# The best Spanish wine appellations

Spain's most prestigious wine regions, according to critics, guides (Peñín, Parker) and specialist wine shops. Rioja and Priorat are the only two DOCa.

- 108 votes · 18 items
- Apr 12, 2026 · montse vicente
- https://even.best/en/l/24/the-best-spanish-wine-appellations

## Top 15

1. **Rioja (DOCa)** (13 · ▲13 ▼0) — Spain's most famous appellation and the first to be 'qualified' (1991): tempranillo with crianzas and reservas in oak; about 600 wineries.
2. **Ribera del Duero** (11 · ▲11 ▼0) — Powerful reds from tinta del país on the Castilian plateau; home to Vega Sicilia and Pingus.
3. **Bierzo** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — Hillside mencía in León, revived by winemakers such as Raúl Pérez and Descendientes de J. Palacios.
4. **Priorat (DOQ)** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — Garnacha and cariñena on llicorella slate terraces in Tarragona; Spain's second DOCa.
5. **Valdeorras** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — Godello whites from eastern Ourense.
6. **Rías Baixas** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Fresh albariño whites from southern Galicia, from Salnés to Condado do Tea.
7. **Rueda** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Spain's best-selling white, made from verdejo in Valladolid, Segovia and Ávila.
8. **Toro** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Robust reds from tinta de Toro in Zamora, with old pre-phylloxera vines.
9. **Cava** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — Traditional-method sparkling wine, mostly from Penedès (Sant Sadurní d'Anoia).
10. **Jerez-Xérès-Sherry** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Finos, manzanillas, amontillados, olorosos and PX aged in soleras in the Sherry Triangle.
11. **Ribeira Sacra** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Mencía from heroic vineyards on the canyons of the Sil and Miño rivers.
12. **Montilla-Moriles** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Finos and PX from Córdoba, aged in tinajas and soleras without fortification.
13. **Navarra** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — Historic garnacha rosés and garnacha and tempranillo reds.
14. **Penedès** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Whites from xarel·lo, macabeo and parellada and Mediterranean reds near Barcelona.
15. **Jumilla** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Intense monastrell from the high plateau between Murcia and Albacete.
16. **Somontano** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Spanish and international grapes at the foot of the Pyrenees in Huesca.
17. **Borja Field** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Aragonese designation of origin known as "the empire of Garnacha", with old vines at the foot of Moncayo.
18. **Txakoli de Getaria** (-1 · ▲1 ▼2) — Light, slightly sparkling hondarrabi zuri white, poured from a height in Basque bars.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.