La Mancha is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines, with over 190,000 ha planted to vines, and is the largest continuous vine-growing area in the world It is located in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha in central Spain and includes 182 municipalities: 12 in the province of Albacete, 58 in Ciudad Real, 66 in Cuenca and 46 in Toledo The first written documentation on viticulture in the region dates from the 12th century, though it is generally believed that vines were introduced by the ancient Romans as in other regions of the Iberian peninsula Wine production took off in the 1940s due to the setting up of numerous cooperatives in the region.
Viticulture is the economic mainstay of many of the municipalities that form part of the DOP.