A huge winegrowing region in the center of Spain. It includes the provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, and Toledo plus the cities of Madrid and Toledo. The summer climate is so hot and forbidding that the YIELD is very low. Yet there are so many acres of vineyard planted that this region generates almost half of all the wine produced in Spain—most of it white. The main white grape is the AIRÉN, and this vast region helps Airén claim the title of the world’s most widely planted grape variety. Cencibel (TEMPRANILLO) is the region’s most widely planted red variety. Much of the wine produced is sold in BULK as a BLENDING WINE to other Spanish regions and even other European countries. Large quantities find their way to distilleries for further processing into ALCOHOL. Castilla-La Mancha contains five DO areas—ALMANSA, LA MANCHA (Europe’s largest designated qualitywine-producing area), MÉNTRIDA, VALDEPEÑAS, and VINOS DE MADRID.