It is unclear precisely where vines were first cultivated in Spain or who brought winemaking techniques to the Iberian peninsula. Various sources believe the first vineyards were cultivated on the southwest coast of Andalusia, which may also have been the entrance point for the first vines reaching the peninsula.

This seems to be the most likely theory, particularly given the presence of the Phoenicians there approximately 3,000 years ago. They were a trading culture and founded a port in the southwest, which they called Gadir (now Cádiz). Later they moved inland, founding another city they called Xera (now Jerez), where they planted vines in the surrounding hills.

The Romans continued to produce wine on the peninsula, introducing their own particular techniques over time - for example, the addition of resins and aromatic essences, and ageing in small clay amphorae.

Spanish winemaking really took off after the re conquest of Spain by the Catholic Kings. The re-established religious communities and monasteries played a significant role in this process;the monks and friars of various orders worked to recover the winemaking tradition.

In the 19^th century the unfortunate arrival of phylloxera in northern Europe, which devastated the vineyards at mid-century, contributed to the consolidation of the winemaking industry. During this period, many French winemakers settled south of the Pyrenees, finding this the only way to preserve their livelihood. They brought with them their grape varieties, machinery and methods.

The phylloxera blight served, therefore, to bring modernisation to Spain's vineyards and wineries. When, at the end of the century, the blight finally reached the peninsula, a solution had been devised to put an end to it: grafting onto an American root stock immune to the blight. As a result the recovery of the vineyards was much less traumatic in Spain than in other European countries.

The transformation of the image and quality of Spanish wines during the last quarter of the 20^th century has been truly remarkable. During this period, a group of hard-working pioneers began to introduce and apply new wine producing techniques being used elsewhere.

In particular, recent years have witnessed the emergence of a new generation of master winemakers who have learned to blend tradition and quality with innovation, giving rise to unique wines of unprecedented quality that enjoy unqualified success worldwide.

Many quality wine regions have evolved over time, but Rioja remains the oldest and probably the most well know.

Today, Spain sells over 7 million 9L cases in the UK.

In March 2008 Hatch Mansfield became the agents for the C.V.N.E. portfolio of wines from Rioja.

Classification of the Rioja wines

Every bottle of DO or DOC wine carries a seal issued by the local Consejo Regulador, guaranteeing the classification of the wine. There are minimum requirements for each of the four different categories as follows:

Vino Joven or young wine, are wines put on the market for immediate release and therefore have either not undergone any ageing or have been aged for a period shorter than legally required for Crianza wines.

Crianza red wines are at least two years old and have been aged for a minimum of six months in barrel, sold in their third year. White and Rose wines are aged for six months and sold in their second year.

Reserva red wines are at least three years old and must have undergone a year of barrel ageing, sold in their fourth year. Roses and White wines must spend two years in the cellar, six months of which must be in wood and sold in their third year.

Gran Reserva wines are only made from the finest vintages. Red wines must have spent two years in wooded butts and three years in bottle, sold in their sixth year. Whites and Roses remain in the cellar for four years, six months of which is in wood. They are sold in their sixth year.