The best Spanish wine appellations
The top 3 according to 108 votes from people: Rioja (DOCa) · Ribera del Duero · Bierzo. (Updated Jul 20, 2026.)
Spain's most prestigious wine regions, according to critics, guides (Peñín, Parker) and specialist wine shops. Rioja and Priorat are the only two DOCa.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 15
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1
Rioja (DOCa)
Spain's most famous appellation and the first to be 'qualified' (1991): tempranillo with crianzas and reservas in oak; about 600 wineries.
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2
Ribera del Duero
Powerful reds from tinta del país on the Castilian plateau; home to Vega Sicilia and Pingus.
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3
Bierzo
Hillside mencía in León, revived by winemakers such as Raúl Pérez and Descendientes de J. Palacios.
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4
Priorat (DOQ)
Garnacha and cariñena on llicorella slate terraces in Tarragona; Spain's second DOCa.
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5
Valdeorras
Godello whites from eastern Ourense.
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6
Rías Baixas
Fresh albariño whites from southern Galicia, from Salnés to Condado do Tea.
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7
Rueda
Spain's best-selling white, made from verdejo in Valladolid, Segovia and Ávila.
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8
Toro
Robust reds from tinta de Toro in Zamora, with old pre-phylloxera vines.
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9
Cava
Traditional-method sparkling wine, mostly from Penedès (Sant Sadurní d'Anoia).
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10
Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Finos, manzanillas, amontillados, olorosos and PX aged in soleras in the Sherry Triangle.
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11
Ribeira Sacra
Mencía from heroic vineyards on the canyons of the Sil and Miño rivers.
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12
Montilla-Moriles
Finos and PX from Córdoba, aged in tinajas and soleras without fortification.
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13
Navarra
Historic garnacha rosés and garnacha and tempranillo reds.
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14
Penedès
Whites from xarel·lo, macabeo and parellada and Mediterranean reds near Barcelona.
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15
Jumilla
Intense monastrell from the high plateau between Murcia and Albacete.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 15… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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16
Somontano
Spanish and international grapes at the foot of the Pyrenees in Huesca.
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17
Borja Field
Aragonese designation of origin known as "the empire of Garnacha", with old vines at the foot of Moncayo.
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18
Txakoli de Getaria
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.
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Comments (1)
Falta Campo de Borja, el imperio de la garnacha, calidad-precio imbatible.