According to the UN, Spain is the 3rd largest wine producing country in the world after Italy and France. The powers that be in each of these countries use slightly different terminologies to mine and the wine producers strive to reach the top classifications.
Here in Spain the words to look out for are the DO Denoninación de Origen, Vino de la tierra (wine of the land) and Vino de la mesa (table wine). We'll look at Italian and French classifications at a later date.
Table wine
Not necessarily meaning wine that you want to have on your table, but rather unclassified wine whose grapes can be mixed or be from different regions. It is not home produced plonk, but rather wine which cannot be classified under a higher category. It is also a name which some regional wines will be classified within.
Rarely will these wines be oaked, they tend to be "elaborated" (to translate from the Spanish) then available for purchase on a fairly quick turnaround.
Vino de la tierra
This term is used to label wines that do not fit under other classifications, but are a nice drop! Generally you will see them referring to a specific area.
Denomincación de Origen (Calificada)
DO wines are considered to be the best Spanish wines as defined by the Instituto Nacional de Denomincaciones de Origen and with the administration of the Consejo Regulador. To be at the highest level of DOCa the wine must be a superior quality level over a long period of time.
A selection of these areas where you have likely tried the wine include: Rioja and Priorat (both the highest DO level), Abona (south Tenerife), Binissalem-Mallorca, Cava, the Canary Islands of El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma and Lanzarote, Cigales, Jeréz, Madrid, Málaga, Navarra, Penedès, Ribeiro, Ribera del Duerto, Rueda, Valdepeñas and Valencia. At last years count there were a total of 77 DO regions.
Within this section we should also include DO de Pago of which there are a limited number of wine estates that work to the highest standards within strict critera. The wine is only produced on these estates and has international recognition.
Other Spanish Wine Quality Classifications
Gran Reserva: The best of Spanish red wine, aged for a minimum of 5 years, 2 of which in oak before being released for drinking.
Reserva: Aged for a minimum of 3 years, 1 of which must be in oak.
Crianza: Aged for a minimum of 2 years, of which a minimum of 6 months must be in oak.
White and Rosé wines are oaked and bottled for less time than red wines to reach these classification criteria. For Gran Reserva they are oaked for a minimum of 6 months with aging at a minimum of 4 years. For Reserva status they are aged a minimum of 18 months, again with 6 months being in oak. Crianzas do not require oaking, but should be aged a minimum of 18 months.
As you can see, there are different types of wine in Spain and different ways of classifying that wine, so next time you are heading out to choose a bottle, which type of wine will you choose?
