Spain has always been proud of its national traditions, and its wineries have staunchly resisted the international style of oaky Chardonnay's and tannic Cabernets. This Mediterranean country's top wines continue to be made with native grape varieties in traditional styles. They reward exploration by adventurous wine drinkers.

The most successful wines in every price category are red; primarily those made from the Tempranillo grape, which dominates the regions of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Navarra and Toro. Cabernet Sauvignon has begun to make an appearance often blended with Tempranillo, while obscure local grape varieties contribute to the distinctive character of wines from Priorato and Somontano.

Spain's wine laws are similar to those of the French appellation system, with the best vineyard regions delimited and regulated in 52 Denominations.

Most Bodegas (wineries) offer reds in four quality levels, which correspond to the amount of ageing (in wooden barrels or in bottle) the wines, receive before release. In order of increasing age (and price), they are: Sin Crianza, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.

Wines labelled "Sin Crianza" are released in the year after harvest; often made, at least in part, through the carbonic maceration method also responsible for Beaujolais Nouveau, they are light and rarely leave Spain. For the best values and the freshest fruit, look for Crianza and Reserva red wines, which spend at least one year ageing in oak barrels. Gran Reserva's must spend two years (and often stay much longer) in oak, and are commonly released only five to seven years after harvest. Although they are intended to be the very best wines of their vintage, they may be overly mature for most tastes when they finally reach retail shelves.

Navarra...

The earliest historical data on grape growing and wine production in Navarra dates from the 2nd century BC, when the ancient Romans built wineries (bodegas). Remains of winery equipment and installations have been found at the archaeological excavations in Arellano (Villa de la Musas), Falces, Lumbier and Muruzábal de Andion (Villa de Andelos).

In the Middle Ages, when Navarre was a powerful independent kingdom with close ties to France, viticulture prospered, partly due to the demand from the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James). In the 12th century, the wine from Navarre was recommended to pilgrims in guidebooks, and was also exported abroad.

Towards the end of the 18th viticulture was the main agricultural activity of the region. In 1855 there was an outbreak of oidium which affected wine production, three years after a similar outbreak in the Bordeaux (France) region. However, in 1892, the phylloxera plague devastated the vineyards, destroying an estimated 98% of the 50,000 ha of vines planted at that time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the vineyards were replanted by grafting onto New World rootstock. Wine cooperatives were formed and successfully increased production by exporting large quantities of wine in bulk.

During the 1980s private wineries and cooperatives began bottling and labelling quality wine. The statutes of the Denominación de Origen, which were originally approved in 1933, have been updated to reflect the shift of emphasis from bulk production to quality production.

Penedès...

According to archaeological evidence (some of which is on display in Vilafranca's Wine Museum) wine production in the Penedès has ancient origins, certainly dating back to the Phoenician introduction of Chardonnay vines during the 6th century BC. A large export market is known to have existed even through Moorish occupation in the Middle Ages. Eighteenth century Spanish expansion into South America generated an unprecedented demand for Penedès wines which has barely abated since.

The region did not escape the pan-European devastation of the phylloxera plague, one effect of which was a large-scale change in the predominant grape types from red to almost exclusively white, which in turn led to the first Cava production in the 1870s. Since then, red varietals have regained some ground but remain a relatively minor part of regional production.

Rias Baixas...

Rías Baixas Denominación de Origen (DO) is located in the province of Pontevedra and the south of the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is renowned for its white wines made from the Albariño grape variety.

It is believed that the Albariño grape was introduced to the area in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks of the Monastery of Armenteira.

The sub-zones of Rosal and Condado have a long history of grape growing and wine production and have their own traditional styles. The Salnés sub-zone only recently began to produce Albariño wines, for local sales to bars and restaurants.

Rías Baixas acquired its official status as a Denominación de Origen (DO) in 1988. This replaced the earlier "Denominación Específica Albariño" status which had been granted in 1980. Its Consejo Regulador is based in the city of Pontevedra.

Ribera Duero...

Ribera del Duero is a Spanish wine-making region and Denominación de Origen (DO) on the country's northern plateau and is one of five wine regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also one of several recognised wine-producing regions to be found along the course of the Duero river.

The region is characterised by a largely flat, rocky terrain and is centred on the town of Aranda de Duero, although the most famous vineyards surround Valladolid and Roa de Duero to the west, where the regional regulatory council or Consejo Regulador for the denominación is based.

Ribera del Duero is home to the world-famous and highly-prized Vega Sicilia and Tinto Pesquera wines and is dedicated almost entirely to the production of red wine from the Tempranillo grape.

Rioja...

The three principal regions of the Rioja are the Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja with each area producing its own unique expression of Rioja wine. Most of the territory subjected to the Rioja Protected designation of origin is in La Rioja region, even though their limits do not coincide exactly. There is a narrow strip in the left bank of the Ebro river lying in the southernmost part of Álava included in the Rioja wine region, whereas the south-south-western part of the La Rioja region is not a part of this Protected designation of origin.

Rioja Alta: located on the western edge of the region, and at higher elevations than the other areas, the Rioja Alta is known more for its' "old world" style of wine. A higher elevation equates to a shorter growing season, which in turn produces un-ripe fruit flavours and a lighter on the palate wine.

Rioja Alavesa: despite sharing a similar climate as the Alta region, the Rioja Alavesa produces wines with a fuller body and higher acidity.[4] Vineyards in the area have a low vine density with large spacing between rows. This is due to the relatively poor conditions of the soil with the vines needing more distance from each other and less competition for the nutrients in the surrounding soil.[3]

Rioja Baja: unlike the more continental climate of the Alta and Alavesa, the Rioja Baja is strongly influenced by a Mediterranean climate which makes this area the warmest and driest of the Rioja. In the summer months, drought can be a significant viticultural hazard, though since the late 1990s irrigation has been permitted. Temperatures in the summer typically reach 95 °F.[3] A number of the vineyards are actually located in nearby Navarra and the wine produced from those grapes belongs to the Rioja appellation. Unlike the typically pale colour Rioja wine, Baja wines are very deeply coloured and can be highly alcoholic with some wines at 18% alcohol by volume. The wines typically do not have much acidity or aroma and are generally used as blending components with wines from other parts of the Rioja.

Toro...

Wine has been made in Toro since the end of the 1st century BC, when the ancient Greeks taught the local Celtic tribes. In the Early Middle Ages, the wines from Toro were the first to be traded in the region of the River Duero.

King Alfonso IX granted lands to several religious orders with the understanding that they would plant vines, and many of the 40 churches that exist in the town of Toro today were built thanks to the wealth generated by the wine trade. The reputation of the wines from Toro grew and it began to be sold in other cities further afield such as Seville and Palencia. At this time the wine producers built underground wineries (bodegas) in order to obtain better quality wines and to have more effective temperature control.

At the end of the 19th century great quantities of wine were exported to France during the phylloxera crisis, which did not affect the local vines as they were protected by the sandy soil. For this reason, the vines of other regions of Spain were replaced by vines from Toro. For this reason, Toro still has a number of very old vineyards with pre-phylloxera Tinta de Toro, which in recent years have been used to source grapes for special cuvées.

The Toro DO was created in 1987.