Spain has a long history of producing fine wines, particularly the red wines of Rioja. Surprisingly, however, this famous name is just one small region among many, some of which produce equally good wines, although many produce huge quantities of uninteresting dross. Some of these regions are huge, and account for the fact that Spain has the largest area of land dedicated to viticulture of any country in the world .

Red wines are often labelled as Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva. In Rioja and the Ribera del Duero, Crianza wines are two years old, with at least twelve months spent in cask (elsewhere the oak ageing may legally be restricted to just six months). Reservas are three years old (at least one year in cask), Gran Reservas five years old (two in cask, three in bottle).