The Spanish Grape Varieties

The Spanish claim to have up to 600 different grape varieties, although 80% of the country's vineyards are planted with just over 20 of them.

Airen

The drought resistant white Airen is planted throughout central Spain, occupying about twice as much land as any other variety. Airen traditionally produced base wines for Spain's Brandy industry and oxidized, alcoholic white wines for local consumption. However, recently, with careful handling and improved vinification, it has been used to create simple, refreshing, dry wines. The vines are the principal grape variety of La Mancha and Valdepenas.

Garnacha

Dark-skinned Garnacha (more commonly known as Grenache) is the second most widely planted variety, principally in the north of the country. It flourishes in windy, arid areas such as Navarra, Rioja Baja, Aragon and Catalonia. Perhaps the most distinctive and certainly most expensive Spanish wine based on Garnacha is Priorat, the concentrated Catalonian cult-wine.

Bobal

Bobal is an important Spanish dark-skinned variety which produces deep colored red wines and even grape concentrate in Alicante, Utiel-Requena and other regions for bulk wine production in South East Spain. It is often grown with Monastrell. Bobal Blanco, also known as Tortosi, is still grown to a limited extent in Valencia.

Monastrell

Monastrell (Mourvedre or Mataro of France) performs Garnacha's role in the Levante where it covers around 100,000 ha. The variety yields dark, alcoholic reds and occasionally dry rose.

Tempranillo

Spain's most widely planted vine variety, Tempranillo is associated with quality wine and is also called Cencible, Ull de Llebre and Tinto Fino in different parts of the country. Its grapes are thick skinned and capable of making deep colored, long-lasting wines that are not, unusually for Spain, high in alcohol.

Palomino

Palomino is a white grape variety which is most closely associated with the making of sherry around Jerez. It is almost certainly of Andalucian origin and is planted now in Jerez, Rueda and parts of Galicia. In France, the variety may also be known as Listan or Listan de Jerez.

Pedro Ximenex

Also known as Pedro Jimenez or just Pedro, the white Pedro Ximenex is traditionally associated with Andalucia, Valencia and Extremadura. Because it is capable of producing very ripe grapes, it is particularly popular with Malaga producers, some of whom depend on grapes from the Montilla-Moriles region. Apart from its use in sherry production, it is also used to produce neutral-flavored dry table wines - although some rich, raisiny, sweet fortified wine, called "PX" is bottled.

Macabeo

Macabeo, which is also called Viura, is northern Spain's most planted white grape variety and, as Maccabeo or Maccabeu has become very popular in France's Roussillon region. The wine produced tends to have a floral characters and relatively low acidity; it also withstands oxidization well. This is one of the reasons why it has been enthusiastically used by the growers of Rioja, where it has all but displaced Malvasia.

International varieties are making significant inroads in some parts of Spain. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay are increasingly important in Catalonia, Somontano and Navarra.

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