Spanish wines

Spain's mainstream premium wine region is called denominaciones de origen protegidas (DOP) (similar to the French title), and its wines are regulated in accordance with specific laws and in compliance with the quality requirements of the European Commission Regulation (CE) 753. / 2002. In 2016, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA-Minister of Agriculture of Pesca y Alimentación) updated the usage of "Appellation of Origin" to Appellation of Origin (DOP); the traditional terms of DO can still be used legally on the label, but in the end Will be replaced by DOP.

Spanish wine region classification adopts a very complex hierarchical structure, among which the landmark of origin (denominación de origen protegida) is the mainstream grade, which is equivalent to the French AOC and the Italian DOC. As of 2019, Spain has divided 138 identifiable wine regions according to a certain geographic classification (2 DOCa / DOQ, 68 DO, 7 VC, 19 VP and 42 VT). Spanish DO is actually a subset of the European Union-sponsored QWPSR (Quality Wine Produced in Specific Regions) regulatory regulations (Vino de Calidad producido enregión determinada (VCPRD) in Spanish). Spain officially joined the (at the time) EEC in 1986. The Spanish origin name hierarchy was updated in 2016, as follows:

DOP – denominación de origen protegida (protected designation of origin) is the mid-stream tay column of Spanish wine quality control system. Each area is under the jurisdiction of consejo regulador, and the boundaries of the area, the allowed varieties, the maximum yield, the restrictions on the alcohol strength and other quality standards or production restrictions related to the area are all determined by it. As of 2019, there are 96 types of DOP subdivided into DOCa, DO, VP and VC. The subcategory can be called DOP, or the traditional terms of DOCa, DO, VP and VC can be used.

DOCa – denominación de origen calificada ("qualified appellation of origin") is the highest category in Spanish wine regulations and is only applicable to regions where the price of grapes is above average and quality control is particularly strict. Rioja was the first Spanish region to be granted DOCa status in 1991, followed by Priorat in 2003. Priorat uses the Catalan word DOQ to indicate the appellation of origin. These are the only two areas considered to be "above" the DO state.

DO – denominación de origin, the midstream of Spanish wine quality control system. column. Each area is under the jurisdiction of consejo regulador, and the boundaries of the area, the allowed varieties, the maximum yield, the restrictions on the alcohol strength and other quality standards or production restrictions related to the area are all determined by it.

VP – Vino de pago ("Château wine") is a special term for high-quality, single-château wine (pago is a Spanish term for vineyard terms), and in some cases also has the designation DO or VC or IGP. This category was established in 2003.

VC – vino de Calidad conindicación geográfica ("Quality Wines with Geographical Indications") was established in 2003 together with the Vice President. The VC category is used for wines that do not fully meet the strict standards of the DO category but are higher than the IGP category standards.

IGP – indicación geográficaprotegida ("Protected Geographical Indication"). This is lower than the DOP level and is a wine from a specific location, region or country that has a certain quality, reputation or other characteristics-including the stage of production-basically attributable to its geographic origin, at least one of which occurs Within the defined geographic area. These can use the traditional term "Vino de la Tierra (VT)".

VdM – vino de mesa ("table wine"), all the food at the bottom of the pyramid, all wines from unsorted vineyards, and wines classified by blending. These include cheap jug wines and some expensive wines that have not yet been classified due to innovations beyond traditional production lines.

In 2006, a new "Super Zone" named Viñedos de España was created. This was never approved by the European Union and was abolished in 2011.

Spanish wines map.