All About D.O.s | Simply Spanish Wine

Spanish Wine Classifications

For many people, one of the most confusing aspects of Spanish wine is the system used to classify it - the Denominación de Origen system.

You may be slightly reluctant to dig into the dry and somewhat bureaucratic process used to classify the various wines in Spain. And we'd be the first to admit that it's not the most riveting subject around. But getting a basic grip of what the different Spanish wine classifications mean can be useful when it comes to making a more educated guess about what's inside the bottle and whether that wine is the right one for you.

So, let's see if we can outline the basics in an easy-to-understand way.

Why we have Denominaciones de Origen

The first thing to understand is that Denominaciones de Origen (or DOs as they are often referred to) aren't just for wines. They exist to protect the names of a broad range of food and drink products and promote their unique characteristics – i.e., where they come from and how they are made. Think of Camembert cheese or Parma ham for example.

On the one hand it acts as a kind of copyright system so that only authorised people or companies can sell products under a protected name. But it also acts as a signal to the consumer that products with a specific DO label have followed a certain set of rules, laid down by governing bodies, when making their products. And whilst it's not an absolute guarantee of quality, it does at least require certain practices and guidelines to be followed.

How does the system work for Spanish wine?

In Spain, wines fall under two umbrella categories:

  • Denominación de Origen Protegida, or DOP
  • Indicación Geográfica Protegida, or IGP

For a winery to be part of a DOP, every stage of their winemaking has to happen within the designated geographical area, which means that all the grapes have to be grown within the region where the wine is made. And each DOP has a list of grapes which wineries are allowed to use.

For IGP wineries, only one of the production stages has to take place in the area, and only 85% of the grapes have to come from the area where the wine is made.

All clear so far? Good.

DOP Subcategories

The DOP category then gets subdivided into four further categories and these are what you’ll see on the labels of wine bottles. You can think of the subcategories as layers on a pyramid (see the graphic below).

Vinos de Pago (VP)

At the 'top' of the pyramid we have Vinos de Pago or VPs. This is a group of wineries that have been granted their own status covering just very specific vineyards.

Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa/DOQ)

Then it’s Denominación de Origen Calificada, – DOCa – or DOQ in Catalan. This is a sort of DO+ category with stricter rules than standard DOs on how grapes are grown and how wine is made. For the moment only Rioja and Priorat are classified at this level.

Denominación de Origen (DO)

Then you have Denominación de Origen or DO wines. This is where the bulk of DOP wines are classified in Spain. The rules are still fairly strict though. For example, wineries have to have been making wine within the area for at least five years before they can join the DO.

Vinos de Calidad (VC)

Then at the entry level for DOP wines you have the Vinos de Calidad, or VC wines. These wines meet the minimum DOP requirements and are usually where vineyards will sit for an initial 5 years before graduating to DO classification.

Some wineries feel that being a VC can put them at a disadvantage commercially. So, you will sometimes see vineyards, or even entire wine growing regions, using the umbrella DOP category to classify themselves. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, it's important to remember that if you see a wine calling itself "DOP Sierra de Salamanca" (for example) that is not the same as DO and usually means the wine or region sits at the VC level.

IGP Subcategory - Vinos de la Tierra

In Spain, the Indicación Geografica Protegida category isn't broken down into subcategories. All the wines that fall under this category are labelled Vinos de la Tierra, or VT for short. VTs tend to cover much bigger geographical areas than DOPs. So you'll get wines labelled VT Castilla y León, or VT Castilla, for example, which cover very large parts of the country.

So, the whole thing looks something like this:

DOP Pyramid

Does a classification equate to quality?

The DO system in itself is not a cast-iron quality guarantee. It’s true, the rules get stricter the higher up the pyramid you go. But rules don't make the wine. Few in Spain would say that Vinos de Pago are, by definition, Spain’s "best" wines. And you can find some excellent wines within the VC and VT categories. But it’s another piece in the puzzle that help you to understand what’s in the bottle and decide which wine to buy.

List of Spain's DOPs

To help you get a fix on the differences between DOCs, DOs and VCs and give you a sense of whereabouts in Spain all those DOPs are located, we've put together this (pretty) comprehensive list. We're doing our best to keep it bang up to date, but changes do happen. So if you spot any information on here that is a touch out of date, please let us know.

