Spain has a long history of producing fine wines of which the red wines of Rioja are probably the most famous. Surprisingly, however, this name is just one small region among many: Ribera del Duero, Galicia, with the sub-region of Rias Baixas, Penedès and Priorat are the most well known. Some of the wine regions of Spain are huge, and account for the fact that Spain has the largest area of land dedicated to viticulture of any country in the world.

Spain has a similar classification system to France and Italy, with all classified wine regions regulated under the Denominación de Origen (DO) system. Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOC) was introduced to recognize wines which have a long tradition of high quality. Currently, only Rioja and Priorat have DOC status.