(NYTimes) - For many, winemaking conjures up images of rolling vineyards, oak barrels and cavernous cellars.

But here at Virgen de las Viñas, or Virgin of the Vineyards, the biggest producer in Spain’s largest wine region, production comes in the shape of giant steel vats and hoses connected to tank trucks. Employees work three shifts to keep the place running 24 hours a day.

“We don’t elaborate wine here — we produce wine,” said Isidro Rodríguez, the company’s technical director. “This is really a factory.”

This is the unromantic side of winemaking in the region of Castile-La Mancha, which accounts for half of Spain’s wine production. Most of it is sold in bulk and transported abroad, where it can be mixed with other wines and even re-exported.

While Spain’s producers churned out vast quantities of wine, some began to reconsider whether sheer volume was the best strategy, as overproduction sank both prices and the country’s wine reputation.

“Castile-La Mancha ticks all the boxes as a bulk agricultural region, but perhaps not all of them for higher quality wine,” said Miguel Ángel Benito, a sommelier and technical director of a wine museum in Peñafiel, in Castile and León, another wine region.

“Spain has been tapping into a growing market for bulk,” he added, “because there are millions of people who love wine but can’t afford an expensive bottle.”

For many, winemaking conjures up images of rolling vineyards, oak barrels and cavernous cellars.

But here at Virgen de las Viñas, or Virgin of the Vineyards, the biggest producer in Spain’s largest wine region, production comes in the shape of giant steel vats and hoses connected to tank trucks. Employees work three shifts to keep the place running 24 hours a day.

“We don’t elaborate wine here — we produce wine,” said Isidro Rodríguez, the company’s technical director. “This is really a factory.”

This is the unromantic side of winemaking in the region of Castile-La Mancha, which accounts for half of Spain’s wine production. Most of it is sold in bulk and transported abroad, where it can be mixed with other wines and even re-exported.

While Spain’s producers churned out vast quantities of wine, some began to reconsider whether sheer volume was the best strategy, as overproduction sank both prices and the country’s wine reputation.

“Castile-La Mancha ticks all the boxes as a bulk agricultural region, but perhaps not all of them for higher quality wine,” said Miguel Ángel Benito, a sommelier and technical director of a wine museum in Peñafiel, in Castile and León, another wine region.

“Spain has been tapping into a growing market for bulk,” he added, “because there are millions of people who love wine but can’t afford an expensive bottle.”