Spain is an exciting wine-producing nation. The third largest country in Europe, it has almost 2.9 million acres of vineyard land (circa 2005), making it the most widely planted wine region in the world. It comes third behind France and Italy in terms of wine production, but this is growing every day.

Spain used to have a traditional approach to wine-making and only embraced ‘modern’ techniques of grape-growing and production in the 1990s. Once modernisation was accepted, it changed Spain’s wine-making climate. There was a shift in wine-making regulations and in the regional ‘appellation’ system, leading to an increase in the quality of aged wine available.

At the bottom of the quality system is Vino de la Tierra (VdlT) equivalent to Vin de Pays in France. (The Vino di Mesa was the lowest level of quality, but this August it was phased out). The Spanish equivalent of the French appellation controlée is the Denominacióde Origen (D..), the next level of quality after VdlT. The next and the highest level is the Denominacióde Origen Calificada (DOC or DOCa), introduced recently. Rioja in northern Spain was the first region to be awarded DOC status, followed by Priorat in the northeast.

The Spanish wine industry relies on a few key grape varietals to produce regionally distinct wines. Airé, a white grape, is one such varietal. Throughout central Spain, it occupies more than 25 per cent of vineyard land. At its best, it produces refreshing and easy-to-drink dry white wines.

Another white varietal is Macabé (also known as Viura). Planted in the Penedès region, it’s often blended with Xarel-lo and Parellada to form the basis of Cava, the sparkling wine. Albariñ and Verdejo, which produce high quality white wines and are gaining popularity, are other white varietals.

When one considers Spain’s red wines, there are three key varietals that come to mind — Tempranillo (known by several names in different regions around Spain), the dark-skinned, aromatic red, blended with the ripe, phenolic Garnacha (Grenache from France) to make the admired red wines from Rioja; and Monastrell (the French Mourvèdre) producing ripe, dark and rich red wines, best grown in the Murcia region in central-southern Spain.

It has also become fashionable over the decade to use French varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to produce some long-lived, expensive reds. The best are from the Priorat region. Look out for producers like Alvaro Palacios whose wines are available in India.

Producers in the Murcia region have been experimenting with red Bordeaux varieties along with Syrah blended with the native Monastrell. The Monastrell blends produced here are intense and concentrated with impressive fruit, spice and meaty complexity. The alcohol levels are quite high (13.5 per cent to 15.5 per cent) but the high quality of wine-making has ensured balanced, juicy and long-lived red wines.

Murcia is warm and arid, so irrigation is necessary due to lack of rainfall. The vineyards are planted at altitudes between 400m and 800m above sea level.It comprises three sub-regions: Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas. The young wines are very expressive in aroma and very fruity (dark berries, ripe fruit, cherries, strawberries and red currants). Keep an eye out for Murcia wines. They promise to be the next big thing in Spanish premium wine.