Andalusia: Sherry, Montilla-Moriles and the Southern Spanish DOs

Andalusia is the southern region of Spain whose wine quality schemes are administered by the Junta de Andalucía through the Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural. The Junta records that Andalusia currently has seven wines protected by denominations of origin and one aromatised wine with a denomination of origin, produced in five provinces. Among them are five of the first denominations of origin in Spain: Condado de Huelva, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Málaga and Montilla-Moriles. The Sierras de Málaga denomination of origin was recognised in 2000, covering red, rose and white wines, and the Granada denomination of origin was recognised in 2018. The aromatised wine geographical indication Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva was recognised in 2011. The consejos reguladores are based at Bollullos Par del Condado in Huelva for Condado de Huelva, at Jerez de la Frontera in Cádiz for Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at Montilla in Córdoba for Montilla-Moriles, and at Plaza de los Viñeros in Málaga for Málaga and Sierras de Málaga. The Junta describes these as wines whose quality and characteristics are due basically or exclusively to a particular geographical setting, with the natural and human factors inherent to it, made from grapes grown only in that zone and vinified within its limits.

• Regional authority: Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural
• Seven wine denominations of origin plus one aromatised wine denomination, across five provinces
• Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva recognised as an aromatised wine geographical indication in 2011

The Consejo Regulador of Sherry describes the climate of the Jerez region as warm, a direct consequence of its low latitude, the town of Jerez sitting on latitude 36 degrees North and the region being one of the most southerly winegrowing areas in Europe. Summers are dry and hot, with temperatures frequently above 40 degrees Celsius, while the proximity of the Atlantic maintains humidity and moderates temperatures, most evidently at night. Two winds prevail through spring and summer: the Poniente from the west, cool and humid, with humidity reaching ninety-five percent, and the Levante from the south-east, hot and dry, with humidity around thirty percent. Average annual temperature is 17.3 degrees Celsius, winters are mild and temperatures rarely drop below zero, effective sunlight averages between 3,000 and 3,200 hours, and rainfall averages six hundred litres per square metre per year, usually in autumn and winter. The Sherry region is a landscape of open, gently rolling hills with gradients of between 10 and 15 per cent, covered by a limestone soil known as albariza, a soft loam of chalk and clay that turns dazzling white in the dry months. It is rich in calcium carbonate, containing up to forty percent, together with clay and silica from diatomite and radiolite shells laid down in the Oligocene sea. Its high moisture retention stores winter rainfall for the dry months, and roots up to twelve metres long have been found at depths of up to six metres in it. Two further soils are used in smaller proportion: barros, clays predominant at the foot of hills and in valleys, and arenas, sands more common in coastal areas. Elsewhere the settings differ. Condado de Huelva lies on flat or slightly undulating land with neutral or slightly basic loamy soil of average fertility, mild winters and springs, long warm summers and a clearly Atlantic influence, with average annual temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 60 to 80 percent. Montilla-Moriles sits in the province of Córdoba, bounded by the Guadalquivir to the north, the Subbética ranges to the south, the river Genil to the east and the Guadajoz to the west.

• Jerez sits on latitude 36 degrees North, one of the most southerly winegrowing regions in Europe
• Average annual temperature in the Jerez region is 17.3 degrees Celsius, with 3,000 to 3,200 hours of effective sunlight
• Rainfall in the Jerez region averages six hundred litres per square metre per year, falling mostly in autumn and winter
• Albariza contains up to forty percent calcium carbonate; barros (clays) and arenas (sands) are the other soils used
• Condado de Huelva records average annual temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 60 to 80 percent

