Top 100 sweet wines of Spain - Page 3

Discovering the wine region of Spain

Spain is a land of breathtaking scenery, colourful history and a Deep and Complex culture in which wine has Long played an important role. Grapes have been grown on the Iberian Peninsula since at least 3000 BC, although it wasn't until 1000 BC that viticulture really began here - a skill brought by Phoenician traders from the eastern Mediterranean. Today, Spain is home to more vineyards than any other country in the world, and its national wine production is exceeded only by France and Italy. All of Spain's seventeen administrative regions (communidades autónomas) produce wine to some degree, including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.

The greatest concentration of vineyards is in Castilla-La Mancha, but the finest and most famous wines come from Galicia (Rias Baixas), Catalonia (Cava and Priorat), Andalusia (Sherry), Castilla y León (Rueda, Toro and Ribera del Duero) and of course Rioja. Geography and Climate together play a fundamental role in defining the many styles of Spanish wines. From cool Green Galicia and the snowy Pyrenees in the North, through the parched Central plateau, to sunny sandy Andalusia in the South, the Spanish landscape is very varied. The country spans seven degrees of latitude (36°N to 43°N), leaving 500 miles (800 km) between its Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

Between these two very different coasts are various mountain ranges, each of which has a particular effect on the local landscape and climate. The Cordillera Cantábrica, for example, creates dramatic contrasts between the lush green land on its northern, Atlantic side and the Dry, dusty Castile and Leon on its southern, inland side. Among the mountain peaks and plateaus rise the rivers on which so many of Spain's vineyards depend. These are important not only as an indispensable source of water, but also because of their impact on local soils and mesoclimates.