Spanish Wine Classification Explanation

Hello everyone, Aaron here with Caravinos and welcome to this quick overview of the wine classification system in

Spain. Understanding how the classification system works can help you figure out what wines to buy your local bottle shop. So let's get started

There are two broad categories of wine in Spain, those from a specific geographical region and those that are not. The wines from a certain region can be divided into two categories, DOP wines, or denomination de nomenation de

Protected, these are PDOs, protected designation of origin wines, and Indication Geographic Protegida, protected geographical indication, PGI

Under this, you'll find the Vino de la Tierra, or Land Wine

Let's get started with the first category, the PDO level, which is divided into

or categories itself, DOCA slash DOQ, DOP, Vino de Caledadad, and Pagos

For the first one, denomination de origen Diocata, DOCA, this translates to qualified denomination of origin. A wine region that has been a DO for

at least 10 years can apply to become a DOCA These are well Spanish wine regions with a long heritage Currently Spain only has two DOC regions Rioja and Priora

As a side note, you'll see Prioryat DOQA's instead of Prioryorot DOCA

Why? Because they speak Catalan and the locals take great pride in their semi-autonomous status from the rest of Spain

so they call their wine growing region Denominacio de origin Qualificada, DOQ

Just know that DOCA and DOQ hold the same quality status, and it's easy

The next level, denomination of origin protegida, DOP. You may also see this as

Denomination de origin or DO. This is an older version of the regulation

And translates to protected denomination of origin. The winery makes wine within the boundaries of the region and it has to have a five-year history of wine production to be awarded a DO

One level below the DOP is Vino de Caledadadad Con Indication Geographica, or VC for short

This translates to quality wine with a geographical indication VC Spanish wines come from a region and reflect the wine growing and quality wine making traditions of that region This is a newer category and something like an in status for wines moving from the lower Vino de Tierra level to the full DOP classification

It's like they're in limbo and they have to stay at this level again for five years

And then we have Pagoes, which are a category into themselves. A Pago is a single estate wine producer

The producer owns the land and sets their own regulations for wine growing and wine making

Apago can fall outside the boundaries of a formal deal, overlap it, or be within it

This allows wine producers to still carry a quality label, regardless of whether they're making wine in different regions of Spain

As a side note, there are pagoes for other things besides wine, like olive trees for olive oil

The idea behind Apago is that products quality is linked to the quality of the land

Ergo, a pago for wine makes quality wine. Then below the PDO level we have PGI wines or IGP in Spanish Indicacion haeographica Protegida Within this level you find the Vino de la Tierra This translates to land wine a regional wine the broadest regional category VT Spanish wines offer producers flexibility in vineyard management sourcing great blends and winemaking styles but still within the geographical area If you familiar with French or Italian wine labels it the same as IGP or IGT wine classifications respectively Finally we move on to the broadest category Vino

its wine. You may see Vino de mesa, table wine, or Vino de

Spain, Spanish wine. This is the broadest category and producers can use any

grape or winemaking style. Similar to Super Tuscan wines of Italian feign

some producers purposefully declassify their wines to allow for blending, innovation, and experimentation. So you may find outstanding

vino in this category. More often than not, however, it's just bulk wine and a great option for your sangria party. So

you'll see these terms on wine labels, and it's worth knowing what they are

as you shot for more Spanish red wines. All right, that's your Spanish wine classification system

On defining and drinking fabulous Vinos de Spainia. Thanks for watching and until next time