Spanish Wine Classifications
Spanish wine Classifications.
Spain as a country has a long history of producing fine wines. Spain has the largest area of land dedicated to viticulture of any country in the world; it is made up of a lot of large regions, most if not all specialising in the production of wine.
When you say Spanish wine, most people automatically think of Rioja, it comes from a small region amongst many others. Although Rioja does not come from a large area in comparison to others, it is known for being one of the better wines, due to the fine grapes it is produced from. A lot of the surrounding areas produce much higher quantities of wine but that often are not anywhere near the same quality of these.
Spain works in the same way as both Italy and France, with all classified wines. All classified wine regions are regulated under the Donominacion de Origen system. There are 3 main classifications, Crianza, Reserva, or Grand Reserva. In order to fit into one of these classifications the wine needs to be produced in a certain way.
Crianza- Wines are two years old, and have had at least 12months spent in a cask ( if in Rioja and the Ribera del Duero). Elsewhere this limit can sometimes be reduced to 6 months oak ageing.
Reservas – These are at least 3 years old and have at least one year in a cask
Gran Reservas- These are 5 years old and have had 2 in a cask and 3 in the bottle.
There is an abundance of Spanish wines available on the market, from all your local supermarkets and off-licences. Your own personal taste and a small amount of knowledge of the history of Spanish wines will help you pick out which will be most suitable for what you are looking.
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