This article is not only written for those of you who feel a little skittish around foreign terms like crianza and gran reserva, but also for those self-proclaimed wine experts who think they’ve got the Spanish nomenclature of aging down flat. In Iberia, terminology is defined by each Denominacion de Origen (see definition below). Therefore, what crianza may mean to one region cannot immediately transferred to another region. So what I’d like to do is provide you with a dummy’s guide to the terminology you’ll find specifically on a Rioja wine label, as well as some general Spanish wine terminology you can practice during your next trip to the wine shop.

ON THE FRONT OF THE BOTTLE
Although, information on the label will differ from producer to producer, you can generally expect to find the following on the front of a Rioja bottle:

1. The name of the producer.
2. When the bodega was originally founded.
3. The location where the wine was elaborated.
4. The year the wine was made.
5. The amount of time the wine spent in the bodega, indicated by the terms joven, crianza, semi-crianza, reserva, gran reserva.
6. Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa), a term further explained below
7. Although infrequently listed, you may run into the type of grapes used to make the wine.

QUALITY CLASSIFICATIONS

Throughout Spain, wines can be classified into three distinct categories: 1) vino de mesa - table wine, 2) vino de la tierra - regional wine, and 3) vino de calidad - quality wine. Rioja is unique in that you will only find wines rated as vino de calidad, or quality wines.

Within the quality wine classification, wines are further divided into Denominaciones de Origen (DO) or Denominaciones de Origen Calificada (DOCa). DO defines specific wine growing areas such as La Mancha, …