Purpose <p>Knowledge of vineyard soils is increasingly appreciated in viticulture, to the extent that available soil data are stored in both old and new documents with diverse accessibility. The aim of this work is to present and expand the knowledge regarding vineyard benchmark soils developed under Mediterranean climate. For this purpose, it has been selected in Castilla-La Mancha (CLM), Spain, one of the largest areas dedicated to vineyards in the world, emphasizing their main characteristics and formation processes.</p> Methods <p>With this in mind, more than 450 soil profiles from distinct vineyards distributed throughout the CLM territory were selected for full pedological description, sampling and analysing, which allowed proposing the benchmark soils of this from this extensive and representative worldwile viticultural region.</p> Results <p>Specifically, detailed information of selected (12) benchmark soils are shown together with landscape characters, and soil classification according to modern classification systems (Soil Taxonomy-USDA and WRB-FAO).</p> Conclusion <p>Our findings highlight that a mosaic of natural factors, in addition of anthropogenic actions, determines the identity and appreciable variability of the benchmark soils of Castilla-La Mancha, although the Mediterranean climate has played a significant role in their formation. Sharp boundaries between horizons are frequent due to secondary processes related to agricultural use (mechanical impact of tillage), for which we propose the denomination of “extrazonal horizons”. With this study the winemaking community has many differing opinions to select the best soil.</p>