The Junta de Andalucía lists the Andalusian denominations of origin entered in the Community register. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Montilla-Moriles, Málaga, Sierras de Málaga and Condado de Huelva are the six that carry the Andalusian wine styles described on this page, alongside the Granada denomination recognised in 2018. Condado de Huelva, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Málaga and Montilla-Moriles are among the first denominations of origin recognised in Spain; Sierras de Málaga was added in 2000 to cover red, rose and white wines. Classification terms are set denomination by denomination. Málaga names its wines by ageing: Pálido up to 6 months, Noble from 2 to 3 years, Añejo from 3 to 5 years and Trasañejo above 5 years. Sierras de Málaga uses Crianza for a minimum of 2 years including 6 months in oak barrel, Reserva for a minimum of 3 years including 12 months in barrel, and Gran Reserva for a minimum of 5 years including 24 months in barrel and 36 months in bottle, with a separate Gran Reserva standard for whites and roses of 5 years including at least 6 months in barrel. Wines carrying the Serranía de Ronda name must come entirely from that subzone. Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda lies geographically within Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, shares its production zone and the same Consejo Regulador, and may only be aged in bodegas in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Montilla-Moriles recognises two ageing routes, biological ageing under a veil of flor in oak butts and oxidative ageing where no veil forms, both worked through the dynamic criaderas y solera system.

• Málaga ageing terms: Pálido up to 6 months, Noble 2 to 3 years, Añejo 3 to 5 years, Trasañejo above 5 years
• Sierras de Málaga: Crianza 2 years (6 months in barrel), Reserva 3 years (12 months), Gran Reserva 5 years (24 months in barrel, 36 in bottle)
• Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda may only be aged in bodegas in Sanlúcar de Barrameda
• Montilla-Moriles uses both biological ageing under flor and oxidative ageing, through criaderas y solera

Six denomination articles sit directly under this hub. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO covers the Sherry production zone, whose vineyards fall within ten municipalities: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Puerto Real, Rota, Trebujena, San José del Valle and Lebrija. Jerez de la Frontera is the largest city in the area and the capital of the wine region to which it lends its name, a city of around 200,000 inhabitants set on hills of albariza. Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO lies inside that same production zone and shares its Consejo Regulador, but its wine may only be aged in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, one of the vertices of the Sherry Triangle. Both denominations are therefore part of the Jerez area rather than separate territories. Montilla-Moriles DO lies in the province of Córdoba and covers 17 municipalities. Málaga DO draws on 67 municipalities in five geographic production areas: Axarquía, Montes de Málaga, Norte, Manilva and Serranía de Ronda. Sierras de Málaga DO extends across the whole province, with its municipalities distributed among seven smaller geographic units: Axarquía, Costa Occidental, Manilva, Montes de Málaga, Norte de Málaga, Serranía de Ronda and Sierra de las Nieves. Condado de Huelva DO occupies the municipal terms of the Condado de Huelva, on flat to gently undulating land under Atlantic influence. Two further geographic labels appear in the hierarchy without articles of their own. Jerez is the area around Jerez de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz, the ground shared by the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda denominations. Seville is the neighbouring province; the vineyards in the north of the Sherry region fall within the municipal boundaries of Lebrija, which belongs to the province of Seville.

• Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO: ten municipalities including Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda
• Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO: inside the Jerez production zone, aged only in Sanlúcar de Barrameda
• Montilla-Moriles DO: 17 municipalities in the province of Córdoba
• Málaga DO: 67 municipalities across Axarquía, Montes de Málaga, Norte, Manilva and Serranía de Ronda
• Sierras de Málaga DO: the whole province of Málaga, in seven smaller geographic units
• Condado de Huelva DO: the municipal terms of the Condado de Huelva, in the province of Huelva

