Ribera del Duero DO

[ree-BEHR-ah del DWAY-roh] Significant do area located along the Duero River in northern Spain, halfway between Madrid and the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay). The Duero River becomes the Douro (the famous port river) in Portugal. A small amount of rosé wine is produced here; white wines are not included as part of the DO. What Ribera del Duero is famous for is its excellent red wines, which are full-bodied, deeply colored, and flavorful. This area's prominent red-wine position is principally due to Vega Sicilia a premier wine estate over a century old. This estate uses about 60 percent Tinta del Pais (tempranillo) blended with cabernet sauvignon merlot and malbec. Since the 1980s, several other area wine estates have attracted vintners interested in producing high-quality red wines. One of these estates is Alejandro Fernández, world famous for their Tinto Pesquera wines made primarily from Tinta del Pais with some Garnacha (grenache). Today, the internationally recognized Ribera del Duero comprises over fifty wine producers.