Spanish white rare grapes, a quality contrast

For tasting notes on the varieties discussed below, see Tasting notes, A-J and Tasting notes, L-V.

Spain is the country with more hectares of vines planted than any other. And although, partly thanks to EU pressures, the total vineyard area has been decreasing quite dramatically over the last 20 years – from 1.4 million hectares in 1990 to 1.2 million nowadays – this still represents 15% of the world's vines. Plantings of the Airén grape variety have shrunk the most, but there are still 250,000 hectares of it.