Spain
France has the most famous wines and Italy produces the largest quantity. Spain has the largest vineyard area of all European countries: more than 1.2 million hectares. Of this, about 55 percent is classified as AOP area. This is also more than France and Italy. However, with 11 million hectoliters of quality wine, Spain is not the largest wine producer in the world. This is because the vineyards have a relatively low yield – about 25 hectoliters per hectare is normal in many areas. For AOP vineyards, the average is only 15 hectoliters per hectare.
Spanish wine history began at least 3000 years ago, when Phoenician traders founded a port in the southwest: present-day Cadiz. From there they moved inland. They planted grapevines on the hills around the city of Xera: present-day Jerez de la Frontera. In the warm climate, sweet wines were made. To preserve them well, they were fortified with alcohol. This practice gave rise to Spanish fortified wines, such as sherry.
In the mid-nineteenth century, phylloxera destroyed many European wine regions. Because the Spanish wine regions were not affected by this in the beginning, French wine producers went to Spain to see if they could continue their profession there. The French brought their own grapevines and knowledge. This is due to the popularity and quality of the wines from the northern Spanish regions. An example is Rioja. Eventually, phylloxera also reached Spain around the turn of the century, but by that time a solution had already been found for the louse: grafting onto American rootstocks. This made it possible to replant the vineyards quickly.
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