The regulations of the Sherry Consejo Regulador name Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel as the varieties suitable for the production of Sherry, all three white. Palomino, also known as Listán, is described as the most traditional of the varieties and the leader within the Jerez region; the Palomino Fino sub-variety buds in the last fortnight of March, ripens in early September, and yields are in the order of 80 hectolitres per hectare at around 11 degrees Baumé with low acidity. Pedro Ximénez, also known as Alamis and Pedro Ximén, carries greater sugar content at 12.8 degrees Baumé and higher acidity, and its grapes are generally sunned before vinification to concentrate their sugar. Moscatel, also called Moscatel de Alejandría, is best suited to vineyards close to the sea and in the Jerez region the wine usually goes under the name de Chipiona. Pedro Ximénez dominates Montilla-Moriles, where the Consejo Regulador records that it occupies more than 95 percent of the cultivated area and gives wines of 15 natural degrees. Málaga wines are made mainly from the white varieties Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel. Sierras de Málaga admits a much wider list, including the whites Pero Ximén, Moscatel de Alejandría, Moscatel Morisco, Chardonnay, Macabeo, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo and Doradilla, and the reds Romé, Tintilla de Rota, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Petit Verdot. In Condado de Huelva the white, fortified, liqueur and sweet liqueur wines draw on Zalema, Palomino Fino, Listán del Condado, Garrido Fino, Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat à Petits Grains, Pedro Ximénez, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo and Chardonnay, while the reds and roses use Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Zalema predominates there, accounting for 86 percent of the total planted.

• Sherry: Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, all white
• Palomino Fino yields in the order of 80 hectolitres per hectare at around 11 degrees Baumé
• Pedro Ximénez occupies more than 95 percent of the cultivated area in Montilla-Moriles
• Málaga wines are made mainly from the white varieties Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel
• Zalema accounts for 86 percent of the planted area in Condado de Huelva

The Spanish Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación publishes registered area and qualified wine volume for every Spanish denomination of origin. For the 2021/2022 campaign it recorded 7,083 hectares registered at the end of the campaign for Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda together, with 1,509 growers; 4,583 hectares and 1,617 growers for Montilla-Moriles; 2,069 hectares and 1,016 growers for Condado de Huelva; and 870 hectares and 437 growers for Málaga and Sierras de Málaga together. Qualified wine volumes for the same 2021/2022 campaign, as published by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, were 398,289 hectolitres for Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda together, 152,907 hectolitres for Montilla-Moriles, 84,266 hectolitres for Condado de Huelva, 9,682 hectolitres for Málaga and 8,058 hectolitres for Sierras de Málaga. The same report counted 72 registered bodegas for Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, 24 for Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 55 for Montilla-Moriles, 24 for Condado de Huelva and 18 for Málaga and Sierras de Málaga together.

• 2021/2022 registered area (MAPA): Jerez plus Manzanilla 7,083 ha, Montilla-Moriles 4,583 ha, Condado de Huelva 2,069 ha, Málaga plus Sierras de Málaga 870 ha
• 2021/2022 qualified wine (MAPA): Jerez plus Manzanilla 398,289 hl, Montilla-Moriles 152,907 hl, Condado de Huelva 84,266 hl
• 2021/2022 qualified wine (MAPA): Málaga 9,682 hl, Sierras de Málaga 8,058 hl
• Registered bodegas in 2021/2022 (MAPA): 72 in Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, 55 in Montilla-Moriles, 24 each in Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Condado de Huelva

Primary sources (Junta de Andalucía and the consejos reguladores): https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/organismos/agriculturapescaaguaydesarrollorural/areas/industrias-agroalimentarias/calidad/paginas/denominaciones-calidad-vinos-do.html, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/sherry-wine-region, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/viticulture, https://www.montillamoriles.es/consejo-regulador/, https://www.montillamoriles.es/territorio/, https://vinomalaga.com/consejo-regulador/d-o-malaga/, https://vinomalaga.com/consejo-regulador/d-o-sierras-de-malaga/, https://docondadodehuelva.es/en/, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/dry-sherry-wines/manzanilla, https://docondadodehuelva.es/en/our-vineyards/. Secondary sources: https://www.mapa.gob.es/dam/mapa/contenido/alimentacion/temas/calidad-agroalimentaria/2017-calidad-diferenciada/2-etgs--especialidades-tradicionales-garantizadas/datos-estadisticos/vinos-con-dop--campanas-2000-2023/informedops2021-2022.pdf. Last verified 2026-09-16