To commemorate the grand opening of Despana Vinos y Mas, let’s have a little Spanish wine lesson, shall we?

DO, DOQa, DOCa, VdIT.  If you’ve ever picked up a bottle of Spanish wine, you’ve probably noticed some of those letters gracing the label.  So what exactly do these things mean?  And does it really matter?

Spanish wine laws require that designations are specified for various wine-producing regions.  So who exactly is enforcing these DO regulations?  There is a governing body, the Consejo Regulador, that is responsible for classifying and regulating the standards for winemaking.  Regulations cover all aspects of the winemaking process, including, but not limited to the amount of time aged in the barrel and the types of grapes used.  DOCa/DOQa is the highest “grade” that can be assigned to a wine – Rioja and Priorat are the only two regions that currently hold this prestigious designation.

A 2001 Rioja from Rioja Alta - one of my favorite vintages.

Autonomous regions are in charge of assigning designations.  Non-autonomous regions or wine regions that overlap with other autonomous communities receive their designations from INDO in Madrid.

A Tempranillo from Cigales, a DO wine-making region

So now that you know the background, let’s break it down.

Vino de Mesa (VdM) – aka “table wine.”  These wines are not required to specify a region, grape, or vintage on the label.  Because Spanish winemaking has pretty rigid rules, this gives winemakers some flexibility to experiment and blend.  This isn’t like Franzia or anything.  You can actually get many good Spanish table wines at many of the local bars in Spain.

Vinos de la Tierra (VdIT) – This categorization is used for wines that aren’t in the DO growing regions.  Similar to VdM wines, because winemakers are not under as much scrutiny, there are interesting blends.

Vino de Calidad Producido en Region Determinada (VCPRD) – These wines are considered one step away from DO status.

Denominacion de Origen (DO) – The Consejo Regulador classifies these wine-making regions as meeting specific criteria and quality standards.  Rueda and Rias Baixas are examples of popular DO regions.  Although these wines are not DOCa (see below), they are still great and come at a lower price point.  Ribera is one of my favorite DO wines – I find the recent vintages to be more consistent than Rioja and more reasonably priced.

Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa/ DOQa) – As good as it gets.  Rioja and Priorat are the only wines to receive this designation.  Don’t let the classification trick you into thinking you’ll be spending a month’s rent on wine – some of the best wines I have ever had are Gran Reserva Riojas that have set me back $50, tops.  That’s the beauty of Spanish wine; everything is of the highest quality, at a tremendous value.

Albarino from Rias Baixas is an example of a DO wine.

Is the designation of wine important to you when it comes to purchasing or consuming?  Is there a wine producing region that you are most partial to?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

My next post will help you understand Crianza from Vino Joven…stay tuned.