{"id":98883444,"date":"2016-03-22T14:40:47","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T18:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/?p=98883444"},"modified":"2016-03-22T14:40:47","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T18:40:47","slug":"tour-spain-grapevine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/tour-spain-grapevine\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring Spain on the Grapevine"},"content":{"rendered":"

[mks_dropcap style=”circle” size=”52″ bg_color=”#b21a48″ txt_color=”#ffffff”]T[\/mks_dropcap]he third largest wine producer in the world, Spain<\/a> is a veritable treasure-trove of vineyards. From refreshing Albari\u00f1os in northwest Spain to the old vine Garnachas of the Meseta Central to the sweet dessert wines of Andaluc\u00eda, you\u2019re sure to discover a varietal that pleases your palate. Here are five major Spanish wine regions that every wine lover should visit.<\/p>\n

1.) Galicia<\/h3>\n
\"Iakov

Iakov Filimonov \/ Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

Located in northwestern Spain, Galicia\u2019s landscape is not what one would imagine in Spain. This lush, green region provides the perfect environment to grow Albari\u00f1o grapes to produce the crisp whites that have become popular within the past decade, certainly in the U.S. Mencia grapes are also grown in this region, which can be used to make aromatic red wines. One of the major tourist attractions of this region is the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which is also the destination for pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago.<\/p>\n

2.) Meseta Central<\/h3>\n
\"JOSE

JOSE RAMIRO LAGUNA \/ Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

Spain\u2019s inner plateau provides a unique environment for growing grapes. The vineyards are hot and dry, but most are located at high altitudes (the area has an average elevation of 2,300-2,600 feet), which means that nighttime temperatures can be mild. This means it’s the perfect place to cultivate Monastrell, Syrah, Tempranillo and Garnacha\u2014all names that have become synonymous with Spanish reds<\/em>\u00a0worldwide. Spain\u2019s capital city of Madrid<\/a> is located in this region, which means after you finish sipping your red wine you can visit some of the finest art museums in the world.<\/p>\n

3.) Mediterranean Coast<\/h3>\n
\"Alexander

Alexander Tihonov \/ Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

The massive wine-producing region that lies along the Mediterranean Coast is comprised of the diverse sub-regions of Valencia<\/a>, Catalonia and Murcia. If you love sparkling wines, don’t miss Catalonia, known for its extensive Cava production. This sub-region also produces reds in the Priorat zone. Valencia and Murcia are the ideal regions for producing wines out of Monastrell (known for their ruby hues and fruity undertones) and for\u00a0flavorful whites made from Malvasia and Air\u00e9n grapes. Of course, the coastal scenery is also hard to beat.<\/p>\n

4.) Ebro River Valley<\/h3>\n
\"Noradoa

Noradoa \/ Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

Home to the sub-regions of La Rioja and Navarra, the Ebro River Valley is known for Tempranillo (an earthy, spicy red) and rosado (ros\u00e9) of Garnacha production. Major vineyards (called bodegas in Spain) include Lopez de Heredia and Marques de Murrieta. White wine fans, take heart\u2014this region also produces oak-aged white wines of Verdejo and Viura, for example. In addition to wine tasting, there are plenty of outdoor adventures to experience while you\u2019re in the ruggedly beautiful Ebro River Valley.<\/p>\n

5.) Andaluc\u00eda<\/h3>\n
\"ronnybas

ronnybas \/ Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

Sweet wine lovers should definitely head south. The hot and dry region of Andaluc\u00eda is perfect for growing grapes that will eventually become Sherry. In fact, there is a beautiful area known as the Sherry Triangle<\/em>, which consists of the towns Jerez de la Frontera, Sanl\u00facar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa Maria in the province of C\u00e1diz. These culturally rich towns are accustomed to visitors and boast some of the best restaurants in Spain. The nearby Montilla-Moriles province is known for fortified dessert wines called PX,\u00a0<\/em>which stands for the type of grape used to make them, Pedro Xim\u00e9nez.<\/p>\n

What are some of your favorite Spanish wines? Let us know in the comments section!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[mks_dropcap style=”circle” size=”52″ bg_color=”#b21a48″ txt_color=”#ffffff”]T[\/mks_dropcap]he third largest wine producer in the world, Spain is a veritable treasure-trove of vineyards. From refreshing Albari\u00f1os in northwest Spain to the old vine Garnachas of the Meseta Central to the sweet dessert wines of Andaluc\u00eda, you\u2019re sure to discover a varietal that pleases your palate. Here are five major […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":98883446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,111],"tags":[432,433,429,364,426,431,430,428,427],"class_list":["post-98883444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-international-travel","tag-grapes","tag-grapevine","tag-madrid","tag-mediterranean","tag-spain","tag-spanish-wine","tag-valencia","tag-vineyards","tag-wine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98883444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98883444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98883444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98883446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98883444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98883444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98883444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}