Spanish Wine Tours
After Italy and France, Spain is the third-largest wine producer in the world. With many famous wine-growing areas—including Catalonia, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Navarra and Galicia, among others—Spain is home to some of the most diverse growing regions of any country.
Spain is now also one of the world’s most innovative countries. Freed from isolation after WWII, Spain and the Spanish wine industry have grown rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century.
To appreciate Spanish wines today is to grasp the deep, intermingling undercurrents of old-world terroir, habits, vineyards and agriculture to co-exists alongside New World lifestyles, tastes, and viticultural techniques.
In the north of Spain, its massive central plateau is home to Rioja, noteworthy as Spain’s most celebrated vineyard region; it also is one of the world’s greatest. Rioja consists of three sub-zones, are: Rioja Alta (in the western section), Rioja Alavesa (in the northern section) and Rioja Baja (in the southeast section). It is there where the Tempranillo grape is cultivated, whose vines are dug deep into the region’s rocky soils.
Beyond Rioja, there are many other Spanish wine regions are worth mentioning, not to mention visiting first-hand. The vast expanse of the Duero River—along which wine growing flourishes—is home to the famous Ribera del Duero (simply “banks of the river Douro”) and new regions like Cigales where 100-year-old vines are just being discovered for their enormous quality potential.
In Spain where the early ripening Tempranillo dominates, a variety that puts the backbone into a high proportion of Spain’s most respected red wines, is king. Its thick-skinned fruit is capable of making deep-colored, long-lasting wines. Whether it is called Tempranillo (Rioja, Navarra), Tinto del Pais or Tinto Fino (Ribera del Duero, Cigales), Tinto de Toro (Toro), Cencibel (Valdepeñas) or other names, one thing is certain: the wines are uniquely impressive.
Located on the far west coast of Spain is Galicia, home of the Rias Baixas appellation—pronounced “ree-ahss bi-shuss” and literally means “lower estuary”. Galicia is best known for its tangy, white wines; the name references the region’s wine growing areas located in the southwestern areas of province, whose coastline is dotted with countless inlets and estuaries. This verdant wine-growing region—which posts more rainfall annually than any other region in Spain—is also witness to both change and continuity. Its light, zesty and aromatic whites—produced principally from the Albariño grape variety—pair perfectly with seafood, especially shellfish. Younger producers are also making some very good red and rosé wine.
