Spain: The World's Largest Vineyard

Spain had the largest vineyard in the world in 2025, 919,000 hectares or 13.1 percent of the global total, and more land devoted to vines than any other country. Spain's own vine potential register, published by MAPA, counted 961,173 hectares on 31 July 2023, and 97 percent of that area lay in territory protected by a quality denomination. Castilla-La Mancha had the largest area, 442,970 hectares or 47.7 percent of the national planted wine-grape area on 31 July 2023, followed by Castilla y León (9.1 percent), Extremadura (8.2 percent) and Catalonia (6.1 percent). Vine-growing holdings numbered 536,359, with an average of 1.73 hectares each.

• 2025: 919,000 hectares under vine, the largest vineyard in the world
• 31 July 2023: 961,173 hectares of vine potential, 97 percent inside a quality denomination's territory
• 31 July 2023: Castilla-La Mancha held 47.7 percent of Spain's planted wine-grape area
• 536,359 vine-growing holdings averaging 1.73 hectares

Spain's wine regions run from the green vineyards of Galicia on the north Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean south-east. The average altitude of Spanish vineyards is over 600 metres, and because night-time temperatures are relatively low, a high proportion of them produce grapes with good levels of colour and acidity. Irrigation has been officially allowed in Spain since 1996, on a case by case basis, but it is expensive and rarely used, so vines are typically planted as widely spaced bushes and yields tend to be very low. jancisrobinson.com finds that lower altitude vineyards, notably in the Levante on the southern Mediterranean coast, tend to produce wines whose main problem is an excess of alcohol and a lack of acidity. In the Sherry region the main soil is albariza, a white limestone soil containing up to forty percent calcium carbonate that stores winter rainfall to nourish the vines during the dry months; clays and sands are also used, in a lesser percentage. The Consell Regulador of the DOQ Priorat calls Priorat "the territory of slate".

• Average vineyard altitude over 600 metres
• Irrigation officially allowed since 1996, case by case, and rarely used
• Albariza, a white limestone soil with up to 40 percent calcium carbonate, dominates the Sherry region
• Priorat is "the territory of slate", in the words of the Consell Regulador of the DOQ Priorat

Red varieties made up 52.8 percent of Spain's planted wine-grape area on 31 July 2023 and white varieties 47.2 percent. Tempranillo led with 199,090 hectares, 21.5 percent of the total vineyard. Behind it among the reds came Garnacha Tinta (59,530 hectares), Bobal (53,452), Garnacha Tintorera (42,321), Monastrell (34,501), Cabernet Sauvignon (close to 17,587) and Syrah (16,385), and these seven varieties covered 88 percent of the red area and 46 percent of the national vineyard. Airén, at 190,085 hectares, was 20 percent of the national vineyard and 44 percent of the white area, followed by Macabeo (56,764 hectares), Verdejo (25,309), Pardina (21,492) and Cayetana Blanca (11,985). The Monastrell common in the Levante is Mourvèdre. jancisrobinson.com rates Galicia's Albariño and Rueda's Verdejo as two white varieties of undisputable class and interest. The regulations of the Consejo Regulador name Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, all white, as the varieties suitable for Sherry, and Palomino is the most widely favoured.

• Tempranillo: 199,090 hectares on 31 July 2023, 21.5 percent of Spain's vineyard
• Airén: 190,085 hectares, 20 percent of the vineyard and 44 percent of the white area
• Seven red varieties led by Tempranillo and Garnacha Tinta covered 46 percent of the national vineyard
• Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel are the varieties suitable for Sherry

The Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja traces Rioja's origin back to Ancient Rome. The Rioja Designation of Origin was born in 1925, when the territory was delimited and the first official regulation established, with 1926 as year one for the Control Board, and Rioja was awarded Qualified Designation of Origin status in 1991. The Priorat appellation was delimited in 1932. Phylloxera first appeared in Jerez in 1894. MAPA's register of 2 July 2026 lists Rioja and Priorat as the only two names carrying the traditional term DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada), known as DOQ in Catalan, a category jancisrobinson.com rates as theoretically superior. Of the register's 106 DOP names, 70 carry the term DO, 27 VP (Vino de Pago) and 7 VC (Vino de Calidad), and all 43 IGP names carry VT (Vino de la Tierra).

