Buying Spanish Wine by the Label

By Luca Discenza

For many wine drinkers exploring wines from Spain, reading and understanding a Spanish wine label can be confusing and often intimidating. Although wine regulations and labelling terminology in Spain reflect similar formats to other European wine producing countries there some key unique traits, often required by regional winemaking authorities that can make buying Spanish wine challenging for the perspective buyer. In this article we'll look at some of the most common Spanish wine labelling vocabulary to help you understand what is inside the bottles you are purchasing in stores, restaurants and online.

How to Shop for Spanish Wines?

Spanish wine labels happen to follow a pattern that share similariies with other European wine producing countries. To help you shop better by understanding wine labels refer to our articles on shopping for Italian and French wines. This article will help make Spanish wine labels straightforward to understand. Here are the most important labelling categories and terms below.

Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) – This is a PDO classification which can only be found on the labels of wines coming from the Rioja and Priorat regions within Spain. Priorat is nestled within the Catalunya (Catalonia) region. For wines from Priorat, the term Denominacio d’Origen Qualificada (DOQ) is usually seen rather than DOCa. They are the same label term, but DOQ is written instead in Catalonian to reflect the unique language and culture of the region.

Denominacion de Origen (DO) – DO wines are the second category of PDO wines in Spain. Just like with French AC and Italian DOC and DOCG wines, DO and DOCa wines will be found only to list the region of origin with no indication of varietals. Some of the popular DO wine regions include Rias Baixas, Navarra, and Valencia just to name a few, with 70 total across the country. Any DO region can apply to eventually become a DOCa region. However, the DO must have existed for 10 years minimum before it can be considered for an upgraded status. Similar to DOCG and DOC wines in Italy, DO and DOCa wines also receive a quality assurance stamp from the Spanish government.

Vino de Calidad con Indicación Geográfica (VC) – Is a recent addition to Spanish wine labelling. This is a PGI wine label that categorizes wines in a similar fashion to Italian IGT and French VDP. VC wines can come from any specific region in Spain but may use grape varietals or winemaking techniques that would otherwise disqualify it from retaining its DO/DOCa status, or the winery is outside the DO or DOCa regions themselves.

Vino de la Tierra –. These are PGI wines from Spain that come from beyond the regulated and recognized regions for DO and DOCa wines, they can be of any quality and may or may not indicate the varietal used.

Aging Requirements
Rioja DOCa wines have specific labelling terms required for their wines to represent age. Rioja wines are very popular, and you have likely already encountered a Rioja label with one of these terms many times before. Here is an explanation of each.

Joven – Literally “youthful” wines with this label are less than 24 months aged, and may not have spent any time in contact with oak barrels
Crianza – wines that have spent at least 18 (white) or 24 (red) months aging, with at least 6 months in contact with oak barrels for either red or white wine
Reserva – Wines have spent 24 (white) or 36 (red) months total aging with at least 6 (white) or 12 (red) of those months in contact with oak.
Gran Reserva – is the highest aging label used for Rioja wines. Red wines must spend 60 months aging or more, with at least 18 of those in barrels. White wines must spend 48 months aging but only need 6 months in barrels; the same as a Reserva or Crianza.

Note all of these are minimums, and each individual producer may age their wines much longer within each category depending on their house style or the quality of the wine produced.

Other Spanish Labelling Terms

Here are some general wine labelling terms you might see on Spanish wines:
Cosecha – Refers to a vintage wine and the vintage is often displayed beside this term
Bodega – A winery
Embotellado a la Propiedad – bottled on the property/at the winery
Meses de Crianza – Another way of indicating the months of aging

Where to Buy Spanish Wine in Ontario?

For many wine drinkers, picking out a new bottle to try based on the label alone can be tricky. In many stores, you may find yourself constantly Googling the label terms trying to discover what might be inside the bottle you might buy next, or the product consultants in store may be too busy to help you out during a busy period. In our online store at 30.50 Imports, we make searching for and understanding each wine simple and convenient. We provide technical details about every wine, an in depth description of the flavour profiles of each wine, descriptions of the terroir and winery the bottle originates from, and even pairing suggestions. Click this link to shop Spanish wines, as well as wines from across Europe and the New World.