Vinos de Pago (VP)

Name

Where in Spain

Aylés

Aragón

Campo de la Guardia

Castilla-La Mancha

Casa del Blanco

Castilla-La Mancha

Dehesa del Carrizal

Castilla-La Mancha

Dominio de Valdepusa

Castilla-La Mancha

El Terrerazo

Comunitat Valenciana

Finca Élez

Castilla-La Mancha

Guijoso

Castilla-La Mancha

Los Balagueses

Comunitat Valenciana

Pago Calzadilla

Castilla-La Mancha

Pago de Arínzano

Navarra

Pago de Otazu

Navarra

Pago Florentino

Castilla-La Mancha

Prado de Irache

Navarra

 

Denominación de Origen de Calidad (DOCa/DOQ)

Name

Where in Spain

Priorat

Catalunya

Rioja

La Rioja, Navarra, and Euskadi (Basque Country)

 

Denominación de Origen (DO)

Name

Where in Spain

Abona

Islas Canarias

Alella

Catalunya

Alicante

Comunitat Valenciana

Almansa

Castilla-La Mancha

Arlanza

Castilla y León

Arribes

Castilla y León

Bierzo

Castilla y León

Binissalem

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Bullas

Murcia

Calatayud

Aragón

Campo de Borja

Aragón

Cariñena

Aragón

Catalunya

Catalunya

Cava

Aragón, Catalunya, Comunitat Valenciana, Extremadura, La Rioja, Navarra, Euskadi (Basque Country)

Cebreros

Castilla y León

Cigales

Castilla y León

Condado de Huelva​

Andalucía

Costers del Segre

Catalunya

Cuenca de Barberá

Catalunya

El Hierro

Islas Canarias

Empordá

Catalunya

Gran Canaria

Islas Canarias

Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

Andalucía

Jumilla

Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia

La Gomera

Islas Canarias

La Mancha

Castilla-La Mancha

La Palma

Islas Canarias

Lanzarote

Islas Canarias

Málaga

Andalucía

Manchuela

Castilla-La Mancha

Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Andalucía

Méntrida

Castilla-La Mancha

Mondéjar

Castilla-La Mancha

Monterrei

Galicia

Montilla-Moriles

Andalucía

Montsant

Catalunya

Navarra

Navarra

Penedès

Catalunya

Pla de Bages

Catalunya

Pla i Llevant

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Rias Baixas

Galicia

Ribeira Sacra

Galicia

Ribeiro

Galicia

Ribera del Duero

Castilla y León

Ribera del Guadiana

Extremadura

Ribera del Júcar

Castilla-La Mancha

Rueda

Castilla y León

Sierras de Málaga

Andalucía

Somontano

Aragón

Tacoronte-Acentejo

Islas Canarias

Tarragona

Catalunya

Terra Alta

Catalunya

Tierra del Vino de Zamora

Castilla y León

Toro

Castilla y León

Txakoli de Álava

Euskadi (Basque Country)

Txakoli de Bizkaia

Euskadi (Basque Country)

Txakoli de Getaria

Euskadi (Basque Country)

Uclés

Castilla-La Mancha

Utiel-Requena

Comunitat Valenciana

Valdeorras

Galicia

Valdepeñas

Castilla-La Mancha

Valencia

Comunitat Valenciana

Valle de Güímar

Islas Canarias

Valle de La Orotava

Islas Canarias

Vinos de León

Castilla y León

Vinos de Madrid

Comunidad de Madrid

Ycoden-Daute-Isora

Islas Canarias

Yecla

Murcia

 

Vinos de Calidad (VC)

Name

Where in Spain

Cangas

Asturias

Granada

Andalucía

Islas Canarias

Islas Canarias

Lebrija

Andalucía

Sierra de Salamanca

Castilla y León

Valles de Benavente

Castilla y León

Valtiendas

Castilla y León

 

List of Spain's IGPs

And here's our list of all the IGPs that Spain currently has to offer.

Vinos de la Tierra (VT)

Name

Where in Spain

3 Riberas

Navarra

Altiplano de Sierra Nevada

Andalucía

Bailén

Andalucía

Bajo Aragón

Aragón

Barbanza e Iria

Galicia

Betanzos

Galicia

Cádiz

Andalucía

Campo de Cartagena

Murcia

Castelló

Comunitat Valenciana

Castilla

Castilla-La Mancha

Castilla y León

Castilla y León

Córdoba

Andalucía

Costa de Cantabria

Cantabria

Cumbres del Guadalfeo

Andalucía

Desierto de Almería

Andalucía

Extremadura

Extremadura

Formentera

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Ibiza

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Isla de Menorca

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Laderas del Genil

Andalucía

Laujar-Alpujarra

Andalucía

Liébana

Cantabria

Los Palacios

Andalucía

Mallorca

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Murcia

Murcia

Norte de Almería

Andalucía

Ribera del Andarax

Andalucía

Ribera del Gállego-Cinco Villas

Aragón

Ribera del Jiloca

Aragón

Ribera del Queiles nota 3​

Aragón

Ribera del Queiles nota 3​

Navarra

Serra de Tramuntana-Costa Nord

Illes Balears (Balearic Islands)

Sierra Norte de Sevilla

Andalucía

Sierra Sur de Jaén

Andalucía

Sierras de Las Estancias y Los Filabres

Andalucía

Torreperogil

Andalucía

Valdejalón

Aragón

Valle del Cinca

Aragón

Valle del Miño-Ourense

Galicia

Valles de Sadacia

La Rioja

Villaviciosa de Córdoba

Andalucía

 

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