Spain’s picturesque Ribera del Duero wine region, one of the nation’s leading producers of fine vintages, is located on a high plain that brackets the Douro River. The rich farmlands run for 71 miles through the provinces of Soria, Burgos, Segovia, and Valladolid in the autonomía, or state, of Castilla y León, north of Madrid. Archaeological evidence suggests wine has been made here for 2,600 years, since the Romans commanded these lands, and the geology explains why. The vineyards sit at 2,500 to 3,600 feet above sea level, and such high altitudes provide what’s known in viticulture as the diurnal temperature shift: Hot, sunny summer days offer ideal conditions for grapes to ripen, while significantly cooler nights allow them to retain their freshness and acidity.
Locals call Tempranillo, the main grape grown here, tinto fino (“fine red”) or tinta del país (“red of the country”) to set it apart from the same grape grown in other areas, claiming that it has evolved over time in response to the region’s specific environment. And while regulations allow Tempranillo to be blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and Garnacha Tinta grapes, much of the wine made here is single-varietal Tempranillo.
But if the grapes are adaptable, the laws that control how they make it to your dining table are not. Each of Spain’s 69 wine-producing regions is governed by its own (or regulatory board), which writes local rules and enforces national standards. wines have the lowest minimum aging requirement; you may have heard them referred to as (“young”) (which means “oak” and indicates wines aged in oak barrels for just a few months), or even depending on the region.
