Spanish Wines

Facts about Spain and wines:

• 15.5% of the world's vineyards are in Spain, making Spain the number one ranked country in the world in terms of area covered by vineyards.
• Spanish vineyards have a low yield (because of the dry climate) meaning Spain is only third in production behind France and Italy.
• Despite most of Spain's wine being red, 61.5% of Spain's vineyards are white. This is because Spain also makes a lot of brandy and sherry.
• The main red grape varieties in Spain are Tempranillo, Bobal, Garnacha (Grenache) & Monastrell.
• The main white grape varieties in Spain are Airén, Macabeo, Palomino & Pedro Ximenez.
• There are vineyards in all of Spain's 17 autonomous regions - from wet Galicia in the north-west to dry Murcia in the south-east.
• The biggest surface area of vineyards is in Castilla-La Mancha.
• The most densely planted vineyards in Spain are in La Rioja.
• 56.2% of Spanish wine is designated as a 'quality wine' (VCPRD - Vino de Calidad Producido en una Región Determinada or 'Quality Wine Produced in a Determined Region').
• Spain has 65 Denominación de Origen (DO).
• There are 41 areas with wines designated as Vino de Tierra ('Wine from the Land')
• One third of Spanish wine is exported. This figure is increasing.
• Spain's top customers are the UK, Germany and the USA.
• Spain is the fifth biggest exporter of wine to the US after Italy, Australia, France and Chile.