• Rioja DO born in 1925, with 1926 as year one for its Control Board
• Rioja awarded Qualified Designation of Origin status in 1991
• Only Rioja and Priorat carry the DOCa term in MAPA's register of 2 July 2026
• Phylloxera first appeared in Jerez in 1894

Spain had the largest vineyard in the world in 2025 at 919,000 hectares, 13.1 percent of the global total, after a decline of 1.3 percent on 2024. Spain's own vine potential register, published by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (MAPA), put the national vineyard at 961,173 hectares on 31 July 2023, of which 97 percent sat inside the territory of a quality denomination. Spanish wine production was 28.7 million hectolitres in 2025, the third largest volume in the world, down 7.7 percent on 2024 and 17 percent below the five-year average after a third consecutive year of drought and heatwaves. Spanish wine exports fell to 19.6 million hectolitres in 2025, worth 3.0 billion euros, with Germany the leading market by both volume and value. Spain's register of protected wine names stood at 149 names on 2 July 2026, made up of 106 DOP and 43 IGP. The register records a traditional term against each name, with DO, DOCa, VC and VP all sitting at DOP level and VT at IGP level. Tempranillo was the most planted wine grape in Spain at 199,090 hectares on 31 July 2023, followed closely by Airén at 190,085 hectares, with red varieties holding 53 percent of the planted area that year and white varieties 47 percent.

• Spain held the world's largest vineyard area in 2025 at 919,000 hectares, 13.1 percent of the global total
• The national vine potential register stood at 961,173 hectares on 31 July 2023
• Spain produced 28.7 million hectolitres in 2025, third in the world, down 7.7 percent on 2024
• MAPA's register listed 149 protected Spanish wine names on 2 July 2026, 106 DOP and 43 IGP

Decanter lists Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas and Priorat as Spain's key regions. Garnacha and Tempranillo are two of the most widely grown grapes in Spain. jancisrobinson.com counts Rioja and Ribera del Duero among Spain's top regions and places the best examples of Cava, Spain's own answer to champagne, in Penedès in north-east Spain. jancisrobinson.com also calls sherry, from its homeland Jerez, Spain's great gift to the world of wine in one sense. Ten municipalities have vineyards inside the Sherry denomination, among them Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Lebrija, the last in the province of Seville, and Sanlúcar is the origin of Manzanilla. It is traditional to age Spanish wines for a long time in oak barrels, and many wines are defined by minimum barrel and bottle ageing under categories that include Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. American oak has been used extensively in Spanish cellars since the colonisation of the Americas.

• Key regions named by Decanter: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas and Priorat
• Cava: jancisrobinson.com places the best examples in Penedès, north-east Spain
• Sherry: ten municipalities hold vineyards within the denomination
• Ageing categories include Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva

Primary sources (MAPA vine potential release and 2023 report, MAPA register of Spanish wine DOPs and IGPs, OIV State of the World Wine Sector in 2025, Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja, Consejo Regulador Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Consell Regulador DOQ Priorat): https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/prensa/ultimas-noticias/detalle_noticias/el-97---de-la-superficie-de-vi-edo-en-espa-a-est--en-territorio-de-alguna-denominaci-n-de-calidad/37c96471-0263-43cb-8f54-e28342e4a510, https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/dam/jcr:f9643333-ef75-4a2f-8864-afd1ade63fd1/02_vinos.pdf, https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/2026-05/OIV-State_of_the_World_Wine_Sector_in_2025.pdf, https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/agricultura/temas/regulacion-de-los-mercados/240418informepotencialviticola2023def__tcm30-682046.pdf, https://riojawine.com/en-gb/the-designation/history/, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/viticulture, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/sherry-wine-region, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production, https://www.doqpriorat.org/en/doq-priorat/, https://www.doqpriorat.org/en/territory/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-regions/spain/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/spain. Last verified 2026-10-05