The Valladolid town of Rueda is the headquarters of the Regulating Council of DO Rueda as well as the permanent headquarters of the Estación de Viticultura y Enología de Castilla y León (viticultural and oenological research station), which controls the samples, production and quality of the region.
Rueda is situated in the centre of Ribera del Duero. Together with Submeseta Norte, it forms a plateau with gentle slopes. The area has alluvial and flood terraces on the banks of the Duero river and its tributaries, the rivers Trabancos, Zapardiel and Adaja. Its soil is grey-brown, poor in organic matter and easy to farm. Its texture falls between sand-loamy and loamy. It is stony with good ventilation and draining, and has limestone outcrops on the hilltops.
The land covered by this Regulating Council is located in the Meseta Norte, in the centre of the depression formed by the Duero river. DO Rueda is comprised of 72 municipal districts situated in the provinces of Valladolid, Segovia and Ávila.
Today, the DO has been granted to forty wineries, including the outstanding Pagos del Rey in Rueda.
