer of wine in the world, behind France and Italy .

Spain also has the largest area committed to viticuluture in the world.

Given the large number of distinct wine-producing regions in Spain, and the large variety of grapes; it is surprising that awareness of Spanish wine has historically been limited to the fortified wine Sherry, produced around Jerez de la Frontera, and the internationally renowned red wines of Rioja.

Other wine regions respected outside of Spain include: Ribera del Puerto, Priorat, Cava and Penedes.

Spain uses a similar wine classification system to France and Italy, with all mainstream wine regions regulated under the Denominación de Origen (DO) system. 65 wine regions currently have this status.

There are also two regions classified as Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) - Rioja and Priorato - the flagship regions of Spanish winemaking.

Spanish Wine is also labeled according to the amount of time the wine has spent aging, usually aged in Spanish and French oak, and more recently in American oak, barrels.

·                     Cosecha are young wines which have not usually been aged in wood.

·                     Crianza wines are aged for two years with at least one year in a cask.

·                     Reserva wines are aged for at least one year in an oak cask and at least one year in the bottle, with a further year in either.

·                     Gran Reserva wines are aged for at least 18 months in oak, and at least three years in the bottle and a minimum of five years total at the winery.