Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres (over 1.17 million hectares) planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is only the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest being France followed by Italy. This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in many Spanish wine regions.

The country is ninth in worldwide consumptions with Spaniards drinking, on average, 10.06 gallons (38 liters) a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout Spain though 80 percent of the country’s wine production is from only 20 grapes—including Tempranillo, Albariño, Garnacha, Palomino, Airen, Macabeo, Parellada, Cariñena and Monastrell.

Major Spanish wine regions include the Rioja and Ribera del Duero which is known for their Tempranillo production; Jerez, the home of the fortified wine Sherry; Rías Baixas in the northwest region of Galicia that is known for its white wines made from Albariño and Catalonia which includes the Cava and still wine producing regions of the Penedès as well the Priorat region.

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NAPA VALLEY, Calif. – Basking in the California sun, are plump and picturesque wine grapes, but, most of all, these vines are growing profits.

At Leonesse Cellars in Temecula, business is far from sour.

These businesses had to adjust their wine bottle price range. Some bottles range anyway from the late teens all the way up to $90 or $100. It is one strategy that is making the U.S. wine industry robust in a really dry economy.

According to the Wine Institute in San Francisco, total U.S. wine consumption surpassed France for the first time in 2010. Wine trade expert Anthony Dias Blue says people spending less on wine are still getting value.

“One of the things that changed certainly in the last 25 years is the technology of making wine,” Dias Blue said. “If you go into a market, and you buy a wine for $8, you can be pretty well assured that it is a well-made wine.

Overseas revenue is also helping the industry. U.S. exports raked in $1 billion in 2010 – a more than 25 percent increase from 2009.

The number of American wineries is at an all-time high too.

Original Article: 9news.com, Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.