In this post, I will attempt to cover the rest of the major wine regions of Spain. As usual, I will be using my notes & the 2 encyclopedic reference guides (WAoW and OCtW) I have. Just below and slightly east of La Rioja is a small region called Aragon. Here Tempranillo & Garnacha (Grenache) are king. To the east of this area is Catalonia, a very independent region with a strong French influence. It is most known for it’s sparkling Cava (the Spanish champagne). Most of it is made in the Penedes subregion (around Barcelona) and uses primarily the Macabeo, Parella, and Xarel-lo grapes. Another subregion of note is Priorat, the only other DOC in Spain. It produces a lot of Garnacha & Carignan blended red wines from very old vines (expensive wine).
Moving south, along the coast, you next come to Valencia, a small region known for reds made from the Monastrell and Bobal (a local varietal) grape. They tend to value quantity over quality. Next to this area is Castilla-La Mancha, the largest appellation in all of Europe. Approximately half of Spain’s grapes are grown here. There are 9 separate DOs that grow primarily the white Arien and the red Tempranillo (but also some Cab. Sauv., Petit Verdot, and Garnacha) grapes. South of that, along the coast, is another small region called Murcia. It has 3 DOs, but Jumilla is where high quality Monastrell (red) is grown.
Furthest south is Andalusia, where Spain’s most original wine comes from – Sherry. Since the 8th century BC, they have been making a variation of this unique wine, currently from 3 white grapes: Palamino, Moscatel, and Pedro Ximenez. The oldest DO is Jerez, which is “shrinking” in land use for grapes because fewer people are drinking Sherry. There are 3 basic kinds of Sherry: light (Fino or Manzanilla), sweet (Pedro Ximenez), and dark/ dry (Amontillado or Oloroso). Typically, they are all aged and blended from different years. Finally, there are the islands, where a lot of local sweet wine is made. The best known is Malmsey from the Canary Islands , made from the Malvasia grape.
That should do it for Spain. Next time will be the Wine of the Month for May. You will not want to miss it. Cheers!