An Old Wold area with an exciting new tale, a story of quality red and white wines offering drinking pleasure and amazing value for the wine lover.

A local proverb describes the climate in D.O. La Mancha as “nine months of winter and three months of hell”. Indeed, winter brings oppressive frosts and bitter cold, while summer temperatures can reach 42 C as the hot sun shines mercilessly on the sea of vines for 12 to 14 hours each day. Rain is scarce, so vines are spaced about eight feet from each other in all directions, to permit each plant its share of the small amount of water that falls.

If there is an upside to the challenging climate of D.O. La Mancha, it’s that few vineyard pests or diseases can survive, allowing grapes to grow naturally disease-free. Wine grapes are so successful, in fact, that D.O. La Mancha is the largest wine area in all of Europe, a sprawling land with 150,000 ha (hectares) under vine.

The grapes that flourish here include the white grape Airén, and the popular Spanish red Tempranillo, which goes by the local name Cencibel. 

However, many other grapes, including Verdejo, Macabeo, Viura, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for whites, and Grenache, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon among reds, have found a suitable and sunny home in D.O. La Mancha.