Home to the world’s largest vineyard area, Spain boasts a winegrowing history that is ancient and discontinuous. Several events throughout its three millennia of viticulture have threatened the industry, including the Moorish conquest of Iberia, the phylloxera crisis, a devastating Civil War, and several decades under a fascist regime, during which winemaking customs lost favor to bulk production and cooperatives. Today, Spain’s languages, cultures, and food and wine traditions remain distinct—long after the country's unification in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Spain’s heritage styles—its deep-hued rosados, nutty rancios, and slowly aged gran reservas—are now joined by more contemporary aesthetics. While some growers have adapted to a modern palate, others hold to tradition. Others still seek to reimagine classic Spanish wines for the 21st century, reclaiming indigenous grape varieties and marrying innovation to ancestry. Born from these varied philosophical approaches is a Spanish wine industry equipped with the diversity and talent to capture new generations of consumers while safeguarding a long-cherished identity.
Anthropological studies have found trace evidence of Vitis vinifera in Spain dating as early as 3000 BCE. Fragments of vine wood and other vestiges of ancient grapes have been identified at three sites in Southern Spain. The introduction of viticulture to Iberia, however, is widely attributed to the Phoenicians, who arrived and established what would become Cádiz in today’s Andalucía approximately
“This is in addition to the Vi de Finca scheme that already exists for Catalonia more broadly. Established in 2002, Vi de Finca recognizes specific growing zones and single vineyards. (Priorat's…
Hey Anthony! Great question. Vi de Finca is a bit closer to Vinedo Singular in Rioja than to Vino de Pago. The designation recognizes single sites across Catalunya that are already in DO's, The major requirements…
Hey Sydney! It is Hacienda El Ternero. Feel free to read more about it in the discussion section of Rioja's Compendium entry.
Hello, the guide mentions that there is a single Rioja Estate physically located within Castile y Leon. What is it?
Hey Clementine! The biggest evidence for Phoenician viticulture is the Castillo de Doña Blanca, an ancient winery that includes a press that dates back to the 3rd century BCE. In regards to the existence of Vitis Vinifera here, the domestication of wild grapes happened between 7000-4000 BCE. Then around 3000 BCE, it spread to the Levant. This puts its arrival in Spain around 1000 BC and 500 BC, thanks to the Phoenicians. Therefore, it would be quite impossible for any Vitis vinifera to be here pre-Phoenician arrival.
Regarding the origins of wine in Andalucia, I've seen lots of people referencing Strabo's Geographica as evidence of the Phoenicians bringing wine to the region. However I've found the text they often quote merely describes the presence of a wine economy rather than attributing its origins to either the Phoenicians or the Turdetani (pre-roman people group of Andelucia): "Large quantities of corn and wine are exported from Turdetania, besides much oil, which is of the first quality."So yes the Phoenicians established Cadiz, yes they had a history of travelling wine, but the viticultural origins of Andelucia seem more like conjecture rather than something we have concrete evidence for. Does anyone have any further resources on the ancient viticultural origins of Andelucia and Sherry?
Hey Christian! Ceniza is volcanic ash-based soil, whereas Picon is a synonym for lapilli which are little stones that are erupted by volcanos. For some more context, the DO has a few paragraphs on the difference here.
So, most other online resources list the name of the soil of Lanzarote as 'Picon.' Is this a synonym for 'Ceniza?' Or does one refer to the volcanic/sandy topsoil and the other the base soil under the black sand?
Hey Rasmus! We will have the graphic updated shortly.
Urueña is missing on the vino de Pago list.
Hey Anthony! Great question. Vi de Finca is a bit closer to Vinedo Singular in Rioja than to Vino de Pago. The designation recognizes single sites across Catalunya that are already in DO's, The major requirements are that these vineyards have at least 5 years of age, and are picked at a 15% lower yield than the designated DO, and 10 years of conistent production plus plenty of other requirements. Whereas Vino de Pago is a fully separate DO.
Think of Vi de Finca as a way for Catalonian producers to showcase their single vineyard sites in a place where most DOs in the area don't provide the legal framework for it. Priorat is an interesting scenario as some of these producers were already Vi de Finca long before the new regional structures of the DOQ.
“This is in addition to the Vi de Finca scheme that already exists for Catalonia more broadly. Established in 2002, Vi de Finca recognizes specific growing zones and single vineyards. (Priorat's first two Vi de Finca wines were Clos Mogador and Vall Llach’s Mas de la Rosa.)”
I thought vi de finca was similar to the vinos de Pagos, as in it is something that specifically applies to estates. What does the guide mean when it says “specific growing zones and single vineyards”?
specific growing zones sounds like vi de Paratge
single vineyards sounds like vi de vinya